A GASTRONOMIC SURVEY OF THE DINING-HOUSES IN LONDON.

MUCH has been said, and some little written, on the allurements and advantages held out to the lovers of good feeding by the restaurants of the French capital; yet, while I admit the countless variety of the Parisian establishments, and the ingenuity exercised by the proprietors in their vocation, I cannot be unmindful of the culinary comforts to be met with and enjoyed both east and west of TempleBar. In spite of the hyperbolical praises so lavishly bestowed by certain expatriated gourmands, on the superiority of French living, I am prepared to show that the cities of London and Westminster (the lawyers have made them two) can vie with the metropolis of France; at all events, in the quality of the eatables, if not the talent displayed in their final arrangement.

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Gentle render! I have travelled far and wide,-I have visited every quarter of the globe; but on the whole surface of the earth (a wide field, by the way,) there is no spot which yields such meat as dear old England. In the whole world there are not any such markets as Leadenhall and Billingsgate. I once inducted a Frenchman to these matchless bazaars, and he was lost in admiration and wonder. ment. There he saw fish, flesh, and fowl, in perfection; the luscious salmon, the tempting turbot, the rare but racy dory, the delicate smelt, and inimitable mullet; the plump and juicy joints of Southdown mutton, the far-famed sirloin, and snow-white veal. amazement conquered all national prejudice, and he confessed that France could produce nothing equal to the splendid display before him. With such materials to work upon, he (for I speak not of cooks of the softer sex,) must be a botcher indeed who could fail to tickle the palate of the most fastidious. The greater craft may, indeed must, be called into requisition on the other side of the Channel, else how could a Parisian chef dish you up such appetizing friandises out of the tough, skinny, scraggy, tasteless, fatless, mutton and beef, on which he is doomed to waste his talent? In vain will the uninitiated traveller look for the accustomed accompaniment of fat. His bouilli and rôti are both alike ignorant of such an excrescence. He might as well look for the slippery morsel on the attenuated frame of the living skeleton, as on the flesh of a Continental ox or sheep. A facetious commentator has somewhere remarked that a French cook will concoct a palatable dish out of an old shoe. For myself, I never met with this savoury morceau, but the assertion tends to verify the Gallic adage, "C'est la sauce qui fait manger le poisson," and this I take to be the fond of foreign cookery.

The fund of invention in a Parisian chef de cuisine is inexhaustible; his gravies and his sauces are as various as the tastes of his customers; to-day you may at Very's partake of a poulet à la Marengo, and to-morrow the same dish at the Trois Frères Provençaux will be as different as a wild from a tame duck. Our Gallic neighbours begin to discover, that we are rather better versed in the science of gastronomy than we were wont to be, and the cynic who stigmatized us as a nation who had “ Vingt religions et qu'une sauce," would be inclined in the present day to reverse the sarcasm. Now nothing

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can be so unjust and unmerited as this sweeping censure. low knew nothing about it. It so happens that London is deluged with sauces. Go to any hotel, and the very cruet-stand, containing the pyramidical crystals, will give the lie to the assertion. Why, Burgess alone could furnish a list which would fill a dozen of their cartes. I will even ask any disinterested frequenter of a French restaurant, if he have not many a time and oft longed for his anchovy, Harvey, and Soy, while discussing his "portion" of very questionable fish in Paris? I anticipate a ready affirmative to this truly momentous question.

Reader, do you really and truly hold in affection that rarely-to-bemet-with, but never-to-be-sufficiently admired indigenous dish-a well-dressed rump-steak? One question more, and I have done : Did you ever meet with one in perfection out of England? With your good leave I will tell you where your longing may be gratified, and in so doing I beg to premise that I am perfectly unbiassed in the preference I may give to one or more knights of the gridiron; and the valuable information I am about to impart is the result of much research. When Sterne wrote of things being better managed in France than in England, he never bethought him of a rump-steak. To this day a Frenchman knows as little about the mystery of cutting and dressing this dainty as an Esquimaux. Not many years have elapsed since I was asked by the garçon at Vefour's, in the Palais Royal, if I preferred a bifteck de mouton, or a bifteck de veau!!! This is a fact. But, revenons à nos moutons.

We have all read of the wisdom of the East. Now, I hold it to be a component part of wisdom to find out where the best eatables are to be found; but, whether the wisdom of the East extended to the science of gastronomy, I will not pretend to determine; nevertheless, the men of the East of the present day lack not the wisdom I would glorify, inasmuch as they give proof of their knowledge of the good things of this life, by supporting the purveyors of delicacies in the vicinity of their houses of business.

