To Evade Pre-Prohibition Drinking Laws, New Yorkers Created the World’s Worst Sandwich
NEAR THE END OF THE 19th century, New Yorkers out for a drink partook in one of the more unusual rituals in the annals of hospitality. When they ordered an ale or whisky, the waiter or bartender would bring it out with a sandwich. Generally speaking, the sandwich was not edible. It was “an old desiccated ruin of dust-laden bread and mummified ham or cheese,” wrote the playwright Eugene O’Neill. Other times it was made of rubber. Bar staff would commonly take the sandwich back seconds after it had arrived, pair it with the next beverage order, and whisk it over to another patron’s table. Some sandwiches were kept in circulation for a week or more.
Bar owners insisted on this bizarre charade to avoid breaking the law—specifically, the excise law of 1896, which restricted how and when drinks could be served in New York State. The so-called Raines Law was a combination of good intentions, unstated prejudices, and unforeseen consequences, among them the comically unsavory Raines sandwich.
[ snip ]
I remeber that ‘carrying over’ in New York State into the mid 50s(at least).
There was always an obligatory cheese sandwich in waxed paper in the bar area, which met the ‘food requirements’.
When Virginia introduced ‘booze’ in bars, the initial requirements were pretty stringent.
Had to had a ‘high’ percentage of FOOD, no ‘sit down’ bar, which had some owners cutting down some pretty nice bars and making them ‘service bars’ ... that law was changed in a couple of years and those that were wise enough to ‘wait’ were now able to get booze PLUS have a nice bar to serve from.
In today’s world, someone is missing the point as far as shutting down the bar part of bars/restaurants, as (from my not so casual observances) ‘strangers’ in a bar tend to ‘distance themselves’ and the regulars would be sitting SOMEPLACE shouting and ‘spittling’ in each other face.
My landlord (who has really proved what he is/was ever since PDJT elected and now with the beerflu) was visiting the other day and sitting across the room etc and mentioned that even at that distance spittle can travel and I was ‘wrong’ about the masks....
I not so politely told him that if he just wasn’t casually passing some data he knew where the door was AND what good is a mask if you are sneezing and hacking into it then inhaling the waste?, stir and cycle etc.
I then went into a ‘tirade’ about HIM touching gas pumps/nozzles, MY door knob, how do I know what kind of nasty Schiff he tracked in, does he burn his clothers before going into his house etc....
Fortunately, he doesn’t ‘visit’ all that often and I really can’t figure out why....<: <: <: