Bonney, Therese & Louise: A Shopping Guide to Paris, Robert M McBride, New York, 1929.
This book is described on Abe as “Published just months before the start of the Great Depression, the essential guide for all American shopping in Paris: intended for a different sort of "Lost Generation."
Its chapters are largely uninteresting to me, for instance, those on Dressmaking, Accessories. Window Shopping, Men’s Clothing, Antiques and Doctors to see.
However, the ones on Two Hours for Lunch and Department Store are.
The first thing I noted was that the prices were about 35 Francs at the time, what I shoot for in Euros now. Second, with 350,000 Americans a year visiting then, Yankees did know about food. Third, meals consisted of hors d’oeuvres (varies & oysters), a fish course, entrée, a separate vegetable or salad course and desserts. Americans then, as now, want the entrée with a veggie and salad with cheese.
And fourth,
- some of the restos they described/recommend are still around – Drouant, the Tour d’Argent, Laduree, the Ritz, Café Voltaire, l’Escargot and Laperouse;
- other popular ones have shuffled off – Voisin’s, Larue’s & Montagne’s; more recently Prunier-Traktir
- Barsac was a popular wine I’ve never seen on a carte
- bonne femme preparations are often mentioned
- Andre Terrail ran the George V too
- the IHT was in full flower and described recipes such as chicken a la Josephine Baker
- American restos were all over (the Little Brown Jug, Shevlin’s, Margaret Brown’s, Elza-Lee’s, Butler’s Pantry)
- Russian restos sprang up after the war
- Javanese restos were around and
- outdoor dining occurred at Ledoyen, Les Ambassadeurs, Laurent and the Chateau des Isles.
Interesting as well that Le Train Bleu is simply described as the restaurant in the Gare de Lyon.
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