Welcome to the Chateau de Paris—the “Castle” of Paris! Look around you! Everything you see has its memories of “Gay Paree”. The Chandelier in the foyer graced the salon of a fine old Chateau for centuries. And the flag bedecked shield above the door is the coat of arms of the City, of Paris portraying, paradoxically enough, the “Marchands d’Eaux” or Water Merchants. Close your eyes in the “Wine Keg” and imagine you are in an underground “Chais” with its labyrinth of tunnels still used by present day Frenchmen for the storage of wines. The barrels lining the wall have made the long trip from a similar “Chais” in Burgundy. And the chandeliers are the same crude iron ones as used for time immemorial. Stroll into the “Cafe”, the grand salon of the Chateau. It was under chandeliers like these that Paris society entertained at the turn of the century.
The blue silk on the walls was especially created for the Chateau de Paris, as was the painting by William Diedrickson. Now step into the “Cave”, the rustic wine cellar. The bins along the walls contain a few of the many hundreds of cases of French wines the Chateau has in its cellars. All have been selected carefully, not only for quality, but for appeal to the American taste. Once a year Mr. Levy makes a trip to the vineyards of France to hold tasting sessions before buying. It was on trips such as these that he brought back the old oval wine casks and many lanterns that light the Cave and the Wine Keg. Oh, what stories they could tell! The high chandeliers are filled with empty bottles, many autographed by the first diners when the new Chateau opened. Framed on the walls of the Cave are some of Mr. Levy’s collection of French autographs. Here you see those of Napoleon, Andre Gide, Necher, Paul Valery, Louis XV, Andre Dumas, Renoir and many others. The reputation for fine food of the Chateau rests upon the skill of its Swiss Chef de Cuisine, Alfred Utiger, and his assistants. Every dish is prepared under his direction according to the finest standards of the classical French kitchen. Here are the French sayings that appear on the walls of the Cafe, along with their translations. Try your luck before you read this! “Tout le monde s’apercoit quand j’ai bu, seulement, personne ne voit lorsque j’ai soif”—(Everyone notices when I’m drunk, but nobody does when I’m thirsty). “On voit plus de vieux ivrognes que de vieux medecins”—(One sees more old drunkards than old doctors). “Les hommes sont comme les casseroles … II faut savoir par quel bout les prendre”—(Men are like casseroles, one has to know how to handle them). “Sois sobre et tu vivras vieux. A quoi bon?”—(Stay sober and you’ll live long. What for?). “Aux venus tard, les os”—(For the latecomers, only the bones). “In vino Swenha Veritas”
