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NEWS FROM TONEY'S SPAGHETTI HOUSE
SPRING 1986 EDITION
Festival A Trois: An
Orgy of Good Times
(In Four Days or Less)
The Sugar Bowl. The Super Bowl. Mardi Gras.
What a wild time it was! The Sugar Bowl snuck up
on us just as we were recovering from our turkey and
yam dinners. As the Volunteers plastered orange
everywhere, Miami fans were looking for safe refuge.
Then the Super Bowl. Sports Illustrated: ''These
poor inkstained and blow- dried wretches were trying
to determine what somebody named Buddy the TV
sportscaster was erroneously told by somebody
named Boomer the disc jockey about what McMahon
allegedly had said at some time around 6 a.m. on
Wednesday in Toney's Spaghetti House. Maybe."
(February 3, 1985 issue.)
All of the above and more took place during an
exciting week in which live broadcasts from Toney's
dining room were aired on powerhouse Chicago radio
station WLS. The guests, day by day:
Monday: Adele Mullen predicted the Bears would
win. AI Hirt discussed jazz. Film by TV6 of the morning
appeared on Bob Krieger's 6 p.m. news and then
on the Breakfast Edition.
Tuesday: Black Houdini. Superdome idea man
Dave Dixon. Channel 8 showed up, cameras rolling.
Surprise visit by Boomer from B-97 who arrived in his
B buggy. The Bee himself, who posed for photos with
WLS morning show host Fred Winston, a bag of
boiled crawfish and a six-pack of "Mardi Gras" beer.
Ronnie Kole talked about jazz, New Orleans and the
French Quarter festival. Ralph Brennan from neighboring
restaurant Mr. B's brought Chef Jimmy
Smith, who cooked some Bananas Foster and
grillades and grits. On the air, Ronnie Kole and Jay
Bonomolo showed th WLS crew how to "squeeze
da'tails and suck da' heads." WLS c._pmedian Dale,
who had previously showed a sense of bravado about
eating crawfish, had to excuse himself. Talk is cheap.
Fans from Chicago began calling Toney's for reservations
and asking Fred Winston for Super Bowl
210 BOURBON STREET
FRENCH QUARTER • 568-9556
tickets. Sid King of Arkansas station KGFL called to
express his jealousy at being excluded from the Sugar
Bowl fun. Biscuits and coffee, beignets and coffee,
crawfish and beer, grillades and grits and Bananas
Foster- -all before 10 a.m. Fred Winston and company
found out how a typical New Orleanian lives.
Wednesday: Buddy Stall talked about the history of
football in New Orleans and also issued the WLS crew
an Official New Orleans License for Prostitution - -a
replica of the real thing once issued in the late 1800's.
Tom Fitzmorris talked about the New Orleans cuisine
scene. Also challenged the city of Chicago that New
Orleans could produce as fine a steak as they. Gasps of
horror! After an appetizer of King Cake, the Wednesday
show was closed with a New Orleans drink
tasting of Ramos Gin Fizz and a Sazerac, two drinks
that were made famous in New Orleans and supplied
courtesy of the Old Absinthe House.
Thursday: Mary Foster from WNOE came to talk
about sports. Joe Cahn of the New Orleans School of
Cooking presented a hilarious program during' which
he explained that the sole purpose of life in New
Orleans is to eat. He talked about his cooking school
with graduates from all over the world. The school
cheer is EAT EAT EAT, BURP BURP, EAT EAT.
He showed some Louisiana products and offered to
fricassee Fred Winston's microphone and guaranteed
it to be tasty and t~nder. Chris Kerageorgeou, the chef
®....·...,--Toney's Spaghetti Express
and owner of La Provence across the lake, was even
more raucous as he kept the entire WLS staff in
stiches. The munchkin-like chef's eye fairly gleamed
as he wolfed down Eagle snacks and talked about his
career as a chef. Posing with me for a photo, the
impromptu Chef Chris hopped into my; arms.
Real Excitement: Following the flap in which Jim
McMabon was unjustly accused of making
derogatory remarks during an interview supposedly at
Toney's ·with WLS, Toney's was deluged with calls
from Channels Two, Five, and Nine of Chicago, a
Boston radi~ station, Gannett News Service, etc. To
clarify things, Jim McMahon was not here at Toney's
where they say he was and didn't say what they say he
did. 1
_ F~day~ Paul Prudhomme came in to talk about
guess what. Fans pouring into the city flocked to
Toney's to see all. By this time Toney's banner
welcoming Sugar Bowl fans and the WLS Fred Winston
show had been broadcast nationwide on ABC,
CBS, NBC and CNN. We were interviewed or filmed
by WBBM of Chicago, Gannett News Service, a
Boston radio station, WDSU-TV and WVUE-TV of
New Orleans, Sports Illustrated and countless others.
