At Monte Carlo one is given everything that can
be imported and which is expensive. The salmon
comes from Scotland or Sweden, and most of the
other material for the feasts is sent down daily from
Paris. The thrushes from Corsica, and some very
good asparagus from Genoa or Roquebrune, are about
the only provisions which come from the neighbour-
hood, except of course the fish, which is plentiful and
excellent. I was one spring entrusted with the
French Provincial F ovens 1 1 9
ordering of a dinner for six at the restaurant of
the Hotel de Paris, the most frequented of all the
dining-places at Monte Carlo, and I HoteldeParis
told M. Fleury, the manager, that
I wanted as much local colour introduced into it as
possible. He referred me to the chef, and between us
we drew up this menu, which certainly has something
of the sunny south about it : —
Hors d’ oeuvre et Caviar frais.
Creme de Langoustines.
Friture de Nonnats.
Selle d’Agneau aux Primieurs.
Becassines roties.
Salade Nigoise.
Asperges de Genes.
Sauce Mousseline
Dessert.
VlNS.
i bottle Barsac.
3 bottles Pommery Vin Nature 1892.
To crown this feast we had some of the very old
brandy, a treasure of the house, which added 60 francs
to the bill. The total was 363 francs 10 centimes.
In this dinner the Creme de Langoustines was excel-
lent, a most delightful bisque. The nonnats are the
small fry of the bay, smaller far than whitebait, and
are delicious to eat. They are perhaps more suitable
for breakfast than for a dinner of ceremony, and had
I not yearned for local colour I should have ordered
the Filets de Sole Egyptiennes in little paper coffins,
which look like mummy cases, a dish which is one of
the specialties of the house.
Dining at the Hotel de Paris one pays in comfort
for its popularity, for on a crowded night the tables in
the big dining-room are put so close together that
there is hardly room for the waiters to move between
120 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe
them, and the noise of the conversation rises to a roar
through which the violins of the band outside the
door can barely be heard.
The restaurant of the Grand Hotel, where MM.
Noel and Pattard themselves see to the comfort of
their guests, is also a fashionable dining-place. I first
tasted the Sole Waleska , with its delicate flavouring of
Parmesan, at the Grand Hotel many
Grand Hotel i • i 1 i c
years ago, and it has always been one or
the special dishes of the house. This is a menu of a
dinner for six given at the Grand, as a return for
the one quoted above of the Hotel de Paris : —
Creme Livonienne.
Filets de Sole Waleska.
Baron de Pauillac a la Broche.
Puree de Champignons.
Petits Pois Nouveaux.
Merles de Corse.
Salade.
Asperges. Sauce Mousseline.
Souffle du Parmesan.
Friandises.
Unfortunately I have lost the bill of this feast.
A Poularde Santos Dumont — a boiled chicken stuffed
with a variety of rich good things and served with a
brown sauce — is one of the creations of the chef of
the Grand.
Page 67
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
At Monte Carlo one is given everything that can be imported and which is expensive. The salmon comes from Scotland or Sweden, and most of the other material for the feasts is sent down daily from Paris. The thrushes from Corsica, and some very good asparagus from Genoa or Roquebrune, are about the only provisions which come from the neighbourhood, except of course the fish, which is plentiful and excellent. I was one spring entrusted with the
French Provincial F ovens 1 1 9
ordering of a dinner for six at the restaurant of the Hotel de Paris, the most frequented of all the dining-places at Monte Carlo, and I HoteldeParis told M. Fleury, the manager, that I wanted as much local colour introduced into it as possible. He referred me to the chef, and between us we drew up this menu, which certainly has something of the sunny south about it : —
Hors d’ oeuvre et Caviar frais.
Creme de Langoustines.
Friture de Nonnats.
Selle d’Agneau aux Primieurs.
Becassines roties.
Salade Nigoise.
Asperges de Genes.
Sauce Mousseline Dessert.
i bottle Barsac.
3 bottles Pommery Vin Nature 1892.
To crown this feast we had some of the very old brandy, a treasure of the house, which added 60 francs to the bill. The total was 363 francs 10 centimes.
In this dinner the Creme de Langoustines was excellent, a most delightful bisque. The nonnats are the small fry of the bay, smaller far than whitebait, and are delicious to eat. They are perhaps more suitable for breakfast than for a dinner of ceremony, and had I not yearned for local colour I should have ordered the Filets de Sole Egyptiennes in little paper coffins, which look like mummy cases, a dish which is one of the specialties of the house.
Dining at the Hotel de Paris one pays in comfort for its popularity, for on a crowded night the tables in the big dining-room are put so close together that there is hardly room for the waiters to move between
120 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe
them, and the noise of the conversation rises to a roar through which the violins of the band outside the door can barely be heard.
The restaurant of the Grand Hotel, where MM.
Noel and Pattard themselves see to the comfort of
their guests, is also a fashionable dining-place. I first
tasted the Sole Waleska , with its delicate flavouring of
Parmesan, at the Grand Hotel many Grand Hotel i • i 1 i c
years ago, and it has always been one or
the special dishes of the house. This is a menu of a
dinner for six given at the Grand, as a return for
the one quoted above of the Hotel de Paris : —
Creme Livonienne.
Filets de Sole Waleska.
Baron de Pauillac a la Broche.
Puree de Champignons.
Petits Pois Nouveaux.
Merles de Corse.
Salade.
Asperges. Sauce Mousseline.
Souffle du Parmesan.
Friandises.
Unfortunately I have lost the bill of this feast.
A Poularde Santos Dumont — a boiled chicken stuffed with a variety of rich good things and served with a brown sauce — is one of the creations of the chef of the Grand.