Souvenier du restaurant Antoine

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)\~staurant Antoin~
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FONDE E~ 1840
ROY L. ALCIATORE, PROPRIETOR
713-717 ST. LOUIS STREET NEW ORLEANS. LA.
.,.
ANTOINE'S RESTAURANT
Roy L. A1ciatore, Proprietor - 713-717 St. Louis S,treet, Between Royal and
Bourbon Streets, New Orleans, La. - Established 1840.
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MAIN ENTRANCE ANTOINE'S RESTAURANT
Established in 1840
•
ROY LEWIS ALCIATORE
Proprietor of Antoine's Restaurant.
Grandson of Antoine Alciatore, founder.
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Antoine Alciatore
Founder - 1840 to 1885.
Founder of the house of Antoine, who
seeking his fortune in America came to
New Orleans and founded in the year
1840 the Restaurant Antoine. Beginning
in a small way, it was not long before
Antoine's was a byword for all that
left the business in the
stands highest in the culi­nary
line. His talents won
for him an enviable repu­tation
and the little res­taurant
flourished. Antoine
went back to i France his
native land to die, and he
hands of his son Jules .
Jules Alciatore
Proprietor - 1885 to 1930.
Jules, a fit successor to his .illustrious
father, took charge of "Les affaires"
and since he too made his studies in
the land of his father, the house of An­tone
again prospered under his guiding
hand, and today, it enjoys an inte.rna­tiona!
reputation wherever
people, gather to discuss
the gentle art of eating in
its many and divers forms.
Jules, before his death
placed the active manage­ment
of the restaurant in
the hands of his son Roy.
• Roy Alciatore
Present Proprietor - 1930 to --.
Roy, grandson of Antoine Alciatore, and present proprietor, was born and
reared in. America, in a medern age, but nevertheless retains th~se qualities
which he inherited from his grandfather and his father in the gastronomic
line, and due to the able tutelage of his father, Jules, is a fit successor to carry
on the name of Antoine to still greater height:!.
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nntotne's liS to lAc,,, ®rlcans 'Wlbat
IDellnontco's 'Wlas to lRc,,, Work
or Ube <ratc Rnglaia to IParts.
The home of good cheer.
The home of fine cooking.
The place where trouble and tribulations are left
behind.
The place "par excellence" for the gourmet,
because there is always something new for the re­fined
senses.
New dishes, new seasoning, new presentation of
eatables.
What you can get elsewhere you can get at
Antoine's.
But some things you ~an get at Antoine's you
cannot get el'sewhere, because they are special con­coctions
of the culinary art, prepared under the
master's eye.
Eating at Antoine's is like getting a new start in life.
You go in with the blues and leave with rosy im-pressions.
Those who have never Jlartaken 0.£ a meal at An­toine's
invariably picture the place gorgeously decorated
with all the bright colors of the rainbow; with gold, silver and
bronze leaf plastered in the very recesses of the ceiling; with a
select band playing popular music or excerpts of the Operatic mas­terpiece;
wih footmen in princely livery opening the carriage doors,
and grooms to take care of the cloaks.
N one of all that.
Anto~ne's is today what it was at its inception- an immaculately
clean place, with tableware and linen of the severe solid home-lik".
type and attentive noiseless waiters, who speak many tongues he­cause
they have learned their avocation on both continents.
No deafening ·brass bands between courses. When 'you go to
Antoine's it is to give your palate an undisturbed treat.
That is why the place is unique and in a class of its own.
Had Brillat-Savarin lived a century later he would undoubtedly
have referred to Antoine's in his "Physiologie du Gout" because it is
that pa:ticular atmosphere of the place which enhances the artis­tically
prepared dishes and develops to the highest degree the gastric fluids.
Not to have eaten at Antoine's i!! almost saying tha,t you have never been
in New Orleans.
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~lstlngui.sb~~ (Bu~sts
In the Spring of 1940 Antoine's Restaurant celebrated the completion of
one hundred years of uninterrupted service in catering to the gustatory needs of
lovers of fine cuisine. The following list of distinguished guests who h ave
visited Antoine's in the past century is mute evidence of the famp. which the
House of Antoine enjoys throughout the world.
Ex-Presi,denJt Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ex-President T'heodor . .> l~o :) .. , ~'v ~ J.t, Ex-Pre­'
sidenlt William H. Taft, Ex-President Calvin Coolidge, Ex-P yesid :mt Her,ber t
Hoover, Marechal Foch, General Boulanger, Admiral Richard Bryd, J. W. Weeks,
Ex-Secretary of War, George H. Dern, Ex-Secretary of War, L. W. Ro:berts Jr.,
Ex-Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Ray Lyman Wilbur, Ex-Secretary of the
Interior, Commodore Ernest Lee Jahncke, Ex-Assistant Secretary of the Navy,
General John J. Pershing, General J. Harbord. General Smedley Butler, Brigadier
General J. H. White, Brigadier General Ray H. Fleming, Major General George
Van Horn Moseley, Captain James J. Van Zandt, Major General J. L. Schley.
Chief of Engineers, U.S.A., Lieutenant J. M. Ocher and Lieutenant H. L. Chal­lenger
of the "U.S. Submarine S-10," Captain W. L. Ainsworth, Colonel Frank
Evans, U.S.M.C., Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, Ex-Undersecretary of the Treasury,
Henry A. Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture, Nellie Tayloe Ross, Director of the
U.S. Mint, U.S. Attorney General Frank Murphy, Marvin H. McIntyre, Secretary
to Ex-PreSlident Roosevelt, Rear Admiral H. H. Christy, Vice Admiral R. A. R.
Plunket,t - Ernle-E.rnle-Drax, Commander of West Indies British Squqadron, Rear
Admiral Arthur J . Hepburn, Read Admiral E. B. Fenner, Vice Admiral Edward
Pettengill, Vice Admiral Edward Campbell, Read Admiral Hayne Ellis, Com­mander
Louis J. Gulliver, U. S. Frigate "Constitution," Captain II C. C. Blagrove,
Captain Benjamin Dutton, Commander Charles E. Rosendahl, Captain G. S.
Burrell C. F. C., Commander Paul Auphan of the "Jeanne d'Arc." Admiral Cul­verius,
Commander A. N. Addoms, U.S.S. "Moffett," Rear Admiral G. J . Row-cliff ,
Commander Alejandro Salinus San Roman, Chilean Ship "Rancaqua." Lieutenant
Commander Neville Levy, U.S.N.R., Lieut.- Commander Paul Serpette, French Ship
"d'Entrecaste.aux," Lieutenant Commander Paul Broussaunt, French Submarine
"Ouessant," Lie.utenant Pierre Le Creux, French Submarine "Agosta," Captain
J. S. Abbott, Rear Admiral H. V. Butler, Captain A. B. Reed, Commander Cris­tobal
Gonzalez Aller y Acebal, Spanish ~hip "Juan Sebastain de Elcano," Lieuten­ant
Commander H. R. Thurber, Lieutenant Commander Albert Casanova Gonzalez,
Cruiser "Culba," Rear Admiral P. A. Rossiter, Surgeon General U.S.N., Command-
8
ant Gonet, Capt. Louis Sable, Naval Attache at- Washington, French Ambassador
George Bonnet, English Ambassador Sir Esme Howard, French Ambassador Paul
Claude I, German Ambassador Dr. Hans Luther, Royal Italian Ambassa<ior. Au­gusto
Rosso, French Ambassador J . Jusserand, Greek Ambassador Dj:!metrios
Sicilian os, Royal Italian Ambassador Fulvio Suvich, Abdel Wahab Pasha
Egyptian Undersecretary of State, Captain J oao Alberto Lins d·e Barros,
Brazilian Cabinet Member, President Anastasio Somoza of Nicarag.ua, Harry
L. Hopkins, W. P . A. Chie,f, J . Edgar Hoover, F. B. 1. Chief, Howard O.
Hunter, W. P . A. Administrator, Archibald MacLeish, Librarian of Congress,
F . V. Sorrels, Chief of Secret Service, Colonel E. W. Starling, Chief of
White House Secret Service, Donald Richberg, Ex-Ambassador Hoffman Philip,
Honourable Gerald Drew, Nathan Strauss, Chief Housing Administrator, Dr. Leon
De Bayle, Minister of Nicaragua, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, Lloyd
C. Griscom, Former Ambassador, Jefferson Caffery, Ambassador to Brazil, Harper
Sibley, U. S. Chamber of Commerce, O. John Rogge, Assistant Attorney General,
Major General Charles Macon Wesson, Chief of Ordnance U. S. A. Colonel
E. P. Pierson, Lieutenant Commander John J. Patterson, U. S. N, Commander
Arnold E. True, Commander W. A. Griswold, Lieutenant Commander Touseth,
Lieutenant Commander P. G. Voge, Lieutenant Commander Be'Verly Harrison,
Lieutenant Commander J. C. Belock, Lieutenant Commander E. A. Taylor, S. D.
