David Wondrich
@davidwondrich
Barroom historian. Author of The Comic Book History of the Cocktail, Imbibe, Punch and a mess of other books. Ardent Wet. Brooklynite and part-time Triestino. Intellegentia mechanice generata delenda est.
I saw that one; the Verandah was one of New Orleans's most popular bars at the time. This description of the rotunda bar at the Merchant's Exchange on Royal St is interesting, as it suggests that the place was serving a free lunch, but in the plan NYC style (Le Courrier, May 25, 1838, p. 3):
C) By 1842, this is being called the "free lunch," even though to access it you must buy a drink. D) New York bars start offering a "New Orleans Free Lunch," which distinguishes it from the rudimentary native version; here's the New York Herald, December 20, 1853, p. 8:
The progression of events seems to be something like this: A) by 1820, New York bars were offering a rudimentary free spread with their drinks; here's the NY Morning Courier, October 10, 1829 on what was served: crackers, English cheese, cod, sliced tongue. More than a snack.
There may well be some truth in the claim that Alvarez was a free lunch pioneer: this is from Le Courrier de la Louisiane in 1838 (Nov. 8, p. 2). "La Bourse de la Cité" is the City Exchange, which the St Louis opened as. The operative text follows:
The first item I have explicitly calling it a "free lunch" is from the (Philadelphia) Public Ledger (July 30, 1842, p. 3):
This, also from the Picayune in 1840 (I accidentally omitted the year in the above; this one is Dec. 25, p. 2) gives a pretty good idea of what the St. Charles was serving:
The first notice of the custom I have from New Orleans is from New Orleans (Daily Picayune, July 30, p. 2). This places it at the St. Charles hotel, in the American Quarter, not the St. Louis, in the French Quarter.
This is a fantastic thread! The earliest mention I have of the institution itself, without the name, is the rather rudimentary service common in New York bars in 1820, here described in the Lynchburg, VA Public Press & Advertiser (June 13, 1820, p. 2) and the Times of London (Sept. 29, 1820, p.2).
If only for what it offers a writer, I’d want to step back in time a bit so I could sink my teeth into this all-time piano banger.
Well, this thread gave me an urge to shake one (ok, two) up. No lavender, but although my liking for lavender is very strictly limited, I will try that. With the Luxardo gin this ends up tasting of fresh apricot. Crazy.
I've always thought William Quiller Orchardson's Napoleon Aboard the Bellerophon captured the bleakness of the whole enterprise rather well:
“Do you always drink Stingers, Mr. Stroud?” (The Big Clock, 1948.)
Cursed Space No. 754 Unexplainable seating area, Charles de Gaulle.
This undeniably Lovecraftian device—“il Turbo,” they call it—is actually damned effective. Coffee in 2 or 3 minutes. Caffè fhtagn!
I don't know if this is accurate, but somebody owes me money. intheweights.com
As I mentioned in my comment, these things start picking up in the 1850s. Here's a particularly grotesque one from 1865, that got very wide circulation.
…that followed the umpteen generations who thought they should look like this…
I can’t help but think that the three generations of people who thought cities should look like this…
I suspect this 1934 item from the New Orleans Tribune (October 30, p. 5) has something to do with the Vieux Carré's origin: behind the bar at the Monteleone, Bergeron would make recipes contributed by bartenders from four states to find the best one, that would be entered into a national ...
However, Ken Gormin's "The Spotlight," in the New Orleans Tribune (July 27, 1937, p. 12) had the same Bénédictine and dash of Peychaud's, but used Angostura instead of the orange and had 1/3 each bonded rye, Hennessy Three-Star and vermouth, plus a heavy garnish (lemon peel, pineapple and cherry).
The 'scope or the 'light? According to F. E. Herbert's "The Periscope" column in the New Orleans States (August 5, 1935, p. 4), Victor Bergeron's classic Vieux Carré Cocktail was half vermouth, a quarter each whiskey and cognac, a teaspoon of Bénédictine and dashes of Peychaud's and orange bitters.
The original Harry’s Bar (Venezia) Martini: stir 4 parts gin (45% Abv or above) and 1 part Friulano wine (Tocai Friulano, until the Hungarians complained) with ice. Strain into a bottle & put it in the freezer for at least 30 mins. Pour into chilled glass & twist lemon peel over the top. Sublime—
And if you’re drinking good tequila, it’s best to have a real lot of it (thanks, Julio!)