European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 1, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Where real men steal away to eat red meat by Rick Hampson the associated press sixty years after prohibition ended and Speake Asies closed new yorkers Are again sneaking off to shadowy masculine bastions to consume a forbidden substance. They re going to steakhouses to eat red meat. And just As bootleggers once shot up Chicago steakhouses now Are trying to carve up new York. Despite red meat s unhealthy _ reputation and the City s unhealthy Economy the big Apple is one of the beef eating est places around. The nation s two most prominent upscale Steakhouse chains a Morton s of Chicago and Ruth s Chris Steak House a arrived this fall with knives drawn. They join the City s Many other steakhouses that have thrived during a recession that has decimated the ranks of High end restaurants. Still other eateries like the american festival in Rockefeller Center Are beefing up their menus. In an attempt to understand this subculture the associated press went to see what goes on in one of these Dens a of iniquity. Here s what it saw and heard t Quot i. Quot Jose let s Seq one of Tolje a.  Mike Archer president of the a Morton s of Chicago steakhouses Waits eagerly As the Chei reaches behind the Kitchen counter and produces a huge hunk of  a aged three weeks fresh from the Midwest. As Archer takes the porterhouse his hand trembles slightly possibly from exertion possibly from  s three pounds of meat Quot he says in apparent Awe. Quot it s scary to think people eat this but they  in fact 80 percent of those who order Morton s porterhouse choose the 48-ounce version $59.90, a la carte Over the 24-ounce Cut $29,95. Many order it for iwo but some devour it Solo. Like a speakeasy Morton s is entered through a thick windowless mahogany door. The Patron is greeted like a regular and enters a softly lit masculine room with Black and White sports photos on the Walls. The background music is Sinatra and Sinatra Only. Quot the menu is written on a Chalk Board that hangs on a Brick Wall near the Kitchen whose powerful broilers Are Mike Archer looks Over his selection of Choice chunks of beet visible from the dining room through Large open windows. J _ in such surroundings it s easy to forget that since 1976 per capita beef consumption in the nation has declined almost 30 percent partly because of Cost partly because of concern about the Healthfulness of r6o meat. Quot people Don t eat beef at Home like they used to Quot concedes Archer 33. Quot but they still go out for  maybe they have to. As usual most of Poi Hub we Are what we Are. This is what people  Mike Archer president of Morton a of Chicago the diners Are men. Quot maybe they re sneaking out for a Steak Quot Archer muses. Then he shrugs Quot we Jfe what we Are. This is what people  another Chicago Guy Al Capone could t have said it better a Archer opens the door Toa Small Mahagony panelled private dining room where a Long table is set elegantly for 12. The soft recessed ceiling lights cast shadows Over Archer s eyes adding to the vaguely illicit atmosphere. In another touch that recalls the speakeasy which eschewed incriminating paperwork motion s has no printed dinner menu. So the waiter a.j., wheels up a cart loaded with cuts of raw meat wrapped in cellophane and olivers an Oral presentation As convincingly As any Soliloquy a few blocks West on Broadway. A a. Recommends the Threet Pound Rte House Quot if you re feeling especially Ungry Quot ignoring the fact that the worst Glutton in ancient Rome never Felt that hungry. The Cut often provokes a Wager among diners Quot if you eat it i pay for  Quot. When the meat arrives the talk stops. The chewing and slurping recall the Good of Ltd Days of Cave and campfire the latter in tins Case has been replaced by a 1,500-degree broiler that Sears the outside of the meat Locking in the red juices. The meal consumed Archer waxes philosophic Quot the american Public understands and appreciates the Steakhouse. I enjoy going to a Fine French restaurant but you la never leave Here asking now what s for dinner Quot _ instead you May ask Quot How do i pay apr it Quot the average Tab per person before tip or tax about $55, Short subject multicultural monikers add twist to name game by Kevin  the Washington Post  Umamaheswa ran and Mallika Umamaheswa ran Are each known As Uma. Phengsavanh Khammoun Khoune goes by his initials  and Elias Demetr Copoulos is called Elias d. It s just easier that Way. Americans have never been known for a facility with Long names. Most have just about mastered a Ste thanopoulos a although ask 10 people to spell it and the result would probably look like somebody spilled the scrabble Box. Even Gen. John m. Shalikashvil the chairman  next tothe president perhaps the nation s most saluted Man answers his phone with is nickname Quot John  and As More multicultural spice is added to the country s melting pot the Umas and Shalis and others with Meg asyl Labia names Are becoming More common. A Quick Breeze through the phone Book in Washington turns up residents with names such As Andrianifaha Nana. Wije Goonawardena  Triantas Hytopoulos Schimmel pfennig Antaram assalam Vanderbee Straeten and . Vandvander / mens Brugge As in Cecilia and Emmanuel. Cecilia Van Der mens Brugge Van Der mens Bruh gah says that europeans can pronounce and spell her 17-letter belgian name but not the yanks. When she and her husband an economist for the International monetary fund drop off dry cleaning or make restaurant reservations they use the name a  its easier to pronounce and it spares them the annoyance of seeing their name butchered. Consider the Way Van Der mens Brugge s name is spelled on various credit card Sand documents on her blockbuster video card she is Tammens Brugge Cecil at Safeway. Vandermyn Brugg aaa Vanzander mens Brug. The if where she works got it right on her identification card but the name had to be stretched but Over two lines. Immigrants historically have changed and shortened  to avoid confusion or discrimination or to appear willing to assimilate into american culture said Alan Kraut an american University professor who specializes in immigration history but things have changed. Quot we be realty run the Gamut since the 1950s, when people changed their names out of fear of appearing foreign to few when people take enormous Pride in  roots Quot Kraut said. / Jules Andrianifaha Nana an Dree a Nee Faha Nanaa retired vice Consul from Madagascar who lives in Washington said some americans have trouble pronouncing his eight syllable name but he never considered shortening or changing it. For a very simple  its my name Quot he said. Shatika Shpiti wednesday december 1# 1993 the stars and stripes