The stewards say that the earmark of the American passenger is his insistence on grapefruit for breakfast. After the grapefruit he wants a cereal and then eggs, perhaps with bacon or ham, and toast and coffee. The Englishman is more likely to ask for a grilled bloater, ham or a rasher of bacon, a couple of fried eggs and oceans of tea. The stewards have to provide for every national taste in their international bills of fare.
Some standbys, such as roasts of beef, turkey, chicken and lamb, boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, turnips, string beans and cold meats, are on every menu. On most ships cold meats are a feature on sailing day; a table heaped with decorated cold meats is placed in the dining room. The average menu for dinner in the dining room includes soup, fish (small portions of each of these), an entree, a roast, a salad, sweets, coffee and cheese.
Most of the largest ships, for instance the "Majestic" and "Olympic," carry French restaurants. The meals in the dining room are paid for by every passenger when he buys his ticket, but some prefer to eat in the French restaurant, which costs them an average of $10 a day each. Those who prefer the restaurant are principally the society people on board and those who ape society's manners.
The Punch and Judy Show Has Almost Disappeared in the United States, But the French Liners Have Provided the Immortal Manikins to Entertain Children, and Grown-Ups, Too
Those who eat in the dining room have breakfast between eight and ten o'clock. The lady who has her meals in the French restaurant is likely to order coffee and rolls in her room about 10 a.m. She comes to the restaurant for her first meal at 12:30 or 1 p.m. At 8 p.m. she has an elaborate dinner, remaining at the table for a couple of hours.
She will order delicacies, such as artichokes, braised chicory, salads of tender young vegetables, romaine, hearts of lettuce, snails, plover's eggs in jelly, steak Chateaubriand, which is a steak cooked between two steaks, a great variety of shellfish, pheasant and grouse.
The waiters in the dining room on English ships are English, in the restaurant, French or Italian. These waiters, or rather stewards, are paid about forty-five
