York's newest clubs is known as the Coffee House. It is in
West Forty-fifth Street, and has been in existence since December, 1915,
when it was opened with an informal dinner, at which the late Joseph H.
Choate, one of the original members, outlined the purpose and policies
of the club.

The founders of the Coffee House were convinced--as the result of the
high dues and constantly increasing formality and discipline in the
social clubs in New York--that there was need here for a moderate-priced
eating and meeting place, which should be run in the simplest possible
way and with the least possible expense.

At the beginning of its career, the club framed, adopted, and has since
lived up to, a most informal constitution: "No officers, no liveries, no
tips, no set speeches, no charge accounts, no RULES."

The membership is made up, for the most part, of painters, writers,
sculptors, architects, actors, and members of other professions. Members
are expected to pay cash for all orders. There are no proposals of
candidates for membership. The club invites to join it those whom it
believes to be in sympathy with the ideals of its founders.

The method of preparing coffee for individual service in the
Waldorf-Astoria, New York, which has been adopted by many first-class
hotels and restaurants that do not serve urn-made coffee exclusively, is
the French drip plus careful attention to all the contributing factors
for making coffee in perfection, and is thus described by the hotel's
steward:

[Illustration: BRITANNIA COFFEE POT FROM WHICH ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS OFTEN
SERVED IN NEW SALEM

Its story is told on page 614]

A French china drip coffee pot is used. It is kept in a warm
heater; and when the coffee is ordered, this pot is scalded with
hot water. A level tablespoonful of coffee, ground to about the
consistency of granulated sugar, is put into the upper and
percolator part of the coffee pot. Fresh boiling water is then
poured through the coffee and allowed to percolate into the lower
part of the pot. The secret of success, according to our
experience, lies in having the coffee freshly ground, and the water
as near the boiling point as possible, all during the process. For
this reason, the coffee pot should be placed on a gas stove or
range. The quantity of coffee can be varied to suit individual
taste. We use about ten percent more ground coffee for after dinner