In a parallel line with Sweeting's Alley is a narrow passage, called Sweeting's Rents, in which stands a small house, having on its door the sponsorial abbreviation of "Joe." In either window may daily be seen, symmetrically arranged, an appetizing assortment of rumps of beef of first-rate quality, flanked by chops and cutlets of every denomination. The eye is riveted as if by magic upon this tempting display; to resist is impossible. On entering (for enter you must), you are accosted by Joe himself, in appropriate costume,-you point to the identical well-trimmed and marbled rump of beef you have selected in your mind's eye, and in a trice the coveted object is before you. A flourish or two on the steel pendant from his apron-string, and the keen blade has severed with a surgical neatness, a steak of just and proper thickness. But, ye lovers of juice and gravy! curb, I pray ye, Joe's barbarous propensity, he beats it: it is a vulgar habit, and breaks the cells in which the gravy of the meat is contained, thereby rendering your steak dry and tasteless. Having rescued the precious object of your choice from the martyrdom I have described, the next process in which you are visibly interested, whilst ensconced within a box, six feet by two, is patiently to watch the fiery ordeal the matchless morsel is undergoing. The huge grate and gigantic gridirons are worthy a pilgrimage to the City to behold. The fire-proof worthy

who superintends the grilling department is a living picture, and it is curious to watch the fostering care he bestows upon the succulent slices committed to his charge,-to observe the critical acumen which enables him to judge, ay to a second, when each chop or steak should be confided to the attendant waiter, who, plate and dish in hand, is at his side to transfer the hissing cargo to the longing customer. Then the never-palling potato, which in floury profusion is cracking under the canopy of the perforated steamer! These are luxuries which the curious in steaks enjoy at immortal Joe's. No meretricious aid is permitted to invade the immaculate cookery, such a eschalots, Harvey sauce, or mushroom-ketchup, with which half the soi-disant cooks disguise their abortions, or, more properly speak. ing, imitations; and, it has even been hinted to me that oyster sauce is interdicted: but this latter prohibition requires confirmation. There you have the genuine, unadorned rump-steak in perfection, unequalled in quality, and matchless in the dressing.

Now, I beg to be understood that there are many rival establishments where, perchance, a good steak may be had; but this I must and will say there is a tact, or, as the French say, a chique, at Joe's, for which you may look in vain elsewhere. The frequenters too of this multum in parvo are of the higher order of gourmands: there is, moreover, less of that admixture of class than you ordinarily encounter in chop-houses. It must be admitted that Joe has some formidable competitors in his immediate neighbourhood where the hungry passer-by may refresh himself most satisfactorily. On the right and on the left some very pretty pick. ing may be found; but the bills of fare are too varied to admit of the coquus magnus bestowing his undivided attention to the allengrossing steak. In Threadneedle-street, within a door or so of the far famed Le Mann, of crisp biscuit notoriety, is an establishment worthy of notice. It stands per se for the extempore diner. For instance, a matter-of-fact gentleman may have his dinner dressed for the moderate sum of one penny,-that is to say, if he bring it with him; and, to those who are choice in the selection of their animal food, this method of self-providing may possess attraction. far as I am concerned I cannot speak from experience, having an innate antipathy to fingering uncooked meat; but, many a wealthy grazier, farmer, and cornfactor, daily bring their purchased proven. der to this public kitchen, and there discuss their steak or chop. For the convenience of amateur buyers a butcher of no little renown has a well-stocked shop adjoining, where the tastes of such fre quenters can be amply gratified. I am told that a real connoisseur will pronounce this the ne plus ultra of philo-rump-steakitiveness.

I could fill a volume in praise of a thoroughly good rump-steak dinner; but, as it is not my intention to confine myself to this branch of English fare, I will take my leave of the interesting subject, and proceed to mention some few establishments where a moderate feeder with circumscribed means, can procure a wholesome, comfortable, well-dressed meal. I write not of luxuries-such as finger-napkins, silver forks, nor even, perhaps, an unsullied table cloth-but a plain statement of a cheap and good dinner, of which hundreds partake daily, not only in the City, but at the West End of the town. Be. ginning with the most moderate in point of price, I shall ascend the scale of epicurism, increasing in expense as well as luxury, until

reason and common sense check my description. I could go beyond the utmost limits that have ever yet met the public eye as to extravagance, costliness, and recherchés repasts, were I not fearful of compromising some of my acquaintances, who would, I trust, wish such follies kept secret. If I were to transgress in this particular, it would be to prove that the much-vaunted Rocher de Cancale, the whole Palais Royal, and I would even throw in the Tuileries to boot, cannot match a first-rate entertainment in London. But, to return to our humble narrative. Much has been advanced by the advocates for expatriation as to the cheapness of living on the Continent. They are little aware for how moderate a sum the half-pay officer, or ill paid clerk, can obtain a good dinner in London. The number of eating

houses in the City alone, on a surprisingly economical scale, are incalculable.

