restaurant which obtained fame all over the world. Herr Pfordte is a man of small stature, but of most courteous and polished manners, and he is no exception to the general rule that small men have usually great brains. His restaurant in the Rathhaus Gardens was a cosy, pleasant place, where the waiters talked all languages under the sun, and where excellent oysters, trout from the hill streams, partridges with apricots, and truffles en serviette were some of the most appreci- ated of the specialties. The special adornment of the hall in Pfordte’s old restaurant was a picture painted for Herr Pfordte under rather unusual con- ditions. The painter wished to give a dinner to his club friends and consulted Herr Pfordte as to the price. Pfordte said that he would supply the dinner, and that as payment the artist should paint him a picture. The dinner was given, and was said at the time to have been the best dinner ever served in Germany, and the artist showed his appreciation of it by painting a masterpiece. Herr Pfordte is now to be found amidst new and far more luxurious surroundings than in his old res- taurant, but something of the charm, something of the cosiness, seems to have evaporated in the change. The excellent cellar of wines which Pfordte had collected in his old house has been moved without any accident to the cellars of the Atlantic, and the Bordeaux of numerous choice vintages which Pfordte collected taste as well on the banks of the Alster as they did at the edge of the gardens. But the present restaurant is far smarter than the old one, and whereas at the old Pfordte’s the German gentlemen who frequented it did not as a rule wear dress clothes, at the new Pfordte’s, if you wish to obtain a table in the big front room which looks on to the Alster, it is wise to go there in dress clothes. The big room of the new restaurant is panelled with light brown Q 210 Tthe Gourmets Guide to Europe wood, its windows have a view over the Alster, and there is always a profusion of flowers in its window- boxes. The other rooms are all well decorated, one with green walls and a green carpet having a sug- gestion of the snugness of the old Pfordte’s. A string band plays during meals, the “ Chasseurs ” wear scarlet jackets, and all the surroundings are those of a modern up-to-date cosmopolitan restaurant. The price of the dinner of the day at the old Pfordte’s used to be 6 marks, but at the new Pfordte’s it has risen to 7 marks. The bill of fare in old days used to give a choice of four or five dishes in each course. Now a choice of two dishes in each course is considered sufficient. As a curiosity, more than as a guide to what may be expected at the present Pfordte’s, I give the average menu of the dinner of the day at the old Pfordte’s. The English celery distinguishes what we know as celery from celleriac or Dutch celery, which is largely used in salads in North Germany. The Junge Puter is a very young turkey poult. . It is to the young turkey what the poussin is to the chicken. Potage a la Stuart. Potage creme d’orge a la Viennoise. Potage puree de concombres au cerfeuil. Consomme Xavier. Filets von Seezungen (soles) a la Joinville. Steinbutt (turbot) sauce moscovite. Rheinlachs kalt, sauce mayonnaise. Bceuf braise a l’alsacienne. Rehbriicken (venison) a la Conti. Lammviertel a la Proven^ale. Roast beef a la Clamart.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

restaurant which obtained fame all over the world. Herr Pfordte is a man of small stature, but of most courteous and polished manners, and he is no exception to the general rule that small men have usually great brains. His restaurant in the Rathhaus Gardens was a cosy, pleasant place, where the waiters talked all languages under the sun, and where excellent oysters, trout from the hill streams, partridges with apricots, and truffles en serviette were some of the most appreciated of the specialties. The special adornment of the hall in Pfordte’s old restaurant was a picture painted for Herr Pfordte under rather unusual conditions. The painter wished to give a dinner to his club friends and consulted Herr Pfordte as to the price. Pfordte said that he would supply the dinner, and that as payment the artist should paint him a picture. The dinner was given, and was said at the time to have been the best dinner ever served in Germany, and the artist showed his appreciation of it by painting a masterpiece. Herr Pfordte is now to be found amidst new and far more luxurious surroundings than in his old restaurant, but something of the charm, something of the cosiness, seems to have evaporated in the change. The excellent cellar of wines which Pfordte had collected in his old house has been moved without any accident to the cellars of the Atlantic, and the Bordeaux of numerous choice vintages which Pfordte collected taste as well on the banks of the Alster as they did at the edge of the gardens. But the present restaurant is far smarter than the old one, and whereas at the old Pfordte’s the German gentlemen who frequented it did not as a rule wear dress clothes, at the new Pfordte’s, if you wish to obtain a table in the big front room which looks on to the Alster, it is wise to go there in dress clothes. The big room of the new restaurant is panelled with light brown [illustration: Q] 210 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe wood, its windows have a view over the Alster, and there is always a profusion of flowers in its windowboxes. The other rooms are all well decorated, one with green walls and a green carpet having a suggestion of the snugness of the old Pfordte’s. A string band plays during meals, the “ Chasseurs ” wear scarlet jackets, and all the surroundings are those of a modern up-to-date cosmopolitan restaurant. The price of the dinner of the day at the old Pfordte’s used to be 6 marks, but at the new Pfordte’s it has risen to 7 marks. The bill of fare in old days used to give a choice of four or five dishes in each course. Now a choice of two dishes in each course is considered sufficient. As a curiosity, more than as a guide to what may be expected at the present Pfordte’s, I give the average menu of the dinner of the day at the old Pfordte’s. The English celery distinguishes what we know as celery from celleriac or Dutch celery, which is largely used in salads in North Germany. The Junge Puter is a very young turkey poult. . It is to the young turkey what the poussin is to the chicken. Potage a la Stuart. Potage creme d’orge a la Viennoise. Potage puree de concombres au cerfeuil. Consomme Xavier. Filets von Seezungen (soles) a la Joinville. Steinbutt (turbot) sauce moscovite. Rheinlachs kalt, sauce mayonnaise. Bceuf braise a l’alsacienne. Rehbriicken (venison) a la Conti. Lammviertel a la Proven^ale. Roast beef a la Clamart.

The gourmet's guide to Europe