Em:bick, Lieut. General Commanding III Army, Major General James B. Allison,
U. S. A.
Capt. T. H. Thomson Jr., Acting Commander of the Eighth Naval District,
Vice Ad.miral Julio Allard P ., of Chile, Vice Admiral Jose Machada de Castro E.
Silva, Chief of the Naval General Staff of Brazil, Vice Admiral Jose Guisasola,
Chief ,of the Naval General Staff of Argentina, Rear Admiral Gustavo A.
Schroeder, Chief of the Naval Staff of Uruguay, Rear Admiral Carlos Rostaidc
G. del V., Chief of the Naval General Staff of Peru, Commodore David Coello
Ochoa, Director General of the Fleet of Mexico, Captain Julio Diez Arguelles y
Fernandez Castro, Chief of the Naval General Staff of Cuba, Colonel Francisco
Tamayo Cortez, Chief of the Naval General Staff of Colombia, Commander Cesar
A. Mongollen Cardenas, Commandant General of the Navy of Ecuador, Com­mander
Antonio Picardi, Chief of the Naval General Staff of Venezuela, Com­mander
Ramon Diaz Benza, Director General of the Navy of Paraguay, Major
General John K. Herr, Major General Edmund B. Gregory, U. S. Quartermaster
General, Francisco Doria Paz, Chairman Mexico City Council, Milo J. 'Warner,
National Commander of American Legion, D. W. Tracy, A'ssistant Secretary of
Labor, Major General Preston Brown, Brigadier General Hugh Matthews, Frank
Knox, Secretary of the Navy, William Green, President American Federation of
Labor, A. G. Black, Farm Credit Administrator, Lieutenant GenEral H. J. Grees,
Commandirig Third Army, E. Portes Gill, Ex-President of Mexico, Commander
W'alter Whitfield Wehb, U. S. Navy, 'Presidential Candidate Thomas E. Dewey,
Barton K. Yount, Major General U.S.A., Lieutenant Commander Russell Holder­man,
Claude R. Wickard, Und,ersecretary of Agriculture, Lieutenant Commander
Charles H. Quinn, U. S. N., Albd El Wahab Dawood Bey, Egyptian Ambassador
General Roberto Reyes, Nicaraguan Minister of War, U. S. Solicitor General
Francis Biddle, Rear Admiral A. T. Beauregard, U. S. N.
9
DIGNATARIES
Senat'Or John H. Bankhead, Senat'Or William Gibbs McAd'Oo, Senator Gerald
P Nye, S'enat'Or Henrick Shipstead, Senator Bennett Champ Clark, Senator J'Ohn
H. Overton, Senator Allen J. Ellender, Senator T'heodore Bilbo, Senator Robert
Mout'On, Sen.ator Harry D. Wilson, Senator J. K. Griffith, Senator A. Leonard
Allen, Senator Rene de Rouen, Governor David Scholtz of Florida, Governor A.
B. Chandler of Kentucky, Governor J. V. Allred of Te~as, Governor Huey Pierce
Long, Governor Earl K. L'Ong of Louisian.a, Governor L. White of Missis­sippi,
Governor A. W. Norblad of Oregon, Governor Elect Arthur H. Jame,s of
Pennsylvania, Representative Richard M. Kle:berg, Repr,esentative Paul H.
Maloney, Congressman Frank Reid, Congressman Wright Patman, Mayor James
J. Walker of N. Y., Mayor Fiorella La Guardia of N. Y., M'ayor William Hale
Thompson of Chicago, Mayor Edwa,rd J. Kelly of Chicago, Mayor Bernard Dick­man
of St. Louis, Mayor Angelo J. Rossi of San Francisco, Mayor Gryce B. Smith,
'Of Kansas City, Mayor Thomas L. Holling of Buffalo, Mayor Robert S. Maestri,
of New Orleans, Mayor Martin Behrman, of New Orleans, Archbishop Joseph
Francis Rummel, Patrkk Ca~dinal Hayes, MOThsign'Or Peter M. H. Wynhoven, Leon
C. Phillips, Governor of Oklahoma, Senator D. Worth Clark, Governor Sam H.
J one's of Loui'siana, Senator Daniel A. Reed, Congressman Harol,d E. Stas,sen.
Governor Homer Adkins of Arkansas, Governor Spessard Holland of Florida,
Governor Burnet R. Maybank of S'Outh Carolina, Governor Frank M. Dixon of
Alabama, Governor J. Melville Boughton of North Carolina, Governor Paul B.
Johnson of Mississippi, Governor M. D. V,an Wright of Michigan, John B. Gage,
Mayor of K,ansas City, Congressman Frank C. Osmers of New Y'Ork Ci'ty, Congress­man
F. Edward Hebert of Louisiana, Senator Charles L. McNary of Oregon,
Maurice J. Tobin, Mayor of Boston, Payne Rotner, Governor of Kansas, Senator
D. Work Clark of Idaho.
NOTABLES
Rene Sou lange Teissier, Consul General of France, Fernand Gobet, Belgian
Consul, DT. Ludovico Censi, Italian Consul, Edmund,o Ara.g'on, Mex,kan Gonsul,
Nicaragua, Robert M. Cohan, British Consul, H. Stanford London, British Consul,
Julio Holguin, Consul of Colombia, Dr. Waclaw Garonski, Consul of Poland,
Dr Francisco Banda, Consul of Ecuador, F. Gordon Rule, British Consul, Dr.
Charles J. Hollub, Consul of Czecho-Slovakia, Count Jean de La Greze,
French Consul , Rene Relage, French Consul, Dr. Vitale Gallina, Italian
Consul, Dr. Ludovico Censi, talian Consul, Edmundo Aragon, Mexican Consul,
Jayme de Brito, Brazilian C'Onsul, Jean Delalande, Cons,ul General of France, A.
J. Rodgers, British C'Onsul, Andrew Jackson Higgins, Consul of Finland.
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The Grand Duke AlexIs, brother of the Czar of Russia, Prmce and Princes~
Achille Murat, Count and Countess Charles de Peslouan, Count Marcel Ie Becas,
Count Mercier de Caladon, Mal'quis de Crequi Montfort de Courtivron, Prince
Francois de Bergeyck of Belgium, Count and Countess de Castellani, Count Jean
Michel Cressaty, Baron and Baroness Rodolphe de Schaunsee, Prince Louis
Ferdinand Hohenzollern, Count Tullio Carminati di BrambilJ.a, Baron Andre Van
Ravre of Belgium, Sir Herbert and Lady Marler of Canada, The Marquis of
Donegall, Lord Godfrey Walter Phillimore. Lord Henry Mackinnon Raikes, Lord
and L'ady Swinfen, A1dmiral Sir Reginald Hall. Lady Dent of London, Lady Sonja
Cye·rs of Ireland, Count Aldo Castellani, Charles Guy Fluke Greville, Earl of
Warwick, Marquis and Marchioness Gian Gerolamo Chiavari, Lord M.arley, Count
Albrecht Von Bismark, P,rincess Von Bismark, Countess Zappola, Baron Von
Mumm, Baron Richard Von Schrenk, Count Charles de Gramont, Lady Nelson
of London, Raron W. A. Humboldt, Count Teofilo Rossi di Montelera, Sir
Anth'o,ny Lindsay Hog'g, Sir William and Lady Max Muller, Count and
Countess David A. Constantini, Gl'and Duke Dimitro, Sir and Lady Benjamin
Drage, Count and Countess Robe,rt Jean de Vogue, Le Duc de J..evis Mirepois,
Thelma Furness, Lady Hadfield, Grand Duchess M,arie of Russia, Prince
and Princess Zalstem Zalessky, Sir Joseph Robinson of South Africa, Haron
Von Falkenstein, Princess Alexis O.bolensky, Prince Alexis O,b ole'n sky, Princess
Alexis Obolensky Jr., Marquis de Talleyrand, Indian Princess Te Ata, Lady Gay
Nicolaysen, Count Ivan Podjoursky, Sir Henry Getty Chilton, Countess
Furstenburg.
AVIATION
Trans·atlantic Fliers Dieudonnes Costes and Le Brix, Transatlantic Fliers
Wiley Post and Harold Gatty, Speedflier J ames "Jimmy" Doolittle, Speedflier
Roscoe Turner, Captain and Ace Eddie Rickenbacker, Transatlantic Flier "Dick"
Merrill, Francesco de Pindedo, Gaptain Alex Papina, Clyde Pangborn, Lowel
Yerex, James G. Haizlip, Admiral Richard Byrd, Michel de T'royat, H. S. "Hank"
Jones, Carlton Putnam, C. R. Smith, Colonel Edgar Gorrell.
CELEBRITIES
Sir Thomas Lipton, Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Vander,bilt, .Mrs. Fr·anklin D. Roose­velt
Emily Roosevelt, Mrs. Warren G. Harding, Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, Alfred
M. Landon, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Archie Roosevelt, Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Roose­velt,
Herbert Hoover II, Curtis B. Dall, John J. Raskob, Charles M. Schwab, Mrs.
Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, Roy Chapman Andrews, Carter Glass Jr., Mr. and
Mrs. Pierre Clemenceau, Judge Edw:ar·d Fabre. Surveyor of the Canadian Supreme
Court, Raymond Orteig, donor of the Lind'bergh prize, John Ringling, John
Ringl~ng North, Judge Pierre Crabites, John W. (Bet a Million) Gates Joel
Chandler Harris, Otto Kahn, Franklyn L. Hutton, John Drew, Walter' Hale,
Louise Closser Hale, Jules Bache, Helen Keller, £~izabeth Arden, Dexter Felo'Ws,
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Harvey S. Firestone Jr., Libe-rty Knickerbocker, Isabel Sloane, Mrs. Martin John­son,
Frank (Bring 'em Back Alive) Buck, Lessing Rosenwald, Mrs. Harrison
Williams, Floren'ce B. G·ould, A. P. Giannini, Charles R. Gay, James B. Conant,
President of Harvard, Adolph Ochs, Harold F. McCormick, Paul Doumont, N.B.C.,
Mr. an dMrs. Lenox R. Lohr, President N.B.C., Major Bowes, Dr. Roger Bigelow
Merriman of Harvard, Dr. Christian Gauss of Princeton, Dr. Harold Dodds, Presi­dent
of Princet.on, Dean C. E. Clark of Yale, Dr. Elward James McCormick
P. P. O. E., Mr. ·and Mrs. E'ly Culbertson, Geraldine Rockefeller McAlpin
Webster, Clyde R. Place, Architect of Rockefeller Center, W. P. Filmer, builder
of San Francisco ·bridge, Major Max Oser, A. Atwater Kent, W. Seward Webb,
Frances Drex'el Munn, Mary Munn, C. A. Munn, Leo McDonald, Mrs. Huey P.
Long, Nathan Pereles, President of the Harvard Cluibs, Dr. Rufus C. Harris,
President of Tulane, Dr. Roscoe Pound of Harvard, Justice Henry T. Lummus,
Dr. Rene Cruchet of Paris and Borde·aux France, Dr. Hans Groedel of Berlin,
Andre Lafargue Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, Andre Chevrillon, President
<;)f l'Academie Francaise, Fortunat StroW'ski, Raymon Laurent, Mayor of P·aris,
France, Firmin Roz l'Institut Francaise, Gabriel Louis Jarray, President of the
French La Salle Delegation, Dr. Fernand Bruneryre, Paris Municipal Council,
Jules Destom.bes, Academic de Sciences, Algedius Fauteux, President of the Mon­treal
Historical Society, Ga'briel Lugot, Chef of the Waldorf Astoria, Ch·arles
Baron, French Chamber of Deputies, Charles Holt ' of "Time," Otto Hagel of "Life,"
Geor·ge Buford Lorimer, of "Saturday Evening Post," Mr. D. J. Von Balluseck,
AmSlt'erdam Holland, Jean Jarand'oux, French Minister of Affairs, Lo'ui,s Mouquin,
Miss Marion Huntington, Colonel Albanus Phillips, Frederick Stinchfield, Presi­dent
American Bar Association, Mary Cable Dennis, Gloria Baker, Mr. Charles
Bedaux, Roger R. Grillon, Mrs. Dodge Sloan, Miss Anna Mae Tracy, Kelvin Cox
Vanderlip, M. Diamant Berger, Andre Geraux "Pertinax," Steve Hannagan, Hugh
Bailie., President United Press, Mr. and Mrs. Julian Street, Mr. and Mrs. Andre
L. Simon, President Wine and Food Society, Lafcadio Hearn, J. George Fred­erick,
President Gourmet Society, Paul Henkel, Society of Restauranteurs, John
B. Kennedy, N.B.C., Booth Tarkington, Joseph Ziegler Leiter, Sigmund Spaeth,
Mrs. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Dean E. J. Kyle, A. and M. College, Mr. B. H.
Winchell, Donald E. Baruch, Perry Moore, Colonel Ro,bert Gug'genheim, Allan
Hoover, Joseph Simard of Canada, Thomas A. Be·ck, R.ichard C. DuPont, Pro­fessor
Adolph Meyer of Johns Hop·kins, Re,becca P. Guggenheim, Lilly Dache,
Elsa Schiaparelli, Grace E. Smith, President National Restaurant Association,
Mrs. George W·ashington Kavanaugh. Dr. H. Winett Orr, Dr. Arthur Steindler,
David Dubinsky, Harry Worchester Smith, W. R. Stein way, Paggy de Gripenberg
of Helsinki, Finland, Roald Amundsen, Jules Charboneau, Sol Rosenblatt,
General Council Democratic Party, Ercole Marchisio, James M. Eaton, Albert A.
McVettie, President N·ational Restaurant Association, J. M. Gillette, K. T. Keller,
F. M. Bellanca, Ruth Draper.
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SPORTS
James "Gentleman Jim" Corbet, John L. Sullivan, Jack Dempsey, Georg(>
Carpentier, Primo Carnera, Max Baer, "Bugs" Baer, George M. Lott Jr., Marti!'
Plaa, Vincent Richards, Don Budge, Ellsworth Vines, Bill Tilden, Henri Cochd;,
Ty Cobb, Chuck Klein, Lefty Gomez, Bob Feller. Roy Weathe·rby, Christy Mathew.
son, Babe Ruth, Roger Peckinpaugh, Larry Gilbert, Oscar Vitt, Bill Terry, Jimm1
Foxx, Alva Bradley, Gerry Nugent, W'illiam Harridge, Mel Ott, Johnny Gice
Danny Shute, Johnny Revolta, Paul Runyan, Bennie Hog-an, Henry Picard, Zel1
Eaton, Lloyd Mangrum, Dick Metz, Ed Dudley, Freddie Haas Jr., Fred Corcoran,
Frank Walsh, Gus Novotny, John Dawson, Gene Sarazen, Ru,be Albaugh, Horton
Smith, Lawson Little, Jimmy Thompson, Harry Cooper, Bobby Jones Sam D.
Perry, Knute Rockne, Andy Kerr, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Fritz Crysler, Re·d Daw­son,
Ber nie Bierman, Earl "Red" Stick, Byron "Whizzer" White, Art Rooney,
Kenesaw M. Landis, Glen "Slats" Har din, Ted Cox, Pat O'Shaugnessy, Eddie Reed,
Jim Cowley, Homer Norton, Walter Hagen, Al Rarbee, Charles A. Hare, Frank
McCormick, Frank Leahy, Betty Jameson, Webster N. Jones.
OPERA AND MUSIC
Adelina Patti, Geraldine Farrar, Jenny Lind, Sarah Bernhardt, 'Enrico
Caruso, Emma Calve, Ricardo Mar tin, John McCormick, Mary Lewis, 'John
Charles Thomas, Mary McCormick, Marion Talley, Richard Crooks, Enid
Szantho, Sidney Rayner, Lawrence Tibbett, Giovanni Martinelli, Enzio Pinza,
Nino Martini . Elizabeth Rethberg, Terbet Janssen, Bruna Castagna, Grace
Moore, Maria Gambarelli, Natalie Bodanva, Joseph Bentonelli, Nelson Eddy,
Lily Pons, Richard Ronnelli, · Gladys Swath out, Anna Pavlowa, The Gre·at
Nijinsky, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Fritz Kreisler, Grego Piatigor­sky,
Valdimir Golschmann, J ,ascha Heifetz, Arthur Za.ck, Gennaro Papi Pasquale
Amatar, Louis Hasselmans, Edward Johnson, General Manager Metropolitan
Opera Assn., Edward Ziegler, Assistant General Manager, Earle R. Lewis, Assist­ant
General Manager, Chorus Master Fausto Cleva, Leo Silvera, Ida Krehm,
Joseph Knitzer, Jeanette MacDonald, Helen Jepson, Ernest McChesney, George
Barriere, Jeanne Foedor, Allan Jones, Alma Milste·ad, Lawrence Melchoir, John
Brownlee, Eleanor Painter Strong, Efrem Kurtz Ballet Russe, Licia Albanese,
Josephine Antoine Jarmila Novotna, Sari Biro, Kathleen Lockhart Manning.
STAGE
Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontaine, Helen Hayes, Margaret Anglin, Lou Tellegen,
Lillian Russell, Della Fox, Joe Jefferson, Fritzi Scheff, DeWolfe Hopper, Maude
Adams, Julian Eltinge, Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett, Constant Coquelin, Evan
Burrows Fontaine, Izetta Jewel, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Catherine Cornell,
Tallulah Bankhead, Guy Bates Post, Katherine Standing, Guy Ro.bertson,
Richard Mansfield, Ethel Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, Frank Crumit, Julia Sand­erson,
Florenz Ziegfeld, Marjorie Rambeau, Walter Hampden, Gus Van, Georgie
Hale, Leo Fei.st, Mack Gordon, Harry Revel, Nikita Balieff, Lou Irwin, Herman
the Great, Howard Thurston, Marcella Powers, E,ric Linden, Bernice Claire,
Frances Lederer, Margola Gilmore, E. H. Sothern, Edward Everette Horton,
Katharine Hep,burn, Billy House, Gertrude Lawrence, Dorothy Cormingole.
