Judge, 1921-02-19 · page 5 of 32
Judge — February 19, 1921 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "Hash and Pulchritude" by Harry Irving Shumway This article satirizes the contrast between poor food quality and attractive waitress service at restaurants, particularly the Chicalee. The author argues that while diners endure mediocre "hash" (cheap food), they're compensated by the visual appeal ("pulchritude") of the waitresses. The top illustration shows a lively restaurant scene with well-dressed patrons and attentive female servers. The accompanying text humorously critiques how restaurants—especially Dernigans—succeed not through culinary excellence but through employing attractive waitresses who distract customers from bad food. The piece mocks both the restaurant industry's strategy and male patrons' willingness to accept poor meals in exchange for aesthetic distraction, presenting this as a commentary on gender roles and consumer culture in early 20th-century dining establishments.
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itn it A Wuy sHOULD WE CAVIL AT THE PORTIONS GIVEN WHEN WE CAN FEAST ON THE MOKE SATISFYING EYES, HAIR AND Ups? Hash and Pulchritude By Harry Irvinc Suumway HE waitresses at the Chicadee are comely, demure, starched, talkative and so charming that the abnormal prices charged for dainties go unnoticed, so attractive are the girls, They really go to make this place what it is and without them it would lose its color. Hash would be hash, while now it is ) England ambrosia. No amount of ketchup would make it otherwise. Therefore it becomes noticeable that a restaurant is known by the girls it employs. Many people might say that food would be what made for the success of a restaurant, but that is a minor affair. It’s girls. No one ever lunches in this popular resort and leaves with any pronounced feeling that he has had more than enough food. The doughnuts are small, true, but are not Jennie’s eyes beautiful? The chicken pie contains an infinitesimal amount of chicken, but are not Maizie’s teeth away ahead of any pearls, with or without price? The fractional cut of pie has been carried into decimals, but has anyone ever seen a com- plexion like Maude’s? Why should we cavil at the portions given when we can feast on the more satisfying eyes, hair, lips and alabaster necks? A man who places mundane food ahead of beauty deserves not to cat here and he doesn’t cither. Now at Dernigan’s the eye has not been appealed to. It has been carefully thought out that nothing contributes to the excel- lence of a restaurant like food. This is not a restaurant anyway’; it is a feeding-place. And going a step further, they have de- cided that if food is a good thing, lots of food is better. The same plan has been worked out in regard to waitresses. If a waitress is a good thing, the biggest ones are the best. And truthfully, they are the biggest in captivity. Huge and happy they are, and so long as we have no antipathy for the letter “H,” they are also hale and hearty. Suz 1s Too Panoramic of wi You go in there some day with a vacant space that needs an occupant. Food is what you need, in large, hungry man’s portions. You sit down and scan the cardboard bill of fare. Some one before you has left his thumb print impressed upon it forever, butter being the medium instead of ink. Maybe he was a criminal and has fled leaving this incriminating evidence behind him. The items are very filling, even in type. Roast young pig with stuffing is one and boiled fancy brisket with brussels sprouts is another. A cloud comes over the vicinity and you feel that the sun has gone in. But it is a waitress who has shut out the light, enormous and a living advertisement for any restaurant. She unfurls a napkin with a gigantic flourish and pours a glass of water for you. When you get the range, you tell her that roast young pig appeals to you. She does not turn, herself, but her mouth does; wonderful trick it is too, and she suddenly blasts forth “roast young pig” in a voice which rattles the dishes. Then she sets sail for the plates and knives and forks, leaving a wake of disturbed air, as she plows on. She is back in port shortly with the young pig and apple sauce There are also a few sections of corn bread that are proportionate in size to the wait ing Amazon. You can not cat all that is put before you here, any more than you can focus the whole of the waitress at one glance of the eye. She is too panoramic. And while you may possess a roving eye, it will be hope- lessly inadequate to engulf her. They even have toothpicks in this place that are twice as big as the usual ones. It is, all in all, a bad place for a small man to patronize, He will feel like a brother to an atom. All restaurants have their peculiar type tress. They are as distinctive as the i i comicbooks.com