The Gourmets Guide to Europe | Page 8

asked, last spring, an Englishman who knows his Paris better than

most Parisians, what he would consider a typical breakfast, dinner, and
supper in Paris, and he answered, "Breakfast _chez Henri_ at the
Gaillon, dine at the Ritz, and sup at Durand's."
There are two Henri's in Paris, one is the little hotel and English bar,
and the other is in the Place Gaillon. Henri's Restaurant Gaillon had its
days of celebrity in the Second Empire, and then sank, as the Maison
Grossetête, from grace until Henri Drouet, leaving Paillard's,
established himself there. When I first knew the restaurant it had
Paillard's cookery, but not Paillard's prices; but now that the whole of
the _monde qui dîne_ has found it out, I fancy that the scale of prices
has risen to a level with that of the parent restaurant. The first room is
the best one to breakfast or dine in, for the others on hot days are apt to
be very stuffy; and it is well to order a table by telephone in advance.
Henri's, it always seems to me, has a more tempting table of cold
viands, patés, and tarts and _friandises_ set out than any other
restaurateur's, and many of the _habitués_ at lunch-time order eggs or
fish, and then turn their attention to the cold buffet.
When dining at Henri's the _Consommé Fortunato_, the _filets de sole_
of the restaurant, the _Noisettes de Veau Port Mahon_, the _Crêpes des
Gourmets_ should be remembered. If you want a dinner for twelve, you
cannot do better than order the following, or rather select dishes from it,
for it is unreasonably lengthy as it stands:--
Hors-d'oeuvre à la Russe.
POTAGES.
Consommé Viveur.
Pailles et Parmesan.
POISSON.
Timbale de Homard à l'Américaine.
ENTRÉES.
Baron de Pauillac à la Boulangère.
Endives Pochées au jus.


Escalopes de Foies grand Opéra.
RÔTI.
Bécasses Flambées au fumet.
Salade Port Mahon.
Mousse
Bohémienne glacée.
Truffes au Champagne à la gelée.
LÉGUMES.
Asperges fraîches. Sce Mousseline.
ENTREMETS.
Soufflé Valenciennes.
Poires Gaillon.
There are several other restaurants which claim to be quite first class,
and which are smart and amusing. Two such are the restaurants facing
the Madeleine, Durand's, and La Rue's. It was in one of the little rooms
on the first floor of Durand's that the Brav' General sat debating in his
mind whether he should initiate a _coup d'état_, and the crowd outside
waited and watched, expecting something to happen. Nothing did
happen. General Boulanger thought so long, that the decisive moment
passed, and he went home to bed. Boulanger has gone, but his friends,
grey-headed now, breakfast daily at Durand's. La Rue's was also a
restaurant in favour with General Boulanger, and I fancy that the little

dinner-parties he gave there helped much to bring the place into
celebrity. Both these restaurants have lately been enlarged and
redecorated, and La Rue's advertises a great deal, which no doubt has
increased its _clientèle_, but which has not decreased its prices.
Parisian Society has decreed that it is "smart" to sup at Durand's, and I
always find it an excellent place at which to breakfast. The last time
that I took my morning meal there I found all the younger members of
the British Embassy breakfasting there, a sure sign that the place is just
now on the crest of the wave.
Some of the specialities of Durand's are _Potage Henri IV._,
_Consommé Baigneuse_, _petits diables_, _Barbue Durand_, _Poulet
Sauté Grand Duc_, _Salade Georgette_, _Soufflé Pôle Nord_, and of

course a variation of the inevitable _canard à la presse_ and the
woodcock subjected to an _auto-da-fé_.
This is the supper that the Restaurant Durand gave its clients on the
greatest supping night of the year, Christmas Eve, 1902. The _boudin_
of course all Paris has for supper on the night before the great
Christmas feast:--
Consommé de Volaille au fumet de Céleris.
Boudin grillé à la Parisienne.
Ailerons de Volaille à la Tzar.
Cailles à la Lucullus.
Salade Durand.
Ecrevisses de la Meuse à la nage.
Crêpes Suzette.
Dessert.
Champagnes.
Clicquot Brut, Pommery Drapeau Américain.