13
CINEMA
Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Eugene O'Brien, Charles Spencer Chaplin,
Douglas Fairbanks, Lew Cody, Richard Barthelmess, William S. Hart, Betty
Compton, Theda Bara, Rod Laroque, Esther Ralston, Ricardo Cortez, Ann Hard­ing,
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Irene Rich, Cathryn Carver, Adolf Menjou, Grant
Withers, George O'Brien, Warner Baxter, Anita S+,ewart, Tom Geraghty, Jack
Mulhall, Tully Marshall, Jack La Rue, Jack Warner, Nick Stuart, Sue Carol, John
Bunny, Marie Dressler, Jimmy Dunn, Gail Patrick, Andy Devine, Charley Chase,
Margot Grahame, Buddy Rogers, Errol Flynn, Jeanette MacDonald, Gene Ray­mond,
George Brent, Frank McHugh, Phillips Holmes, Evelyn Keys, Alan Mow­bray,
Eugene Palette, Dolores Costello Barrymore, Geor·ge Bancroft, John Mack
::Brown, Roscoe Karns, Margaret Livingston, Allen Jenkins, Steffi Duna, Joh:}
Carroll, Roscoe Ates, Colleen Moore, Virginia Bruce, Tullio Carminati, Johnny
Weismuller, Leo Carillo, Jack Benny, Judy Garland, Paulette Goddard, Joel Mc-
Crea, Frances Dee, Margaret Tallichet, Bill Gargan, Buddy Ebsen, Randolph
Scott, Richard Arlen, Patsy Kelly, Geraldine Dvorak, Grady Sutton, Buster Kea­ton,
Mary Healy, Dorothy Lamour, Dorothy Dell, Joe E. Brown, Anna Neagle, A.
Jolson, Eddie Cantor, George Jc~~el, Harry Richman, Leah Ray, Helen l\~0~~14n,
Ethrelda Leopold, David Niven, Joseph Calleia, Jean Bello, Bo·b Burns, Wallace
Beery, Jackie Coogan, Erik Rhodes, William Boyd, Polly Moran, Jean Murat of
France, Ro·bert Cummings, Leatrice Joy Gilbert, Shirley Reid, Constance Moore,
Mischa Auer, Bruce Cabot, Roland Yo'ung, Hugh Herbert, Groucho Marx, Helen
Vinson, John Sheffield, Gail Drexel, Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Pe~gy
Moran, Virginia Dale, Shirley Krebs, Walter Pidgeon.
ORCHESTRA LEADERS AND SINGERS
Fred Waring, Ted Lewis, Joe Venuti, Glen Miller, Frankie Masters, Phil
Harris, George Olsen, Abe Lyman, Ran Wilde, Art Kassel, Shep Fields, . Tom
Gerun, Al Donahue, Jack Fulton, Ben Bernie, Jimmy Grier, Lani McIntyre, Red
Nichols, Clyde Lucas, Rudy Vallee, Roger Wolfe Kahn, John E. Hamp, Ted
Weems, Guy Lombardo, Charles Barnet, Paul Whiteman, Smith Ballew, Benny
Meroff, Irving Aaronson, Henry Busse, Vincent Lopez, Lou Forbes, Jesse Staf­ford,
Buddy Rogers, Ethel Shutta, Harriat de Goff, Lynn Chalmers, Morton
Downey, Donna Dae, Ruth Etting, Miriam Grahame, Julie Gibson, Lilia
.Kipieona, Camille de Montis, The Boswell Sisters, Nick Lucas, Vivian Janis,
.Joan Edwards, Mary Lee Kelly, Leo Feist, Fred Crosby, Joseph Sudy, Buddy
'Clark, Wayne King, Arthur Ravel, Jimmy Dorsey, Kay Kyser, Art Jarrett,
Evelyn and her Vio~in, Charlie Wright, Russ Morgan, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet
Hilliarc, Phil Spitalny, Dixie Dunbar, Bob Crosby.
14
DANCE TEAMS
Chaney and Fox, Jack and Edna Torren.ce, Crawford and Caskey, The Ran­dalls,
Pepp,ino and Rhoda, Ric-hard Stuart and Flora Lee, Mary Jane Mo{)re and
Billy Revel, Miles and Kover, Peppino and Mascotte.
AUTHORS, COLUMNISTS, ARTIISTS
O. O. McIntyre, Will Roger.s, Irvin S. Cobb, Louis Sobol, Ward Morehouse,
Heywood Broun, George Matthew Adams, Lucius Beebe, Bruno Lessing, Francis
Wallace, G. Selmer Fougner, Roundy Coughlin, Charles E. Crawford, ~or{)thy
Dix, Bob Davis, Julian Street, Phil Dunning, H. L. Mencken, Will Irwin, Elsie
Robinson, Abe Martin, Mrs. Leatitia 1m-in, Zona Gale, Shelia Kaye Smith, Chan­ning
Pollack, Bruce Gould, Beatrice Blackmar Gould, Beverly Smith, Wallace
Irwin, Monty Woolley, Garet Garret, Natalie Vivian Scott, Grace Tho.mpson,
Seton, "Andrea," Upton Close, Collinson Owen, John A. Kennedy, T. M. Storke,
Eleanor Mercein, Donald Lawder, W. Ward S:mith, Cora, Rose an.d Bo,b Brown,
Mrs. WIlliam Brown Meloney, Elda Garbe, Ellis Hollums, Madame Marcel, Tinayre,
Andre Demaison, General Perri'er, Madame Saint Rene Taillandier, Roark Brad­ford,
Kathleen MeLaughlin, Frederick, L. Collins, Doris Fleeson, Robert Ormond
Case, G. J. Korchendorfer, Elizabeth Woody, Frank Finkelhoffe, John Monks Jr.,
James Norman Hall, Charles MacArthur, Louis Zara, Walter Davenport, Lillian
Hellman, MHdred Seydell, Hector Fuller, Allan Viliers, Alan Goud, Carton
Beals, Eleanor Patterson, J. Gortatow:sky, Richard Harding Davis, William B.
Powell, Ralph Ketham, Prunella Wood, Edward Astley, Alice P,orter, Lloyd C.
Douglas, Courtney Riley Cooper, Leonard Q. Ross, George Sokolsky, Dorothy
Dawe, Basil Woon, G. Edward Davidson, John Henry Titus, Edith Johnson, DeLoss
Walker, Elliott White Springs, Sherwood Anderson, Thomas Wolfe, Pat O'Don­nell,
Hugh Baillie, Kent Cooper, Adolph o.chs, Joseph Pulitzer, Dr. Paul de
Kruiff, Paul Reynaud, Rene Belbenoit, John Erskine, Shelia Hibben, Katherine
Darst, J. B. Prie3tley, Abel Green, Uncle Vic, Duncan Hines, Mike "The Snow­digger,"
J. K. of the "Milwaukee Jonrnal," Vera Brittain, J. Donnell Tilghman,
Sillman Evans, Clem Hearsey, Archibald MacLeish, Stark Young, Will Durant,
Steve Hannagan, Lloyd Gregory, Bill Cunningham, Frank Boege, Paul Hollister,
Henry Beckett, ·Marc T. Greene, J. George Frederick, Ellwood Douglas, Dorothy
Ducas, Adele Brown, Thomas SU2'rue, Gwen Dew, Gwen Bristow, Bruce Manning,
Frances Bryson, Mrs. Louis Oppenheimer, Octavus Roy Cohen, Franklin Lewis, F.
Edw. Hebert, Hermann B. Deutsch, William Wiegand, Meigs O. Frost, K. T.
Knoblock, Franz Blom, Ken Gormin, Stanley Clisby Arthur, O. M. Samuels, Lyle
15
Saxon, Hendrick Van Lo'on, Rockiwell Kent, lior Thomas, Dari'O Rappaport, Xavier
Gonzales, Daniell Bishop, Carl Anderson, M. R. Cooper, O. W. Chessman, Ivan
Dmitri, Cecil Beaton, Sydney Smith, Clifford McBride, Enrique Alferez, Mc­Clelland
Barclay, J. W. Ireland, Fitzpatrick, Ham Fisher, Moro Gonzalez, Ann
Silverman, Sally Silverman, Harry RUd.wig R05sol, Rube Gold.berg, John Held Jr.,
Otto Ha.gel, Cornelia Otis Skinner, R. H. Waldo, Virginia Gale, Wayman Adams,
Ed Reed, Carl Anderson, J. B. McEvoy, Drew Pearson 'and Robert Allen, Ernest
Young, Gunther Lessing, Quentin Reynolds, James J. Reynolds, Frederick Ba.b­cock,
Frederica Fox, Frances Parkinson Keyes, Alex,ander Woollcott, Andre Ply­of
Paris, Sinclair Lewis, K. D. B. Watson, S. L. A. Marshall, Al Pollard, Jimmie
Fidler, Don Burke of "Life," Richard Mowre·r, Rosamond Mowrer, Thomas W.
