New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-12-06
EATING IN EUROPE.
NOTES ON FAMOUS RESTAURANTS AMI
ROYAL, KITCHENS

| fhp
aware Of the fact that the dishwater in whlcn the
vIa,os ond dishes are washed is only changed ana
renewed once in every twelve monthsF yen .nis
10 tho strict but scarcely the sober truth. Inc
method is far less unclean than it appears at rst
| sight For the dishwater, after standing tor
| yeet mr. so develops strong ammoniacal propertes'
| which have the effect of Immediately removing
all grease from the plates and dishes dipped tnere
| in The grease thus loosened by the ammonia
remains floating about on the surface ana -
| skinned of once a day, placed In tup. anu
disposed of by the chef as one OF his perquiSieS
| Rv the end Of twelve months the dishwater has
become converted into almost pure ammonia
Apropos of restaurants, am frequently askeo
| by friends and acquaintance here to give theni
| nointersp on the important question Of where
| to dine and what to order when on the o'her
side of the Atlantic. They apparently take ~
for granted that since dinners. banquets ana ue-
ieuners play so important role In the dipioma,ic
intercourse of nations, diplomat must OF necessity
he a gourmet. The latter however. cannot, LII
any way, claim to be- For my gastronomica'
| taste must certainly have become somewhat VIII
ated by the extraordinary and sometimes down
right uncanny things which / have been called
upon to eat i'm the various parts of the globe n
man who has promenaded his digestion twice
around the world and who has subjected that long
suffering department Of the human anatomy 70
the most uncatholic and infdel of dishes, can
scarcely be expected to have retained intact what
| might be described as the pristine delicacy OF
his palate
Possibly ii is attributable to this faded and
desillusonne character of my digestion that can
| no longer find it in my power to pay the same
homage TO the culinary excellence OF the famous
restaurants of the Paris Boulevards as in days OF
yore. 1t is a fact. however. that with two or
three exceptions, they are no longer what they
used to be- Verdier. the proprietor of the Malson
Doree is dead. So, too is old Bignon, of the Cafe
Richie; while his good-looking son and successor
has retired from business, in order TO enjoy his
enormous fortune. The Cafe Anglais and Brebant
| have fallen into the hands of syndcates or cor
porations, and the cooking is no longer what II
was. The glory of Les Trois Freres PrOvenceaux'
and of Veron has long since departed from them
They merely continue to subsist on the remnants oil
the great fame which they achieved thirty and
forty years ago. AS for the Bgnon restaurant on
| the Avenue dc rOpera it has long since been
given over to Levantines to South Americans, and
| 10 Russians who are visiting Paris for the first
time 1t constitutes the headquarters of that
particular species of Objectionable stranger known
as the rastaquouere, and its prices well as its
cooking are merely fit for-well, for the bar
barians. No true Partisan would ever dream OF
submitting TO either the one or the other In
deed the only two frstclass restaurants which
still continue to live up to their old reputation
and pre-eminence are Paileron and Voisin. The
latter, in particular, is famous from one end Of
Europe to the other for its superb wines, and it
is worthy of note that whenever the Prince of
Wales is staying at the Hotel Bristol he invariably
has all the wines served at its table specially
brought from Voisin's TO the hotel VOisin's, beside
being the favorite dining place Of most Of those
| old Partisan gourmets who recognize other
divinity than the Kitchen Cod is likewise the
restaurant preferred beyond all others by the
Muscovitc Grand Duke Alexis and the other
members of the Imperial family of Russia. Lord
Lyons, too, the British ambassador, who had
no other object in life save his Queen,
his country and his stomach, and WHO
remained bachelor until his death in consequence
of his fear that married life might impair his
digestion-as it does that of most people-was
likewise grand supporter of Voisin's, and might
often be seen stroling along the Rue du Faubourg
st. IIonore from the Embassy to the cafe. His
successor, Lord Lytton, who has just passed away,
seemed to prefer Pailleron. ! would recommend
the later for dejeuner, the genius of its presid
ing chef apparently atidlDing the acme of its
brilliancy toward noon while VOisins is I'M
doubtedly at it's best in the evening
OF course l. do not wish to American
visitors to Paris away from such restaurants as
the Cafe Richie, the Maison Dorce and the Cafe
Anglais. My only object is to prevent them
| from being disappointed from forming an
erroneous impression of the Partisan cuisine.
But even though the master hand of old Bingon
has disappeared. it may still be possible to obtain
at the Cafe Richie that royal dish oil +" carpe a la
Chambord" which was formerly regarded as
Innumerabe stories are told OF both old and young
Bgnon each of them characters in their way.
Is it possible to conceive any answer better cal
culated to turn away the wrath of guest than
that made by the latter TO Prince Narshkine
"What is this, Bignon P" the Russian exclaimed,
fifteen francs for one peach? Peaches must be
rare, indeed"
1T is not the peaches that are rare, Prince "
replied young Bignon, in soft tones, but the
| NarishlIins. >
] At the Maison Doree, where, although Verdier
is dead, his Chef old Moisson, still presides over the
| kitchen, the most famous plat is the "CannetOn
Rouennais aux Oranges. The great Co of
the private dning-rooms upstairs was as noted in
times gone by for its scenes Of revelry as the
great l6' of the Cafe Anglais across the way
1t was on leaving the No. 6" after a copious
dinner that the late Duke of Hamilton pitched
head foremost down the stairs and rolled dead
into the gutter 1t down those same steps
several years later, that his son. the late Lord
Carlo" Hamilton rushed to take flying hori-
zonta leap, rather dive, through the glass panes
Of the newspaper kiosque which stood on the
edge of the pavement. "Madcap Carlo who
had performed this extraordinary feat as the
result of a postprandial wager, alighted on his
hands and feet in the street. only slightly cut
by the broken glass. The horrorstricken face
of the fat old who sat in the kiosque, SELL
ing papers. can be more easily imagined than
described. Among the diners downstairs at the
| Maisnn Doree | SPECIALLY recall to mind an old