kitchen in the rear of the room devoted to public service and family
affairs. Soft-voiced Rita, with her demure air and her resemblance to
Evangeline, with her crossed apron, strings and delicate features, takes
your order, and soon comes the booming sound from the neighborhood of
the range, that announces to all patrons, as well as to some who may be
in the vicinity on the street, that your order is ready, and then
everybody knows what you are eating. As you sit, either in curtained
alcove or at the common table in the main room, little Andrea will visit
you with his cat. Both are institutions of the place and one is, prone
to wonder how a cat can have so much patience with a little boy. Andrea
speaks Italian so fluently and so rapidly that it gives you the
impression of a quick rushing stream of pure water, tumbling over the
stones of a steep declivity. He is not yet old enough to understand that
it is not everybody who knows how to speak Italian, but that makes not
the slightest difference with him, for he talks without ever expecting
an answer.

Lazzarini understands the art and science of cooking, and some of the
dishes he prepares are so unusual that one goes again and again to
partake of them: Possibly his best dish is the following:

Chicken a la Leon D'oro

Cut a spring chicken into pieces. Place these in a pan containing hot
olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Turn the chicken until it is
thoroughly browned, and add finely chopped green peppers. Let it cook
awhile then add a finely chopped clove of garlic and a little sage. Put
in a small glass of Marsala wine, tomato sauce and French mushrooms and
let simmer for ten minutes. Before taking from the pan add half a
tablespoonful of butter and serve on a hot plate.