Briggs, J. C. Furnas, Alfred Knopf, Blanche Knopf, Whitney, Head of Associated
Press, Robert Ardrey, Charles B. Driscoll, George Tucker, Henry McLemore,
Raymon Clapper, Frederick Ca.ble Oechsner, John Chase, Hunter Osborne, W'ini­fred
Osborne, Willie Etheridge, Rudolph Mitchell Crosby, Byron Price of Associ­ated
Press, Andre Maurois, Neal O'Hara, Ralph Honcock of Costa Rica, Milton
Bracker, Alva Johnston, Truman Bailey, Raimundo de Ovies, Bill Howland of
"Time" Bill Corum, Dr. Charles C. Conc.annon, Ralph Chapman, Dale Harrison,
Edith Johnson, Karl Kae Knecht, Harrison Carroll, Catherine Garrison Chapin,
Willard Chevalier of "Business Week."
CINEMA DIREOTORS AND EXECUTIVES
Cecil B. DeMille, W. S. Van Dyke, Tod Browning, John Ford, Robert Florey,
Boris Petroff, Chester Miller, Edward Cline, William "Bill" Pine, Arthur Lubin,
Ralph Nelson, James A. McDonough, Jack McGowan, Lloyd Bacon, Herbert Wil­cox,
David Niven, Edwin Justin Mayer, Albert A. Kaufman, ·Edward Small,
George Cukor, Morris Ryskind, Ivan Kahn, Mort H. Singer, Henry King, Howard
Hawks, Victor Fleming, Jack Warner, James A. Fitzpatrick, Idwal Jones, Roland
Reed, Hobe Erwin, John Darrow, Harry Rapf, Colonel E. A. Schiller Jack Cher­tok,
Dick Mayberry, John Ridgeley, Albert Morkin, Donald Briggs, MacH off­man
Jr., Alan Davis, John Gallaudet, Jolin Payne, Regis Toomey, Ben Piazza,
Irving Mills, Jimmy Starr, Julie Carter Starr, Lionel Keene, Henry Lichtig,
Robert Z. Leonard, Adolph Zukor, N. M. Schenck, Gunther Lessing, Joseph
Mankiewicz, Leon Schlesinger, Van Nest Polgase, Walt Di§ney, Joseph Pasternack,
Rene Clair, Boris Monos, R. E. George, Prince Mike Romanoff, Pandro Berman.
16
VISITORS FROM FAR AWAY LANDS
Jamshed Dwishaw Petit from Bombay, India, Abdel Wahab Pasha from
Egypt, Mr. Josolaphas Introgra from Constantinople, Turkey, M,r. E. A. Hirsch
and Mr. Garland J. Hirsch from Manila, Philippine Islands, Mr. and Mrs. Harry
Faser from Johannesburg, South Africa, A. W. Longfield from Melbourne, Aus­tralia,
Mr. R. J. McNicol from Shanghai, China, Mr. Bom Kavasp from Bombay,
India, Mr. Thorold Gunnerson from Melbourne, Australia, Comma»dant J. J. A.
Keuchenius, Curacao, Dutch West Indies, Aina Bjorklund from Sitockholm, Sweden
Raliallah Youssef Mullohedak from Teheran Iran Persia, Vichi Anderiman from
Ankara, Turkey, C. R. Mossy from Port of Spain, Trinidad, Nercia Salis from
Bucharest, Roumania, J. Vicoloyevik from Belgrade, Serbia, Lyman and Sybil
Ferris from Ketchikan, Alaska, Joseph Simard from Montreal Canada, J. Mat­thiasen,
Hong Kong, China, George K. Campbell, Honolulu, Louis Montilla from
Lima, Peru, G. P. Kruger, Co,penhagen, Denmark, Colin Re1th from Bahrein
Island, Persian Gulf, Hedinn Valdemarssen of Iceland.
In compiling this list we have endeavored to include all of our distinguished
visitors. If we have forgotten anyone we are sorry for the unintentional omission.
1'1
Ex-President Franklin D. Roosevelt
"'To Antoine's-It's good to be back again."
Ex-President Calvin Coolidge
"Deep appreciation for Antoine's."
Alfred M. Landon
"To Roy Alciatore-With sincere delight at your real hospitality and the
opportunity of visiting you again."
Elliott Roosevelt
'':May I express my deep appreciation for a very rare experience, which will
be long remembered. Never has i,t been my experience to enjoy such fine fare."
Herbert Hoover II
"When you want real food go to Antoine's-When you want real life go to
New Orleans."
O. O. McIntyre
In New York Day by Day
"I, too, have enjoyed myself at the famous Antoine's and hope to again."
18
Julian Street
Gourmet and Author of "Abroad at Home" "Wines," "Where Paris Dines," Etc.
"I am old enough to remem.ber some of the historic restaurants of the
w,orld~The Cafe An-glais, Voisin, and Paillard (which are no more) in Paris, and
the Tour d'Argent in the days of the famous Frederic. I rememher the Carlton
in London when Escoffier v;'as Chef, and Lhardi's in Madrid. In New York I
knew Delmonico's, Sherry's, Rector's and J. B. Martin's in their prime. Great
places all of them. Antoine's resembles none of these in style and setting, for
like every great restaurant, it has a style of its own. Its age, its picturesque-,
ness, its high culinary traditions, and its record of practically a century under'
the management of successive generations of the same family, make it entirely'
unique. It is more than a first-rate restaurant in New Orleans. It is an,
American institution, and establishment of which the whole country may be:
proud."
Herman B. Deutsch
Author-"The 'Incredible Yanqui," "The Wedge," Etc.
"To Roy Alciatore whom I acknowledge as a master and supreme artist in
his line."
Count Marcel Le Besac
"Now I am convinced. At Antoine's one eats and drinks just like in
France."
Irvin S. Cobb
Author
"What Jules can do to oysters and fish and various other things that make
up a meal, is what the cooks must do to them in heaven."
George E. Sokolsky
London Times
"The very best dinner I have eaten east of Shanghai, and then equal to the
Lung Foo Soo, which to epicures is heaven."
H. L. Mencken
"Mr. Alciatore: Like every other visitor who has been in your restaurant 1
remember it with pleasure."
Prince Louis Ferdinand Hohenzollern
"I have found a truly great restaurant in North America."
Meigs 0 Frost
Author- "A Marine Tells It To Me," Etc.
"To Jules Alciatore of Antoine's cooking is an art. As a poet blends word!
to produce a sonnet; he blends ingredients to produce a sauce."
19
W. A. Ireland
Columbus, Ohio, Evening Dispatch
"If I had ,been La.fitte the pirate, I would have seized the culinary treasures
of Antoine's and not wasted my time at sea."
Kin Hubbard - "Abe Martin"
Columnist
~'This place beats Brown county all holler."
Natalie Vivian Scott
Modern Priscilla
"N 0 voice, no lute, no pipe there, and no orchestra. But-what is so little
emphasized in moder nrestaurants-food in its most glorified form; quiet in
which to enjoy it, and leisure."
Hugh Baillie
President UnHed Press
"Eureka. This is the flood and wine mood I have been attempting to re­capture
ever since 1921, when I last had such an experience at the Cafe
Cathedral in Rouen. Congratulations, Roy."
K. T. Knoblock
Author-"There's Been Murder Done," Etc.
"There has been no decline in Antoine's standards. All over the w~l'ld
Antoine's is known, and from all over the world gourmets and great men come
to New Orleans to dine at Antoine's."
John Ringling
··Superior Cuisine in unique surro~undings. Best wishes to Jules, Roy and
Escoffier."
20
The Marquis of Donegall
Special Correspondent, London Daily Mail
"Chez Antoine j'ai mange' miex qu'a Paris- et helas fort mieux qu'en ne
puis manager a Londres. And that's That!"
Clem Hearsey
N. Y. Morning Telegraph
"Mention Antoine's on the -boulevards of Paris, the Strand of London, the
Great White Way of New York, or in any American city where the bon vivant
.. is to be found, and lips will smack in ple-asant remembrances."
Ethel Barrymore
"Since my first visit to Antoine's, when I was 14 years old, it has been the
only restaurant in the world for me."
Harry Fraser
Johannesburg, S.outh Mrica
To Roy Alciatore.- l have traveled the world for a good meal and at last I
have found it here at Antoine's.
Nellie Tayloe Ross
Director of U. S. Mint.
With so much appreciation of the delectable dinner at Antoine's.
Collinson Owen
British Author.
I disrCovered here in New Orleans the be-st dinner I have had in America,
with first class French cooking. It was by Jules Alciatore at Antoine's.
Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia
The cooks at Antoine's cook like other cooks think they are cooking.
Katharine Cornell
A thousand thanks for a delicious meal and a delightful eve.
Helen Morgan
To Roy Alciatore.-I have dined in many famous places, some deserving of
their reputation and some not. Antoine's has a great reputation and my ex­perience
here proves that Antoine's more than deserves its reputation.
Hendrick Van Loon
With many thanks for the best dinner eaten since Voisin (God save his mem­Ol'Y)
closed his lamented doors.
John A. Kennedy
Hearst Newspapers
Were I a musician, I should wish to compose an opera in your honor; were I
a poet, I should seek to sing of your glories in verse; but being neither, I can only
tell you in my own modest wa'Y ho<w much I appreciated the fo'ed at Antoine's."
Lawrence Tibbett
To Antoine's.-Remembering the keenest of gastronomic pleasure.
Eleanor Mercien
Writer for Saturday Evening Post.
My compliments to the best "petit diner" I have ever eaten.
Ohanning Pollock
To Roy Alciatore who has kept the din out of dinner and the tradition of
eating, as something more than a purely animal function.
Frankie ~Iasters
My ambition is that some day my music will ·be as marvelous and as pleas­ing
as your wonderful food.
Eddie Cantor
For years I raved about Kosher restaurants, but from now on I am taking
the stump for Antoine's. Did I eat!
Professor Felix Frankfurter
As President Eliot of Harvard has !::aid: He who knows not the value of
good food is to that extent uncivilized.--Dr. Eliot must also have assisted and
been edified by Antoine's.
VVard Morehouse
Seemingly the folk from Hollywood and the port of N. Y. who get as far
south as the Gulf rush to Antoine's Restaurant in St. Louis Street and don't
come out again until they're ready to leave for the North.
22
Jarnshed Dinshaw Petit
Bombay, British India.
I have never known better food and hospitality than at Antoine's.
Bob Davis
New York Sun.
Mon Jules-I, the imperial am.bassador from the immeasurable pit, pronounce
your Cafe Brulot DiaboliC'.lue the quintessence of Hell's best, brewed in the pit
where all incomparable sinners take their vows and declare that death hath no
sting and the grave no victory.
John J. Raskob
To Antoine's whose only remaining task is to develop one's appetite to a
point where one can properly appreciate and fully enjoy the results of the high
plane to which he has developed the culinary art. In this year of our Lord 1934
and of Antoine's '94.
Joe E. Brown
I have had dinner at Antoine's and did I enjoy it. You said a MOUTHFUL
Cornelia Otis Skinner
To Roy Alciatore wi,th much appreciation for the best meal I have eyer had.
Baron and Baronness Rodolphe de Schauensee
The best meals we have had in America we have had at Antoine's.
Abde-l Wahab Pasha
Egyptian Undersecretary of State.
Everything is delightful in the original restaurant of Antoine's. It has been
a great pleasure to lunch here.
Buddy Ebsen
Hollywood
To Roy Alciatore.-Just to let you know that a body hasn't lived till they've
blistered their tongue on an oyster Rockefeller at Antoine's. Yours from now on.
Frederick L. Collins
Harper's Bazaar-Dining de Luxe
Every country has its restaurant Royal, it~ restaurant par excellence. I have
eaten excellent meals at Biffi's in the Gallery at Milan; at Helder'S and the
Savoy in Brus'sels; at T'ournie's in Madrid; at the Paris in Havana; at Antoine's
in New Orleans, Etc., Etc.
Lucious Beebe
What Frau Sacher's was to Vienna and the Cafe Martin was to Manhattan,
Antoine's is still to New Orleans
23
House Beautiful Magazine
Staff Correspondent.
At Antoine's are dozen of dishes which have lured people from all countries
to come reverently to eat and eat again.
Anna Steese Richardson
Collier's Magazine
To Roy Alciatore who carries on the fine tradition of Antoine's, with charm
and distinction
Andre L. Simon
President Wine and Food Society.
In 1940 Antoine's will celebrate its Centenary and it is hoped that a .goodly
number of the Wine and Food Society's members from all parts of the world
will meet at New OTleans and 3/t Antoine's for this auspici'ous occasion.
Mary Reid
Holland's Magazine.
The menu at Antoine's re'ads like a roster of great men. Poulet Rochambeau,
Salade Mirabeau, Filet de Boeuf R()Ibespierre, Oeufs Coolidge, Etc.
J. George Frederick
President The Gourmet Society
Many members of the Goul"met society have dined at Antoine's and they
know how very well you are carrying forward the tradition of your forbears. ·
We are with you 'and we greet you as a leading American Gourmet conducting
a priceless Gourmet Shrine.
G. Selmer Fougner
The New York Sun.
I hear nothing but compliments from my many friends who have eaten at
Antoine's.
Elizabeth WoodY
McCall's Magazine.
I shall long remember my pleasant visit to Antoine's.
Duncan Hines
Adventures in Good Eating.
Antoine's is one of the most distinctive and distinguished
America, by all means visit and eat in this famous restaurant.
and utterly delightful.
2,(
res'taurants in
It is old style
Betty Ann
The Milwaukee Journal.
If you are planning a trip to New Orleans YOUr visit will not be complete
unless you visit Antoine's and sample some of its world famous creations.
A Staff Correspondent
The Detroit News.
New Orleans the Mecca of the Bon Vivant and the home of Antoine's.
TIME
The Weekly News Magazine-May 1'0, 1937.
The President Roosevelt and his son were whisked away to Antoine's famed
old restaurant in the Vieux Garre, to eart Proprietor Roy Alcirutore's specialties:
oysters Rockefeller and Pompano en Papillotte.
I. W. Kanarek
Memp'his, Tenn.
"I had dinner in your r-estaurant the other evening, and received one of your
booklets. I found therein quotations from a lot of ,celebrities, praising your
meals and service. I found nothing had been said by non-celebrities.
"And so in behalf of that vast unspoken multitude, want to say that the
food that you serve in your joint-is damn good stuff!"
25
~l~ You 1Know 'G~l.s About 'G~~
)\~.stau .. ant Antoln~?
That in 1940 Antoine's Restaurant celebrated its 100th year of uninterrupted
service to the gourmets of the world under three successive generations of the
Alciatore family, Founder Antoine Alciatore, Son Jules Alciatore and Grandson
Roy Alciatore and present proprietor.
That Antoine's gallery of celebrities contains over two theusand autographs
and pictures of the distinguished vi3itors who have dined at Antoine's.
That besides the m?ln dining room, Antoine's has 15 other dining rooms avail­able
for banquets and private parties of two to two hundred guests.
IThat the old fashioned Welsbach gas mantles provide the only source of
heat in the main dining room, even in the coldest of winters.
That the huge plate glass mirrors in the main dining room were formerly in
the Grand Ball Room of the famous old St. Louis Hotel, and were imported
from France.
That until a few years ruga, sand covered the floor in the main dining room
and that sawdust still covers the floor in Antoine's famous Mystery Room.
That the 1840 Room is a reproduction of an original early Antoine's private
dining room and contains oil paintings of Antoi.e and Mrs. Antoine Alciatore,
old menus dating back to the early 80's and old theatre programs containing
Antoine's advertisements as far back as 1852 besides the original pair of baby
shoes worn by the founder of Antoine's.
That the Chef, waiters and other employees have ,neen with Antoine's for
many years many of them having begun their career there and ended it there
after a lifetime of faithful service.
That bus boys must serve an apprenticeship of 10 years before they are
eligible to become waiters, that the present headwaiter has been with Antoine's
for 40 years, and that his predecessor served the house for 50 years.
That the same me'nu has been in use at Antoine's for the past 50 years, being
used summer and winter, for luncheon and for dinner, day in and day out,
year in and year out. It is the only menu used at Antoine's and is printed
entirely in French.
That the customer's orders are taken without the aid of paper and pencil,
and entirely by memory, and it is seldom that errors or omissions occur.
That when serving our famous Cafe Brulot Diabolique and Crepes Suzette
the lights are dimmed so that our guests may feast their eyes on the beautiful
blue flame of the burning brandy.
That the oysters a La Rockefeller at Antoine's were so named because of
the extreme richness of the sauce, because at the time the elder Rockefeller
was then the richest man in the world.
That Pompano en Papillotte was especially created in honor of a distinguish­ed
French Baloonist who was entertained at Antoine's, the paper bag being
fashioned to resemble the inflated gas bag of a balloon. Its main purpose
however is to retain the seductive flavours of the fish while it is cooking.
That over 1,080,000 orders of Oysters a La Rockefeller have been served at
Antoine's since 1899 when this dish was invented by Jules Alciatore, and since
26
there are 6 oysters to an order the total number of actual oyster,s i.s 6,480,000.
That most ·of the cooking is done with coal on a French Range, whkh range
was purchased a few years ago to replace its predecessor which had been in
continuous use in the Antoine's kitchen for over 40 years.
