Evening star., 1923-05-27

of the fifty you are permitted to sit
room on the second floor of the old
building. occupied by the establish
ment. But before sitting down you
| not only remove your coat and waist
coast, If YOU are wearing one but
your collar and tie. There are pegs
on the wall to accommodate your
superfluous clothing, and IL you fail
| to follow the time-honored custom
you are not reminded Of your breach
of etiquette-the walters simply re-
fuse to serve you.
| The big idea behind dining there
| is not to have anything interfere with
! the full enjoyment of your food. And
! If you don't loosen your belt when
| you sit down, as the majority of
| diners do, YOU emulate them before
the meal is over.
! The dinner at this marvellous Ies-
! taurant is two simoleons. But as you
ray for it before sitting down there's
| no bad news to be brought to you
afterward. There's no convert charge
and there's no extra charge if you use
two pegs for your superfiuous attire.
In short, it is run on the American
plan. and any suggestion that its
methods should be changed are re-
| sented.
There's no menu and you eat what
! is served to you. Your neighbor may
! be a priest or Judge. Across the
| table from you may be a distin-
guished actor or a bootlegger. You
speak to every one and every one
speaks to you. But you don't broad
a" any one. True democracy prevails
throughout the dinner-and there is
| no second table.
THIS WAS THE DINNER
Oysters Baked in Shell.
Terrapin.
(Also served in the shellD
! Roasted Chicken.
with corn pone.)
Beefsteak.
| Cooked over hickory embers)
! Coffee.
! nROMPTLY at s O'Clock every night.
i fifty food hounds file into the
dining room at this unique restaurant
and take their places. l use the word
promptly" advisedly. for every one
who dimes is waiting in the barroom
on the first floor to tie on the nose
bag, as it is called. When the dinner
bell rings, one is apt to get killed
in the crush. For the regulars" want
/
board. and even after one has OBJ
tanned his ticket the rue of first come,
first served, is strictly observed.
The dinner begins by your being
| served with a towel. which is spread
across the knees if you are a new
conner. or tucked in the neck of your
shirt if you have profited by former
experience.
| The first course varies from day to
day. Sometimes it is oysters-huge
| oysters baked in their shells and gar
nished with strips Of bacon and
| wonderful sauce. Sometimes it is
| soup made of crayfish, boiled in white
| wine. And if you are lucky, 1t is
terrapin cooked and served in the
she'll.
There is no such thing as portion.
, You are served as much as you can
put on your plate and when it is
| empty it is decorated again and again
until you protest.
The second course is nearly always
chicken. Huge platters of roasted
chick ems are passed up and down and
| around the table. You help yourself
with your hands and you keep in
| hoT GnD IN
vented before forks and knives. In
addition, before you finish this course
you appreciate the wisdom of being
provided with a towel.
| At about this stage of the dinner,
when your waistline is contiguous
| with the table-although you were
several inches away from it when
! you sat down-the real business of
eating begins. Huge platters of
| juicy strips of beefsteak-steak that
has been cooked over hickory embers
are passed around. You may pro-
test that you have no place to park
| even one slice, but it will not do you
any good. The rule is Eat 1t and
| like it." and it is the only place 1
ever found where a rule was not
| made to be broken.
y X X
YOU will continue to help yourself
i to these tender strips OF juicy meat
| until you are helpless. But as the
trip to the bar is not hard to make,
your condition will not be hopeless.
There was time when diners there
| washed down their evening meal with
huge scidels of beer-at the table.
Alcoholic drinks on the table are now