Le Grand Véfour 17, rue de Beaujolais (le) Ricbelieti 58-97
This is the other name which has survived for a century. Located in the far end of the Palais Royal (which hasn't sheltered a good restaurant since the “boeuf à la mode” closed up before the war), Le Grand Véfour looks its venerable part. The atmosphere and furnishings of the Directoire have been retained here so skillfully that even antiquarians will approve. But it hasn't always been thus. The restaurant once fell on sad days and drifted to the level of a mere corner pub. Revived in recent years by Monsicur Oliver, with the aid of such celebrities as Christian Bérard. Jean Gocteau, and the novelist Colette, who comes down occasionally from her neighboring apartment in the Palais Royal, the restaurant has regained its rank with a vengeance. Monsieur Oliver whose late father's hotel in Langon provides the best food in the Bordelais outside of Bordeaux itself, leans toward the specialties of that region. His wine cellar is remarkable, especially among the clarets. An expensive restaurant it is, but the quality of the featured dishes and the eighteenth-century charm are worth a lot.
Lucas-Carton 9, place tie la Madeleine (8e) Anjou 22-90
This estimable restaurant lakes you back just half as far, to the (urn of the century and the art nouvcau of the Paris Exposition of 1900. No place better retails that lush period and its luxurious gastronomy. Its décor is unchanged and is wonderfully reminiscent of horseless carriages. Monsieur Francias Carton is its presiding genius, and no one is more eminent in his field. The fare is absolutely superlative, the wine cellar rich in treasures, Impeccable, inviting, far from inexpensive, this noble establishment has a staff of veteran waiters which appears to outnumber the-guests two to one. Maybe this is as it should be, but one has the impression that it can't go on forever. In (he meanlime, the quality remains unflinchingly above reproach. It hasn't coasted downhill a particle, as have several places on the Grands Boulevards, and it merits the serious consideration of all gourmets.
Larue 3, place de la Madeleine (8e) Anjou 10-10
Here is another glimpse into the past, and perhaps a more disquieting one. Every time I walk past Larue and look through its late curtains at the faded pink velvet banquettes, all but empty, I begin to worry. Its staff of elderly waiters, rocking back and forth on their heels, troubles me. Maybe it's just sentiment. Maybe the management has cleaned up at the races or in the Loterie Nationale. Maybe it owns the Galeries Lafayette or Citroën. But 1 keep wondering if its day isn't coming, as it did to Paillard, Voisin. and Foyot. Larue has been the scene of gay dinners without number, and its private salons have witnessed many a deal between parliamentarians. I(s location on the rue Royale couldn't be better, but the dear old place seems to be languishing. The epicurean (rend is now in another direction, toward the Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées. But nothing wavers at Larue. Its impeccable reputation is unimpaired, its food superb, its cellar beyond reproach. To sentimentalists with a love for tradition and noble cookery, Larue is our warm and urgent recommendation.
Drouant 18, rue Gaillon (2e) Opera 53-72
Once a year the eyes of the literary world are focused on this famed restaurant facing the quid place Gaillon, hardly a stone's throw from the Opéra. Reporters and cameramen mill about the entrance, wailing to learn the voting following the annual luncheon of the rarefied members of the Acadernie Goncourt. The top literary prize of the year is at stake, and some novelist is made famous overnight. It makes good headline material, and it is pleasant to record that most papers print the menu of the luncheon as well as the winner of the Prix Goncourt. The Restaurant Drouant, founded in 1882, is a gourmet's restaurant, civilized and unostentatious, even thorgh there seems to be twice as many maîtres d'hôtel as waiters. It is a neat wilderness of plate glass and beige-colored walls decorated with pressed flowers. The food is superb, and the prices are clown to the point where one can talk about (hem without whispering. A favorite with journalists and bankers, it is also the choice of many a theatrical luminary. The quenelles de brocket arc extraordinary. So are the bouillabaisse and the perdrix aux cboux, in autumn. The care is celebrated for its clarets. The old tradition really prospers here, and Drouant demonstrates the fact by having (wo flourishing branches, one near the Gare de I'Est and the other in the Bois de Boulogne.
Au Caneton 3, me de la Bourse (2e) Ricbelieu 59-95
Here is an absolutely top-notch restaurant dedicated to those most exacting of French gastronomes, the stockbrokers. At midday it is an excellent spot to observe that unique institution, the big-businessman's luncheon, where the deal is consummated over an oval of brandy at a quarter after three and (he happy, well-upholstered participants do not go back to the office. Shades of the Will Street sandwich-and-glass-of-inilk! The cooking here is not exclusively French. There arc several Russian specialties, daling back to the time when the establishment was a favorite with Russian exiles—côtelettes de volailles Porjarsky and cbicbe kebab àl'orientale, not to mention flawless caviar. There is also chicken curry to send you into raptures—and also into a dilemma about an appropriate wine. Au Cancton is rather expensive, but not if you put through a big deal in (he process.
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