That the original Marble Mortar, hollowed out from a gigantic piece of stone
is still in use at Antoine's since the founding of the restaurant, and that over
a dozen pestles made of lignum Vitae the hardest known wood have been com­pletely
worn down in all of these years, in this same mortar.
That the Dungeon, a private dining room at Antoine's was so named because
it was actually used as such during the Spanish occupation of New Orleans.
That the private library at Antoine's contains over 400 cook books, books
on wine, and other related subjects, some of which are over 200 years old and
one old tome dating -back to the year 1659.
That Antoine's boasts of having one of the finest cellars in the country con­taining
rare wines from many different countries and nationalities ,the stock
carried at all times numbering well over 5,000 bottles, the oldest dating back to
1884. The oldest brandy dating back to 1811.
That the success of Antoine's is due to the fact that greater stress is placed
on the food and cuisine than on decorations, and that there are no disturb­ing
influences such as music and dancing to interfere with the enjoyment of
dining and wining.
That Antoine's believes that foods and wines are inseparable and for this
reason will not serve wines and liquors to people who do not care to eat. For
this re'as'On Antoine's does not have a bar or cocktail lounge. It is the people
who drink without eating who become paralyzed by alcohol.
That a restaurant is made, not .born, and while it takes a hundred years to
acquire a reputation, it only takes six months to lose it.
That if you are in a hurry, it is useless to waste your time in a first class
restaurant. Time is a necessary element in the proper preparation of food, and
if you cannot spare the time, you are better off at the corner drug store, where
they will dish you out an already prep,ared sandwich in short order, and it will
probaJbly taste better than a complicated culinary concoction thrown together
in less than the required time. Hurry enters not into the mind of the gastrophile.
That good food is a restaurant's only. worthwhile ad, and all the gold leaf,
dim lights and soft music in the world cannot compete with a refined palate.
That cheap prices and good cuisine do not go together. Cheap prices mean
cheap materials. A humble hen has never yet been known to lay an egg that
hatched out into a p.heasant, and neither will a sandwich ever take the place of
a skillfully prepared dish.
When Antoine's was established in 1840 there were no electric lights, no
automobiles, no moving pictures, no radio, no airplanes, no telephones and no
elevators.
That if you visited Antoine's in the early days, you probably dressed by the
light 'of an oil lamp, you sent a meslsanger by foot to make a re,servation for
you, you probably arrived in a carriage, you pro.bably asked the waiter with a
long moustaehe what dish 'Was special for the day as there were no printed
menus then.
27
BY
ROY L. ALCIATORE
Having been asked to write a dissertation on the gustatory likes and dislikes
of the great and near great who have been guests at Antoine's restaurant I
shall ,begin by saying that of all the famous Ne,w' Orleans di.shes Huitres en
coquille a La Rockefeller is beyond question the "plat" which has met with uni­versal
acclaim from visiting celebrities. More has been said and written about
this one dish than about all the others combined. It was Buddy Ebsen, the
,cinema star who said: "A body hasn't llived until they've ,blitstered their tongue
on an Oyster Rockefeller at Antoine's." Leah Ray remarked: "When a girl eats
Oysters Rockefeller for breakfast you know they must be good." Phil Harris
who had never before been able to make up his mind to eat an oyster, basted
them a La Rockefeller and called for a second dish of these succulent bivalves.
Pompano en Papillotte rates second place in the esteem of visiting moguls.
Jules Alciatore was the first to introduce into New Orleans cooking in paper
,bags. A famout balloonist who had done fancy stunts on errant air waves at
the French army maneuvers was to be entertained at Antoine's and Jules was
told to prepare a dish which would resemble the gas envelope, of a balloon.
Pompano in the paper bag has been famous from that day onward. When tliis
dish was served to President Franklin D. Roosevelt champagne was substituted
for the white wine ordinarily used in the sauce and the Presiden't was loud in
his praise of this famous New Orleans delicacy. Pompano en papillotte has
brought forth enthusiastic comments from Irvin S. Cobb, our genial Movie Direc­tor
Cecil B. DeMille, Alfred M. Landon, Herbert Hoover and countless others.
Next in popularity are the famous "Pommes Soufflees" or blown up
potatoes. The story of the accidental discovery of the method of cooking these
potatoes has been told many times, nevertheless if we were to place end to end
the question asked by ninety-nine percent of the visitors "What makes the8e
potatoes puff up?" thIS question mark would girdle the globe many times. The
late caricaturist Sidney Smith regaled himself by stuffing these 'potatoes with
Pompano en Papilotte sauce and often suggested that we create a stuffed potato
of this type. Among the devotees of Pommes soufflees I should say that Bobtby
J ones, Harry L. Hopkins, Sir Thomas Lipton and Cornelia Otis Skinner are the
most enthusiastic.
The late Florenz Ziegfeld's favorite di sh were frog's legs saute demi-Borde­laise
and although he had never tasted these before visiting New Orleans he
afterwards had hundreds of frogs shipped annually to his estate at Lake Edward
in Canada. When Primo Carnera the ex-fighter visited Antoine's it was found
necessary to place bricks under the tal>le legs to accommodate his great bulk.
He had a light lunch consisting of a huge platter of Spaghetti Milanaise, two
whole roasted chickens I;lnd the whole washed down with a bottle of Chianti.
Prince Louis Ferdinand Hohenzollern, grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm, introduced
28
us to his favorite beverage a mixture of Champagne with a small quantity of
Red Bordeaux wine added.
The multi-millionaire Joseph Leiter was a great amateur of Fresh Caviar and
he carried his own supply with him wherever he traveled lest he be unable to
obtain it when the urge manifested itself. It would ,be fitting to remark here
that inasmuch as the Fresh Caviar imported in refrigerated containers from
Russia costs wholesale $10 a pound or more depending on the brand and grade,
it is indeed a luxury "Fit for a King." The Malossol Caviar, mildly salted and.
shipped in cans is not as expensive, and is the kind that is usually employed
when Caviar is called for.
When Ex-President William Howard Taft visited New Orleans in 1909 he was
taken to Antoine's and was given a taste of the delicious Louisiana river
shrimp. He called for more shrimp and more shrimp practically making a meal
of these and pronounced them most delectable. Upon tasting the Cafe Brulot
Dia,bolique, Bob Davis, roving correspondent of the N. Y. Sun, exclaimed: "I,
the imperial ambassador from the immeasurable pit, pronounce your Cafe
Brulot Diabolique the quintessence of Hell's best, brewed in the pit where all
incomparable sinners take their vows and declare that death hath no sting and
the grave no victory." The late John Ringling of circus fame on tasting the
Cafe Brulot commented: "What could be more sublime than to taste the
delights of heaven while beholding the terrors of Hell?"
Although fried catfish is not on the Antoine menu, we were forced to produce
some from the market to satisfy the craving of Roscoe Turner, the speed flier.
The late Sarah Bernhardt was very fond of Escargots or French Snails and.
Enrico Caruso repeatedly called fOT a Matelotte d'Anguille or eel stew. The
Grand Duke Alexis, ·bro-ther of the Czar of Russia regaled himself with Tortue
Molle a La Rupinicoscoff, a soft shelled turtle stew prepared from a se·cret
recipe given to Jules Alciatore by a famous Muscovite chef.
Speaking of Ambassadors brings to mind an incident which transpired many
years ago which is worthy of mention because we consider it to ,be the greatest
moment of dark despair in the history of Antoine's. It seems that a great
Ambassador was to be feted, dined and wined Chez Antoine and preparations
and arrangements were made in advance to insure absolute perfection of details.
Special dishes the ingredients of which had to be imported were imported with
great care and patience and on the night of the banquet all was in readiness for
the feast. The piece de resistance was brought in, presented to the Ambassador,
who with calm and studied nonchalance declared: "If you don't mind I would
. like to have some sliced ham and cheese." After all, Ambassadors do get fed
up on rich dishes, but why oh why did it have to happen to us?
A special oyster dish was created for Marechal Foch when he breakfasted at
Antoine'~ in 1921. These Oysters a La Fosh also happen to be a favorite dish
29
of our own charming Dorothy Dix. The visit of Marechal Foch occurred during
the days of prohi.bition but as a gesture of true Southern hospitality some white
wine was procured and offered to the Marechal, who d.eclined it with these
words: "I appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness, but since I am in America
enjoying the hospitality of America I cannot conscientiously break the laws of
America."
Harry Richman is fond of Shrimp Richman a spicy dish created in his honor.
The late O. O. McIntyre praised in his column the lettuce' Chapon salad which
he enjoyed at Antoine's. He was a lover of fine foods and. had a special weak­ness
for salads. Ex-President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was very fond of
game and when he sank his famous teeth into the fat ,breast of the papabote or'
Louisiana Upland plover which was prepared for him, it was evident that he
appreciated the rare flavor of this now practically extinct bird.
