Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-08-30
EATING AS A PUBLIC AMUSEMENT
One OF the Days Best Cartoons.



NEW YORK, August cs-Ea,inr Is
t'"SS'Ne" q" sport Dinner
which is regarded as necessity TO b..
satisfied III the least possible tir,e wcs,
II The Mississippi. and largely as -
family affair south o. the Potomac.
mere becomes public amusement cap
ii"li%ed Al millions. broadway. IL YOU
can Visualize the number of rcstau-
rant along. above and beneath II. is
sec" as one immense feeding trough.
Where tens Of thousands nightly gath
or 'Hom the ends Of the earth
he typical Broadway cabaret from
%, httic one in the cellar. where :,
r"Ip'" OF retired chorus girls form tn.
Entertainment feature. to tho biz one
"n the roof. which has enough song
and "nnc" people to equip musical
comedy for the road. ~ primarily 81
.Nsj"n Tor helping tn. ubiquitous i,in-
c'""t q pari from his change The
W"n f:"m Solncwhcre else goes there
in the expectation OF being thrilled
nnf shocked 10y til" night life OF III.
great whit" way, and sees littlo he
sidcs himself IN all Ills amazing va
ric'y.
3"t NOV" away from Broadway.
pcn',ra;" inland from that main riv-
"r of tho transicnis. and YOU viii iiud
that dining is s;ill Il ceremony and a
sport wherever YOU go. There are
eating places Tor every taste, pocket
book and nationality. every degree Of
Nlcc and virtue. eating places that APP
peal 10 every foibl. and weakness
H. Tor example. YOU share The al
most universal desire TO Cous"rt With
the wca!,liN YOU can achi"v. tho SEN
satiou il not the fact. ny poNlr 10 ono
OF those pompous fiiih Avenue places
where "subducd elegance" is tn. pre-
vailing note The manner Of tho head
waiter. TIA" color OF tho furniture the
music Of tn" orchestra. tho speed uf tho
Srrvi"", everything except the cost. =
extremely suhducd. You can iina IN
serene. attcuuat"d and ostcntatious
boredom, Your only amusement being
Z" look at and speculate about the
Guc"r EXHIBITS that iuhahit The place
There arc all sorts. ana ih"y aye hard
:" clus@iiy. iou know that the rcpu-
iltiun of tho establishment l. due TO
'I" prcscrc" of som" OF them. aud
mat tho presence OF others Is due 10
ih" reputation of the establishment
i'u' 1T is hard to ton who is which
Tho ncN, step In your astronomical
Whudcriu2S VIII probably hc urir
INTO TIL" hist"rIral,~ Tho modern New
Nortcr is Il crank on the subject ol
old Sew york u II hard to discover
jVt "%.cily what old Ncw York IL or
what period Is thereby d"noird. hut
"t amy rat" there arc whcl" libraries
uG the subject, and scriotioS organ
rcd t" study II: and IKE everything
els" ia New York.. II has been capital
iI'd ana converted into eating places.
How that mythical being. the old New
yorker, may have talked and walk Ell
aud worked and amused himSsi: is Il
matter Tor research and speculation
but his restaurants have been album
dainty preserved and restored.
YOU can breakfast just off Fifth
Avcnuc in a di!apidatcd inn. tho walls
Of Which are fairly hcdizcn"d with
relics of tho departed great: you can
lunch in a tavern where George Wash
in@,"n stopped. and TAX" your after
noon tea in Il genuine Colonial coffee
house. where the local color consists
Of a number Of long mirrors, some
very authentic looking old oil paint
ingS in which the figures are Shroudcd
In dccp gloom, ana a corps Of gen
uiu" indigenous watrcsscs speaking
good English and clad in costumes Of
some period indctcrminatc but oh
N!ously remote. Most Of these places,
however. are oily n little of tho
beaten track ana YOU can tell at a
glance that = majority Of the patrons
arc in YOU, own class.
Determined still TO discover the truly
exotic phases OF New York. if YOU have
Il sound digestion and a truly adven-
iurouS spirit your next assault will
probably be upon the foreign table
dhut'. You climb tho time wOrn steps
OF IN old brOWnStouc front and pass
through the hallway and reception
room. into what once the back
yard OF some respectable citizen. but
Is now diGniiicd 10y the name of a
summer garden. Here you are GER
taiuly in an atmosphere remote from
broadway. The walters speak no Eng
lish. and a good many OF the patrons
chatter and rcsticulatc in some allen
language putting their immense black
bottles Of red wine on the ground he
side their chairs. But here, too. is the
Inevitable rubbcImcck the man who.
like Yourself doesn't really .bclong.
and can neither tell what the dishes
are nor ask the waiter. Furthermore.
that wild i2ohcmianism that You read
about * still lacking The place is as
orderly as Il Sunday school The worst
shock YOU receive is when tho waiter
serves the cheese before the dessert.
And so mp and on with the quest
perhaps this time to WASHINGTON
square and Greenwich Village. that
Storicd section where genius buds ana
the farcfrcc intcllcctuals live their
harlm Scarum lives tscc any hook on
the subjccD. This is where Tom
Paine starved and Foe wrote the "Eull
Of ihc House of Usher" Robcr; Louis
Stevenson and Mark Twain used to
things under the sun with incom-
! parable hrillancy They would iind
| strange company there now IT swarms
with 1talians and Jews. and hordcs OF
the offspring OF both of those, and a