Hôtel De Bordeaux
If you would like to preface your meal with an apéritif, we recommend the café of the Hôtel de Bordeaux for this classic ritual. It is one of the most attractive, luminous, gay, and aristocratic cafés we have ever seen. Its décor is extremely simple, with high-arched windows and restrained curtains, but the place has an indefinable air of elegance, harking back to the days when the Café de la Régence was the gathering place of “tout Paris.” You feel that “tout Bordeaux” is gathered in this charming spot between six and seven, and it affords an infrequent chance to observe at close range the delightful people who live behind those ancient stone walls and Louis XV iron grills. They appear just as charming as at a distance, and it is pleasant to record that most of those delicate pink checks are natural—a glowing tribute to the red wine of Bordeaux.
Le Chapon Fin
For generations this remarkable establishment at 5 rue Montesquieu has been considered one of the great restaurants of France. King Alphonso used to come here often to enjoy a change from Spanish food. King Edward VII was an assiduous visitor for years. Less eminent gourmets from all over the world have made it a point of pilgrimage and have not been disappointed. The highest standards have never faltered at Le Chapon Fin. Monsieur Sicart père came here in 1899, having first officiated at the famous Café Anglais in Paris, and his wise, exacting influence is always evident. You will find irreproachable food here, and many Bordelais specialties. If you are curious to taste chicken or steak or cèpes in the Bordelais manner, here is your best chance. Filets de sole Chapon Fin is a positive sublimation of that adaptable fish. If you are there in season. the terrine de caneton truffée is a most memorable experience. Possibly they will have plump little ortolans en caisse, one of the most savory dishes imaginable.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the Chapon Fin is its wine list, which must be the most complete in existence today. It takes you a long time to leaf through this astounding document, much less study it closely. The great and the lesser wines of Bordeaux from the great and the merely good years are here in profusion. They go back way before 1900 and up to the opulent present. Many of them are listed in magnums, jeroboams, and impérials. And for the lone diner. there are half bottles, a neglected commodity in many restaurants. If you order red wine, it is properly decanted for you and brought in with the newly pulled cork, a bit of extra attention which might well be emulated elsewhere. You may blink for a moment at the rococo décor of the Chapon Fin. It seems to fall somewhere between a winter garden and a grotto. You used to see these Gay Nineties interiors in Atlantic City, but pale blue lights, splashing fountains, and rocky niches come as a surprise in Bordeaux. But it's atmospheric, and the service, by alert young waiters and a venerable sommelier, is excellent. The prices, as one must expect, are a trifle high.
Le Château-Trompette
On the top level of epicurean excellence is this celebrated restaurant, 5 rue Château-Trompette, long a gathering point for fins bees of the region. You find this little street just off the broad promenade called the allées de Tourny. Read the dazzling carle du jour, climb up one flight, and discover a cheerful, urbane restaurant in the fine old tradition. Monsieur Beziat, the proprietor, has adhered closely to the haute cuisine bordelaise throughout all these years, and you can count upon superlative cooking. The estimable lamprey is often served here à la bordelaise. And they prepare gratin de queues d'écrevisses with all the pomp and splendor that it receives in Burgundy. The foie de canard aux raisins is a regional splendor which you won't soon forget, and you couldn't end your meal more pleasantly than with an omelette surprise. The wine list is superb, as you might expect. The prices are not in the economy bracket, but there was a delectable prix fixe meal at about two dollars.
Restaurant Dubern
There are several fascinating shops along the wide promenade of the allées de Tourny, but none of them has quite the appeal of the food shop of Madame Dubern at No. 42. I've pressed my pudgy nose against many a pastry-shop window, but never have I seen such an artistic gallery of epicurean splendors. The immense window was a sylvan panorama of delectable things—baskets of truffles, mushrooms. and cèpes; braces of pheasant, quail, woodcock, and ortolans; provocative tins of foie gras and confit d'oie. There were glass jars of immense white asparagus, sausages of a dozen sizes, smoked tongue in scarlet casings, hams in tinfoil, and rich, golden pâtés en croûte. You just don't dare to gaze too long at such lush plenitude. The mere sight of so many good things serves as a compelling apéritif, and you find yourself rushing through the food store, which is even more beguiling than its window, and up the stairs to the excellent restaurant established by Madame Dubern.
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