The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-04-02
LAST OF FAMOUS
MASON DOREE
Famous Paris Restaurant Closes After
Years of Prosperity.

PARIS, April 1.-Following into his
tory the gay, the riotous and far-famed
Moulin Rouge, another of the world
renowned public places of Paris, the
Malson Doree, has closed. 1t was one,
OF the last of the famous restaurants
OF the empire days.
FOR SIX years the BIaison Doree.
known to all travellers, has had a hard
night to keep going. The tide or patron
age turned in other directions. and
When the crowds no longer came as Of
OLD the proprietors could not pay their
debts. The inevitable happened that
Maison Doree is no more.
For siXty-three years the flower of
the French aristocracy and of French
genius, and even royalty itself, have
been dined at the Maison Doree as they
could be dined nowhere else in the
world.
All the imperial court were among
the houses patrons, the Due de RivoIi,
the Due de Morny, and Prince Murat
among them. Such literary celebrities
as the two Dumases as we'll as prom
inent people of the artistic world like
Meilhach, Ofenbach, and Aurelien
Scholl, were frequent visitors. And in
the hey-day of its prosperity-during
the exposition of 1S67-kings. emperors
and princes of the royal blood made
rendezvous there.
The Maison DOree was also noted for
entertaining the most beautiful women
in Paris.
The celebrated restaurant stands at
the corner of the Boulevard des Italiens
and the Rue Laftte. On one of it's
windows is pastedAa slip of paper bear
ing the sorrowful announcement: LIE
restaurant est ferme (the restaurant is
closed).
For reason, NJ. Verdier, the proprie-
tor, third of his name in that office,
says that the Paris of today does not
appreciate fine cooking and will not
patronize his establishment The men
Of the old school, the epicures who
gladly paid his price to enjoy his won
derful dinners, have been leaving the
world one by one, and the younger
generation goes to cheaper places.
The Cafe Anfilais and VoisOn's are
the only restaurants of the old school
left in Paris, for Paillards has started
afternoon teas and introduced a Til
game orchestra.
Verdier. the veteran host, told the
other day his reasons for closing, and
recalled the days of his fine old houses
prosperity.
'"The struggle against fate began six
years ago." said he ITO the last I
hoped against hope and fought reso-
lutely against the degeneracy of the
times. The lease Of the house, which
my grandfather first rented in 1910, ex-
pired a few days ago, and the landlord
informed me that he intended in future
to raise the rent $4,000 a year. That
was the last straw. 1 told him. I could
not pay it, and then looked around for
some one to carry on the restaurant as
my successor. But no one could be
found with the pluck.
"Casimir, the most celebrated chef
in the world, has been here exactly
forty years, and was Gordon bleu for
over a generation. For many years he
was my partner. He is now sixty
three, the age of the Maison Doree. He
has never demeaned himself by cook
ing any but recherche dishes, and to
ask an artist like Casimir at his time Of
life to prepare cheap and ordinary
courses would be like requesting a
prima donna to sing in a Montmartre
music hall
Nowadays when a man pays 81 for
his dinner he thinks he has been ex-
travagant. In the days of the second
empire he would spend $40 and think
he had done something meritorious.
Besides, the new generation does not
appreciate good cooking and the old
customers had nearly all died off. OF
course, if we had moved with the times
the Maison Doree would probably have
continued to flourish. What people
want nowadays is a cheap, gaudy
place with Hungarian bands, pretty
women strolling about, American
drinks, and just decent, not artistic,
food"