It felt as if the whole world were walking through
our dining room or at least looking at it. And, in· a
way, they were.
is-
Letters to the Editor
Dear Toney:
'I have had the pleasure of reading the first Summer
1985 edition of your "The Spaghetti Express." In my
opinion, it was very well done and made enjoyable
readirrg ... I think it is a very clever idea and should be
amusing to the fortunate individuals on your circulation
list.
Nelson A. Cousins
Dear Editor:
Just finished reading your entire Fall 1985 edition
of the Spaghetti Express ... loved it! The newsletter's
a better advertiser than South Central Bell anyway!
B. J. Truax
Gentlemen:
Thank you for your first edition of your Spaghetti
Express. Everyone in the office has read it and
enjoyed it immensely. And, of course, Toney's is one
of our favorite eating spots ... keep dishing out those
fabulous spaghetti dishes. Ruth Russell
Dear Jay:
Loved your Spaghetti Express! Good as a
hand-rolled meatball. Or a center cut of lasagne.
Alec Gifford
TV6
~
Toney's In The News
Did you catch Toney's own Jay Bonomolo and
Baby Jason on your local PBS station? We were the
devils interviewed by Cbappy Hardy in his recent
production "Chappy Goes To The Mardi Gras,"
aired nationwide this past winter.
The 1986 New Orleans Vignette magazine, a glossy
! top-drawer magazine for tourists and locals alike, is
featuring a two-page photo and recipe layout of
Toney's Shrimp Scallopine. Anyone wishing a copy
can write to the New Orleans Vignette, 1905 Peniston,
New Orleans, La. 70115. The magazine is a bargain at
$2.95.
~
Stars Shine At Toney's
Toney's physician Dr. and Mrs. Ray J. Lousteau,
their lovely daughter Claire, and Dr. and Mrs. Fred
Kahler were hosts of a dinner at Toney's for stage and
screen celebrities (not to mention husband and wife
team) Lucie Amaz and Laurence Lucldnbill. Ms.
Arnaz was appearing with Tommy Tune recently at
the Saenger in the Broadway musical "My One and
Only.'' While feasting on stuffed macaroni, shrimp
scampi and seafood platter, Ms. Arnaz and waiter
Roy delighted the party with their comic exchanges.
~
Close Encouters
On Bourbon
Who was that guy, face painted red, who was
walking around the French Quarter with a pillow
strapped to rear end?
The sign around his neck read "Kick Me For A
Dollar" ... and people were doing it! Like I always
say, if you think you've seen everything, come to
Bourbon Street.
•
I
®~-Toney's Spaghetti Express @)
-
Dear Customers:
You Drive Me Crazy!
I'll never understand some of the things that some
of our customers do. Here are two examples:
#1. Several tourists pass by Toney's front door,
stop, look in, read the menu, look in again and engage
in the following conversation:
"What do you think?"
"I don't care. Want to go in?"
"I guess so. What do you think?"
"Looks good to me!"
"Yeah, looks good to me."
"Okay, let's go somewhere else."
#2. Two local office girls are playing tug-of-war
with the check as they approach the cashier.
"I'll pay."
"No, you paid last time. I'll pay."
"No, give the check to me. (To the cashier.) Don't
take her money!''
"No, it's your money she can't take. I said I'm
treating!"
"Okay, okay. Pay it!"
(To the cashier.) "Will you split this check for us?"
~
The Spaghetti Express
Goes ''DoVIIl Under''
Some wonderful visitors from Sydney, Australia
were so delighted by their meals at Toney's and so
amused by The Spaghetti Express they asked ... no,
insisted that we keep them on our mailing list. Hmm . .
. I wonder what the postage is for mail delivered by
kangaroo pouch?
~
She Says It With Taste
Julia Child, the undisputed doyenne of TV
cooke-ry, in discussing the American Institute of Wine
and Food, recently said: "The AIWF can change
things by getting people together to taste things and
say, 'Why, why does this taste like rotgut and cat
pee?' "
Rachel, David,
Goodie and Josh
While we enjoy all our customers, once in a while we
are visited by someone who is truly memorable for one
reason or another. This time it was the energetic
Wandel Family of Centralia, Illinois. Those terrific
kids did some doodles on napkins entitled ''Thanks
For A Great Lunch" (reprinted here). Well David, 1
Goodie, Josh and Rachel-thanks for the memories.
