.

Above all there is an art sense all through the populace which sets it
off from any other part of the country. This sense is almost Latin in
its strength, and the Californian owes it to the leaven of Latin blood.

THE 'FRISCO RESTAURANTS.

With such a people life was always gay. If they did not show it on the
streets, as do the people of Paris, it was because the winds made
open cafes disagreeable at all seasons of the year. The gayety went on
indoors or out on the hundreds of estates that fringed the city. It was
noted for its restaurants. Perhaps people who cared not how they spent
their money could get the best they wished, but for a dollar down to as
low as fifteen cents the restaurants furnished the best fare to be had
anywhere at the price.

The country all about produced everything that a cook needs, and that
in abundance--the bay was an almost untapped fish-pond, the fruit
farms came up to the very edge of the town, and the surrounding country
produced in abundance fine meats, all cereals and all vegetables.

But the chefs who came from France in the early days and liked this land
of plenty were the head and front of it. They passed their art to other
Frenchmen or to the clever Chinese. Most of the French chefs at the
biggest restaurants were born in Canton, China. Later the Italians,
learning of this country where good food is appreciated, came and
brought their own style. Householders always dined out one or two
nights of the week, and boarding houses were scarce, for the unattached
preferred the restaurants. The eating was usually better than the
surroundings.

THE FAMOUS POODLE DOG.

Meals that were marvels were served in tumbledown little hotels. Most
famous of all the restaurants was the Poodle Dog. There have been no
less than four restaurants of this name, beginning with a frame shanty
where, in the early days, a prince of French cooks used to exchange
recipes for gold dust. Each succeeding restaurant of the name has moved
farther downtown; and the recent Poodle Dog stands--or stood--on the
edge of the Tenderloin in a modern five-story building. And it typified
a certain spirit that there was in San Francisco.

On the ground floor was a public restaurant where there was served the
best dollar dinner on earth. It ranked with the best and the others were
in San Francisco. Here, especially on Sunday night, almost everybody
went to vary the monotony of home cooking. Every one who was any