Sebastian Cabot: He comes
by his size quite honestly ...
One of the great eaters of this or any other age paid a
visit toLe Ruth's recently: Sebastian Cabot. He is, of
course, the rotund, bearded star of the television series
"Family Affair."
And aside from being a fine actor, he is a genuine
gourmet and, indeed, quite a cook, himself; We'll tell you
about his visit-and the fabulous meal he had-inside.
We'll also tell you about some innovations at
LeRuth's:-
(A) About wine ... including our new cellar, that's
up, instead of down; including our delightful discovery
of several delicious "Petit Chateau" in Bordeaux;
and about the opportunity to have your own
private bins in our new cellar.
(B) About three new dishes on the menu. And ...
(C) About some of the sweetest things in the
world (not ladies, but our own ice creams and ices.)
A
memorable
meal
Sebastian Cabot came to town to appear at
the 50th anniversary celebration of Louisiana
Girl Scouts. And was a guest at dinner of Mr.
and Mrs. Phil Johnson, he, the WWL-TV
Editorial Director. And this is what they ate :
Dinner began with whipped Pate de Foie
Gras, followed by Potage LeRuth, then Oysters
Brazilia, surrounded by four baby lobster
tails and drawn butter. This was topped with
a half-dozen superb squabs, roasted quickly
and crisp; accompanied by a vol-au-vent of
Morille mushrooms in wine sauce and parslied
potatoes. Intermission was called after this,
featuring our Mandarine Ice, to clear the palate,
and a snifter of Calvados, to prepare for what
followed. The feature of the meal was a glorious
rack of veal, boned and roasted just right, sweet
and tender, and kissed by a sauce glace de
viande. (For the chefs among you, it took half
a day of cooking and 22 pounds of veal bones
to make one-half pint of sauce.) With the veal
went french fried onions, Dauphin potatoes
and fresh broiled mushrooms. Salad was Bibb
lettuce, with olive oil and dry Vermouth
dressing. This was followed by Sabayon for
dessert (plus a whole creole cream cheese for
Sebastian, coffee and Cordon Bleu.
Wines included a sparkling mousseux from
Seyssel with the pate and soup; Muscadet
for the oysters and lobster tails, and a Chateau
Ausone '55 with the squabs. A magnificent
Pommard Latour '34, with beautiful color and
a fine nose, accompanied the veal with grace
and dignity. And Dom Perignon '61 made the
dessert even more festive, both before and
after coffee.
Sebastian insisted he would return to LeRuth's
at least twice a year. And has already
booked one of the private bins in our cellar
for his favorite vintages.
Chef LeRuth, center, with honored guest Sebastian Cabot and Madame LeRuth at left, and Mr. and Mrs. Phil Johnson
DIG A HOLE in New Orleans or this general
area and what do you find: Usually a holeful
of water. The water table being what it is,
what does a good restaurant do when it wants
to build a wine cellar? It does what we did
we built a wine attic!
With walls eight inches thick for maximum
insulation, and with modern refrigeration units
to keep temperature at a steady 55 degrees
and humidity at a perfect 50 per cent, we have
a wine "cellar" of 20,000 bottles that must
rank among the finest in the nation. And we
have stocked it with some of the finest wines
in the world: from France, of course, the
great ones ... Romanee Conti, Richebourg,
Dom Perignon, Chateau Latour, Chateau
Cheval Blanc, Chateau Y'Quem; the excellent
ones ... Gevrey Chambertin, Moulin a Vent,
Puligny Montrachet, and Corton Charlemagne
Louis La tour.
And we also have an exciting selection of
"Petit Chateau," good but little known wines
of France which we personally tasted and
selected during our trip to France last July.
Among these are a Pomerol, Chateau Clos
Mazeyres; a St. Emili on, Chateau de la Ville
Cloche; and a Medoc, Chateau Greysac. We
recommend them highly. Their body, their
nose and their taste is quite fine. And their
price, because of personal selection, quite
reasonable.
For the connoisseurs among our customers,
we are able to offer private bins in our "cellar,"
of either six-bottle or 12-bottle capacity. The
bins are individually locked, and stamped with
the owner's name. Unfortunately, word of the
private bins leaked out several weeks ago and
many have been spoken for. A few remain,
however.
CURRENT VINTAGE CHART
(Note: No vintage chart can be more than a general guide due
to variances of weather, judgment, integrity and skill at each vineyard.)
1955 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966
Red Bordeaux 9e 8s 10i 7 9+ 8+ 6 9+ 4 9
White Bordeaux 8+ 7 9 6 8 5 8 3 8
Red Burgundy 9e 8 10 7 9 9 5 9
White Burgundy 9 8s 9+ 7+ 8+ 9 9 5 8+
RhOne Wines 9 9 8 7 10 8 6 8+ 8 8+
Rhine Wines 7+ 7+ 10i 6 8 7+ 7 8 5 8
Moselle Wines 8+ 8+ 10 6 8+ 8+ 8+
Champagne 8+ 8 9 6 9 8+ 8+
l.Useless 3.Poor 5. Useful 7. Very Good 9.Great
2. Very Poor 4.Mediocre 6.Good S.Fine 10. Very Great
e-Early Maturing s-Siow Maturing i-Irregular c-Consume Promptly
FOOD, TO LeRUTH, is a vital, vibrant thing.
It has a mystique all its own. And its preparation,
in diversity and variety, is a challenge.
As a consequence, our menu is constantly
changing, as LeRuth continually seeks newer
and better ways of tempting your palate.
Several new dishes have been added to our
menu. '\Ve thought you'd like to hear of them:
Crawfish Etouffe is a new appetizer. It's
an old Cajun dish, we know, but LeRuth
pours it over hot crabmeat, than bakes it to
give it a new flavor.
Three new entrees have been added-
Supreme de Volaz'lle aux Morz'lles Creme,
which is a chicken breast resting in a superlative
sauce of morille mushrooms, fresh cream
and Chablis.
Les N oz'sette de Veau au M adere-a feast of
thin veal cutlets sauteed in butter with fresh
mushrooms and Madeira wine.
Le Ecuelle pour Gourmet-this a random
masterpiece . . . changing by day . . . one day
fish, another fowl, or another beef, or lamb or
veal. This gives LeRuth's talents broad fields
to wander, and rescues his imagination from
the regimentation of the menu. Whatever it is,
it will be a treat.
We should also remind of the superb ice
creams and ices, all blended and made personally
by LeRuth: the ices-Mandarine or
Black Currant au Cassis; and the ice creamsFrench
Vanilla and Cafe'.
See you soon?