Visitors from Norway and Sweden go for Smorgasbord and Hors d'Oeuvres,
the French like bizarre dishes, the ItaLians love pastes and ots of Olive oil, the
English lean toward roast beef, the Germans like simple food well prepared,
and the Americans are willing to try anything once.
Our strangest request was for a dish of fish eyes which were served and
relished by a distinguished man of letters who of necessity must remain
incognito.
•
Antoine's is our one restaurant that ranks
with the great ones of Europe-and our old­est.
For a century it has been run by the
Alciatore family and held to its standards.
More famous people have dined there than
at any other place in America. It is not only
a -center of Creole cooking but has also origi­nated
several dishes, such as Oysters Rocke­feller,
that no one has succeeded in copying.
If you are looking for the best restaurant in
America, this is it.
By J. DONNELL TILGHMAN
Stage Magazine, July 1938.
30
Mad'arne Antoine Alciatore
1824 - 1914
31
Camille Averna
Head Chef
32
Propl'eitor Roy Alciatore Sampling 1,OOO,OOOth order of Oysters Rockefeller.
Head Waiter "Cas sou" in Attendance
M
M
Sugg~stions
While it would take a volume to mention the
hundreds of specialists offered to the epicure at An­toine's,
it is worth while singling out a few which
have oHen been imitated but never duplicated.
Huitres ('n Coquille a La Rockefeller
Oysters baked in their shells with such rich ingredients that
the name of the Multi-Millionaire was borrowed to indicate their
value. This dish made its debut to the world from the kitchens
of Antoine.
Bisque d'Ecrevisses a La Cardinal
A soup made of crayfish boiled in white wine and subsequently pounded
into a pulp with an addition of cream, aromatic herbs and vegetables.
1 Pompano en Papilotte
Succulent Pompano with a delicious sauce cooked in a paper bag
in order to retain the flavor.
Pommes Soufflees
Puffed potatoes which are the one new thing under the sun.
Poulet Chanteclair
Chicken marinated in red wine and cooked in such a manner as
to impart a most distinctive flavor.
Crepes Suzette
The famous French pancakes burned with brandy and liqueurs,
served a La Antoine.
Cafe Brulot Diabolique
Black coffee burned vdth cognac and flavored with spices. Another of
Antoine's exclusive creations.
34
Irvin S. Cobb
"Once upon a time, being seduced by certain poetic words of Thackeray, I made a
special trip to a certain cafe in Paris to ea~ bo:tilla-b.:tisse. I found it diltim:dy worth
while. Later I went to Marseilles, the home of this dish, and there ate it again and found
it better. And then I came back to America and ate it at Antoine's in New Orleans and
found it best of all."
-from Irvin S. Cobb's Article, Just to Make Your Mouth
Water."-Cosmopolitan Magazine.
35
Will Rogers
Syndicated News Service.
"Antoine's is the famous eating place in ew Orleans, and let me tell you
brother, when you have a famous eating place in that city, it must be some
place, because they do know how to eat, and what to eat, and hospitality, and
when you speak of Antoine's you have reached the "Z" and "&" in alpha.betical
praise.
"It was founded in 1840 and has never had to resort to a jazz band. Imagine
a restaurant existing and making a world wide reputation on just food. My
ilombrero is topped to Jliles and Roy at Antoine's."
36
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40
When the great MaI1chal Ferdinand Foch, gen­eralissimo
of the Allied Armies against Germany
in 1917 and 1918, visited Nt.lw Orleans during the
course of an American tour, the Knights of Co­lumbus
of this city ,tendered him a ·ceremonial
breakfast on the morning of December 8, 1921.
A special dish "Huitres Foch" had been present­ed
in his honoT, and "F. Foch" as he authographed
the menu was delighted with the meal. But when
Jules Alciatore placed before him a bottle of fine
Bordeaux, saved from Jules' private cellar (for
Prohibition was still in force), he shook his head,
saying in French:
"I am the guest of the American people, and as
s'uch cannot bring myself to bre·ak one of their
laws."
On several occasions, during its century of ex­istence,
radical re-arrangements of furniture have
h.ad to be made at Antoine's for distinguished
guests.
One such was the visit of Primo Carnera, the
giant heavyweight prizefighter, who consumed
two whole roast fowls casserole, and a medium­si
~ ed hOliler of spaghetti specially prepared for
him at Atnoine's. Realizing that the Ambling
Alp could not comfortably place his legs under
an ordinary table, Roy Alciatore sent for bricks
of which a foundation was built beneath each of
the four legs of the ta,ble : on which the huge
boxer's meal was served.
And Primo scribbled, in awkward French: "To
M. Alciatore, a true champion, my stomach and
my legs are grateful."
41
The Divine Sarah Bernhardt played her repertoire
at the Old French Opera House in New Orleans in
the early years of the present century- L'Aiglon, La
Soreiere, and the rest. As a tribute from one suprem~
aI"tist t'o another, i,t was t 'he cu'S'tom of Jules Alcia­tore
to prepare a small tureen of delicious soup each
night, during her engagement, at such a time that he
could with his own hands br.ing it to her in her dreiS'Sl ~
ing room just after the second act of whatever
drama was on the night's bill. .
On the closing night the great actress kissed him
enthusiastically and declared : "If my New Orleans
engagement has been a success, my dear Jules, it is because you- have provided
me with the strength to make it so."
Only one guest has ever carried gustatory coals to An­toine's
Newcastle. That was the late Joseph Leiter of
Chicago. To 'be sure, the sportsmen of New Orleans,
bagging a limit of woodcock, snipe, doves, or wild duck,
will occasionally bring them to Anaine's to be prepared
in that matchless kitchen .
But the late Joseph Leiter w'hose favorite ' dish was
fresh Beluga caviar, which he imported in ice contain­ers
from Russia, always carried his own supply, lest the
urge for a snack of these sturgeon eggs should find him
where the delicacy was not to be obtained.
An even in New Orleans, he kept his own private sup­ply
of Beluga Caviar- at Antoine's. 'Incidentally, Beluga caviar is probably the
world's most expensive food article, the price being somewhere in the neighbor­hood
of $15 per pound.
Women have the right to change their minds, and
are proverbially prone to exercise this right. That
fact is responsible for the last contribution of the
late Jules Alciatore to the list of notable creations
which Antoine's has given the world of fine food:
"Cotelette Hawaii."
In 1932 a hostess selecting a luncheon menu fOl! a
group of friends she planned to entertain "chose fr-esh
pineapple for dessert. During the course of the
luncheon she changQd her mind and decided to close
her meal with an Omelette Historiee. What to 'do
with the pineapple, already sliced and sugared in
its own delicious juices?
There was in that year a vogue for lamb chaps as a reducing diet. And so Jules
simmered a thick slice of pineapple in its own juice until it had become a golden
broiv..-n. Upon thds was placed a tenderly broiled lamb ,chop. And over the whole
was poured a spedal variant of Sauce Bearnaise, -crolWned with one inky-black
broiled fresh mushroom. Behold! Cotelotte Hawaii had sprung full-panoplied
from the Jovian range at Antoine's beca.use a hostess had suddenly changed her
mind a,bout dessert.
42
•
For eight years, during the century of its existence, Antoine's restaurant
solemnly took periodic orders for elaborate banquets which were never prepared.
In 1914, for the first time, a man whose clothing might well be described as
shabby-genteel, came to the famous dining room, spoke to M. Jules, and asked
that dinner for four be prepared for that evening. M. Jules looked doubtful, but
these doubts were allayed when the stranger made known the menu he had
selected, together with the wines chosen to accompany each course. Only one
'who was accustomed to the finest in food and drink could possibly have arranged
that menu.
The meal was prepared, and was ready to be served that night punctually at
7 :30. But no one ever appeared to eat it. The incident was forgotten, as just an­other
disagreeable mischance, but the same man appeared some two months later
and again ordered as sumptuous and carefully chosen a meal as befor,e. This
time it was recognized he was suffering from delusions. Obviously once a per­son
of great wealth, one accustomed to ordering the sort of meals he now still
thought he could order, he had no thought of returning with guests to partake
of the treat so prepared.
Yet ,his order was taken quite deferentially, and he was assured all would be
ready for him. No preparations were made to be sure, and as ;before h'El did n{)t
appe'ar at the time specified. For eight years, at intervals, this strangest of all
Antoine's "guests" would thus drop in, order a royal banquet, and drop out of
sight for another month or two. Then he disappeared. But in every instance his
order had been taken as respectfully and as ceremoniously as if he had been the
: ::y's best known and wealthy bon vivant.
STRANGE AS I,T SEEMS " (\
EYE OPENERS-
;~9~
-.) /j / I \ I I
SINCE 1840
1'HE ONLY ~E'AT
IN THE OIN\NG
ROOM OF
AN-rOlNE'S
I<E5IAURANf, NE\V OR1£At-IS,
LA" 11.45 COIWE FROM
THe OLD C/JS M:4N7i.ES /
ON rll£ Cf/I1NOEL I£R. .
-by Bob Crosby