CAFETARIAS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19364, 22 July 1925, Page 7

CAFETARIAS

THE QUICK-SERVICE LUNCH. To the average New Zealand woman the word cafetaria means less than nothing, but in America tho cafetaria system has solved the whole problem of the quick-service lunch, with the result that, in spite of the proverbial rush and hurry of American life, the luncheon hour is a much more leisurely period to the working girl of New York than it is to her English sister. Although cafetarias arc used by everyone in America, rich and poor alike, it is to the business-girl that they are of special benefit. The time she spends over her meals is entirely within her own control, so that shqjias often more than half her free hour tc herself, and, in. addition to this, the fact that very little service-is needed in a cafetaria reduces the cost of food considerably. You have only to watch the thousands of girls who pour out of the warehouses and offices in New York, between tho hours of twelve and two, and to count how many go into £ cafetaria while one goes into an ordinary tea shop, to realise what a very real need these cafetarias fill in a business girl’s life. In nearly every one the process is the same, and the visiting Englishwoman soon slips into the habit, so simple it is, and so practical. When you entef the room you are faced with a long counter piled with plates -of food, and presided over by about half a dozen attendants, whosp duty it is to replenish the dishes as required. Generally there is a railing about 4ft. away from the counter, so that you cannot stray out into the room until you haw been given an account of your just debts, and immediately in front of * tho counter is another railing along which you slide your tray. You pick this up at the door, where you find it all ready .waiting for you, complete with a table napkin folded round two forks, a spoon, and a knife. Once you have secured this, you embark on the rapturous process of sliding your tray along and choosing your lunch from the goodly selection before you. Sandwiches are a great feature of an American luncheon—not the daintv kind seen at English afternoon teas, but good, hearty sandwiches, cut square and thick, and boasting at least half-an-inch of filling. They are a meal in themselves, and if you choose one you will probably slide your tray along past the endless varieties of salads and pies until you come to the .section devoted to puddings. Here you may have ices, custards, fruits, or any of the layer cakes in which the American soul delights. Again, as in the case of the sandwiches, the portion of layer cake given to you in America is generally more than an Englishwoman can manage comfortably at one sitting, and, whereas in England a meal consisting of a sandwich or salad topped off with a piece of cake would seem totally inadequate, in America it contains more than enough nourishment.

At the very end of the counter you will come to the coffee and tea urns, and hero, too. if you are in a very up-to-date cafetaria, you will find yourself faced with a selection of hot dishes. As you leave the counter you submit your well-laden tray to the*inspection of tho girl at the cash desk, who adds up the cost of your dishes, and gives you a cheek for the amount, which you pay at the door on leaving, on are then free to choose a table and settle yourself down to your meal. It is all done very quickly.* At the most it is five minutes from the time you enter the door until you are seated at your table, and you may leave the minute you finish. There is none of that process so well known in England of “catching the. waitress’s eve.” By the cafetaria system, too, labour is reduced to a minimum, for, in addition to the attendants behind the food counter, there are only about four waiters in the room itself, who gather up your tray and used dishes when you have finished, and refill the water jugs on every table. Even this is often unnecessary, for the newest cafetarias are generally supplied with a fountain of iced water in the middle of the room, and beside, it will bn, more often than not. a glass holder for cardhoard cups, which you fill yourself, thus achieving a nice sense of independence, which adds materially to the flavour of your meal.

You <lo not hoar men in America saying. “No, my dear boy, I never bother, about lunch, I just have a snack in the office.” Doubtless they would like to be able to say it. but they could never do it without being given the lie direct. It is quite an education to watch the American business man come into a cafetaria and ponder over the weighty subject of the choice of his meal. He pauses long before each section of the counter, he weighs the respective merits of salads and pies and sandwiches, he inspects the plates before him with the air of a complete connoisseur, and is absolutely imperious to the growing queue behind him. A woman is different. A string of impatient people behind her is apt to render her panicky, and she is liable to grab hastily the first dishes which comp her way without due pause for thought. It is only when she is in her seat that she wakes to the devastating knowledge that she has chosen waffles and Boston cream pie when she would so much rather have had cold slaw salad, and strawberry short cake. - And. oh! how she envies the man sitting next to her, who is calmly eating tho meal of his dreams!