Behind the Mansion House are several, and, among others, I can make favourable mention of "Izod's." I was induced some time since to accompany a venerable sub, on half-pay, to this cut-and-comeagain establishment. I did so at his earnest solicitation, for, to say the truth, I had a latent aversion to (what I then conceived to be) the cheap system. My provident companion quieted my misgivings and I am bound, in justice to say, that all_scruples vanished before I had been under his roof many minutes. It was easy to discover that my antiquated friend stood high in the favour both of landlord and waiter. He was greeted obsequiously; and on approaching a particular corner of the snuggest box in the room, which the old campaigner had appropriated to himself for many months, all those little preliminary attentions were bestowed upon us, which a casual customer could never command. As soon as the circumscribed spot whereon our frugal meal was to be spread, was duly prepared to the satisfaction of the waiter-in-chief, some whispering took place betwen this functionary and mine ancient lieutenant, during which cautionary communication I caught the sounds-" best joint"—" sirloin"—" quite hot"—" under part”—“ first cut”—“ fat”—“ gravy." An approving nod from my friend sent the smirking attendant skipping across the room, in an angular corner of which I had observed a machine resembling an ear. trumpet protruding from the wall. To this piece of mechanism he applied his mouth, and, with lungs potential, communicated his orders to the regions below. In an incredibly short space of time we had placed before us two scorching plates, the contents of which were carefully concealed by bright tin covers. These were accompanied by two diminutive oval dishes, on which the presiding deity below had kindly sent us half-a-dozen as farinaceous specimens of Hibernian fruit, as ever greeted the lover of " 'taties all 'ot." A tap on one of the aforesaid covers, inflicted by my companion with a tri-pronged weapon, which was to perform the duty of a silver fork, caused their removal, and my sight was gratified by a plentiful supply of as good roasted beef as any private gentleman need wish to feed upon. Of a verity it was excellent: a better meal I never made. I chimed in with the humour of my old friend, and pledged him in a pint of genuine stout. Reader, for this dinner, including bread, vegetables, and the two pints of Barclay and Perkins' best, we paid but one shilling each! On expressing my astonishment at the very low price, my military mentor informed me that there were many establishments at which the "low in pocket" are fed for a less

sum. I marvelled much; but such things are. My unambitious friend appeared content with the lot fortune had awarded him; he told me he had a snug little room on a second floor, in an airy situa tion in the classic regions of the City Road; that he allowed himself one shilling for his dinner, and sixpence for his breakfast; his lodg ing cost him five-and-sixpence a week, including all extras; so that the pittance afforded him by the Government for many years' hard service, sufficed for all his wants.

Leaving our militaire, to whom a nation's gratitude has permitted an indulgence in Mr. Izod's good cheer, I will take another step up the gastronomic ladder, and carry the reader somewhat towards the West, although still within the confines of the Lord Mayor's domi. nions. Of Fleet-street am I about to write, in which frequented thoroughfare is situated a house of refreshment, combining three advantages under one roof-a tavern, a hotel, and an eating-house. It is dignified by the second denomination, having for its title " Anderton's Hotel." Ye lovers of boiled beef pardon me, I beseech ye, for pass. ing unnoticed Williams's celebrated emporium in the Old Bailey; it needeth not any humble attempt of mine to add to its reputation; it lacketh not celebrity, for its three rooms in their several gradations of gentility, are daily thronged by the curious in corned meats. I am informed that the excellence of the saline condiments at this unique house of entertainment is attributable to a peculiar receipt which has been in the family for years, and handed down to the present proprietor, who is as jealous as his forefathers could wish of the unrivalled secret. I have said there are three rooms; they vary in price. The first as you enter on the left is the cheapest, or sixpenny apartment. Here may be seen every day, from twelve to one o'clock, the lean, the hungry, and the unwashed, the out-pouring of the Central Criminal Court-messengers, runners, and the tipstaff's followers. The second, or intermediate Refectory, is at the opposite extremity of the building, the centre room being reserved for visiters of pretension— a class of persons possessing more money than wisdom, who are won to indulge in the pride of purse, and who vainly imagine that by ordering expensive dinners at a fourth-rate eating-house, and scolding the servants, they impress the public with an idea of their own consequence and gentility. The centre, or coffee-room, is comfort. able enough, plentifully supplied with the daily papers and leading periodicals. To define the particular classes of persons who congre gate to pay their devotions to the rounds and briskets so inimitably pickled by Mr. Williams, would be impossible. The most remark. able are the dapper linendraper's assistant; the half-pay officer, whose gait and costume but ill conceal his profession; and the tradesman well to do in the world. Next in rotation is your regular beef-eater; he of the plump and oily visage, and of Falstaff's make. Watch the impatient twinkle of his small grey eye as he casts a wistful glance at the door through which the savoury slices of his favourite joint are to be conveyed to him. Your would-be dandy also occasionally patronizes Mr. Williams. He invariably addresses the maid in waiting with "Mary, my dear," or "Fanny, my love, hand us the bill of fare." The undaunted dandy then proceeds, after scanning the said bill, to order, what is not included in the list of edibles, such as roast fowl and 'am, or roast lamb and mint-sauce.

Upon being informed these delicacies are not attainable, he Well, then, bring me some b'iled beef and greens, and

adds,

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