Lew was just headed out to Kinsley's for a late steak when Nate called him into the office, reaching to fetch down a new folder.
* * * * * * * * * *
Kinsley's restaurant in 1885.
The photograph of the exterior of Kinsley's was, um, "found" here. Jan Whitaker has a brief biography of H.M. Kinsley at this link. Kinsley, hired to help with setting up restaurants at the Fair, hosted a lavish inaugural dinner for the Fair in which the Vice President and many other major political figures were in attendance. And while that's interesting, and ties in to the timeline of this book, I think the most interesting bit that ties in with the themes of the book are his attitude toward race at the time. Jan Whitaker writes, "Kinsley took positions on the issues of race and tipping that were at odds with many restaurateurs of his time. He declared in 1880s he was always willing to serve Afro-American customers, thought black waiters were among the finest, and found tipping a reasonable system of remuneration that encouraged good service." I like this guy. And I imagine Pynchon did too which is why he drops his name in this sentence.
The fact that Lew can afford a steak at Kinsley's means he's making really good money with White City Investigations. I suppose that's always going to be the case when you're working for The Man to keep poor people poor and unsafe working conditions unsafe.
Where does Nate keep his folders?! I guess in his combination sideboard, bookcase, and filing cabinet. It's probably huge. To store all the liquor bottles.
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