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Old-Fashioned Mothers'
Club Spaghetti Dinner
Members of St. Piux X Catholic Church feasted on
the First Annual Spaghetti Dinner, catered by Toney's
February 23,1986. The SPX Mother's Club joined
Toney's staff for a stint behind the stoves while some
800 people wolfed down spaghetti, meatballs, garlic
bread and Italian salad. A good time was had by all. A
round of applause to Susan Genovese, Kathie Campbell
and rest of those mothers. By the way, I have a
couple of openings ... no, just kidding. Special thanks
to our youthful helper who has been dubbed Chef Boy
Ar Dee.
~
Short Orders
A typical dinner for the Minnesota Vikings during
their summer camp consists of 8000 calories per person
per day. Packing away up to 2500 pounds of vit-
®~--Toney's Spaghetti E-xpress @)
ties in a sitting, the 120 team members and staff put
away 200 pounds of steak, 100 pounds of crab legs, 80
pounds of baked potatoes, 20 pounds of buttered
cauliflower, 100 gallons of fruit juice and 500 pounds
of rice. What's for dessert?
Barwash is the name of the latest rage. You wash
your clothes and eat there, too. It's the brainchild of
Robb Walsh of Austin, Texas. Since washing clothes
in a laundromat is no fun, Barwash solves the
boredom by offering an Italian deli, gourmet snadwiches,
a bar and a laudromat all under one roof. The
idea is so successful he's expanding into Austin and
Houston. I guess if you drip something on your shirt,
you can just lean over and pop it in the old Maytag.
Not For Queasy Stomachs. Korea, which is hosting
the 1988 Olympics, has conducted a compaign to
improve its food image. Their Food Research Institute
is producing more Western-oriented foodstuffs to
cater to the coming hordes while at the same time
banning some of the local specialties that may horrify
visiting tourists. Among the restricted delicacies are:
dog soup, worms and snake. Toney's sez: What's the
big deal? These things are just the Korean answ~r to
Cajun hogshead cheese and blood sausage!
The owner of Michael's, a deluxe restaurant in Santa
Monica, California once said, "My clientele really
doesn't care if I raise my prices $5 .00."
According to a recent article about Los Angeles
restaurants, West Coast sushi aficionados do not flin~h
at running up a tab of $100 for two hours of sampling at
a sushi bar.
In yet another article, a review of an LA sandwich
shop and deli indicated that a recent sandwich lunch was
dirt cheap at $20 per head. For sandwiches?!?
Don't worry-we'll make sure your money goes a lot
farther than that at Toney's.
Are you ready for this? McDonald's hamburger
chain opens a new restaurant every 17 hours world-
10,000 restaurants will hit $10 billion per year. Incredible
... every 17 hours.
Dr. Godell' s Boiled
Peanut Tea Is Good For
What Ails You
Godell, our workhorse of a working chef for some
45 years at Toney's, is a terrific cook and a wonderful
woman, but sometimes she gets downright wierd. It's
not uncommon for a shocked customer to look into
the kitchen to see Miss Godell whipping me with a
handy towel or firmly twisting my ear for emphasis
while calling me something unpleasant. Another day
might find her practicing her brand of folk medicine:
"Open up your mouf, ya big sucker. It's just flour and
water. Ain't gonna kill ya. I swear, this'll plug yaup
good." Needless to say, ours is not a normal bossemployee
relationship.
This time, however, I think Go dell is really onto
something: Boiled Peanut Tea. It's guaranteed by Dr.
Godell to cure diabetes and anything else. Good for
you and, believe it or not, good-tasting, too. Try this
recipe and let us know.
Rinse half a 2 Y2-pound bag of raw peanuts. Do not
crack. Boil them in a half gallon of water for 10
minutes. Turn off fire and let steep for five minutes
more. Strain, cool, then refrigerate. Serve with lemon
and sugar or honey just like regular tea.
This is good enough to make up for those bologna
recipes we offered last time.
Sitting Pretty
By the time you read this, Toney's customers should
be sitting at our brand new and attractive tables and
chairs. And we didn't even raise the prices.
Happy Pasta,
wide. It is estimated that sales from their soon-tijW~~~----,
p~
Jay Bonomolo
TONEY'S SPAGHETII ·AND PIZZA HOUSE
Famous for Italian Spaghetti and
Individually-Prepared Pizza
210 Bourbon Street
New Orleans, La. 70130
lcnar Alien
La. Collection
PAID
NEW ORLEANS, LA.
P£RMIT NO. 810
Howard Tilton Library
Tulane University
New Orleans, La. 70118
Pasta!
