Franklin, Jefferson and Other Nice People - Sunday, 28 Sept.

Le Procope at 13, rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie, was founded in 1686 – it is apparently the oldest restaurant in the world. Voltaire, Molière, Diderot, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin all ate here. The food isn’t the best in town (by a long shot), but it sure is fun to think that you might be sitting right where Jefferson or Franklin once sat! A gentleman dining alone was seated next to me so we struck up a conversation. Mr. Tuğrul Kudatgobilik is the President of the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations – he travels around the world on business and to the U.S. frequently to see his daughter and American son-in-law in NY City (she met him while working in Washington D.C. one summer during her college years). His English was very good, so we were able to talk about traveling, the economy, politics, life and food and culture in Turkey and in Minnesota, etc.


Just across from us there was a display case with a hat that looked downright Napoleonic. (Sorry for the blurry photo, but I hope you can make it out!) We were speculating on its story – had it really belonged to Napoleon? Had he dined here too? Had he forgotten it one night after drinking too much? Mr. K. thought that perhaps he had left it in payment for his food one night when he was broke (I said ya, sure, Napoleon broke…ha!). So I asked the maître d’, who said that indeed it was one of Napoleon’s hats, and he had given it in payment for his coffee years before he crowned himself Emperor. Gosh! And I had to pay with real money!

Waiters in Paris are very professional - it's not just a job to pay for college, it's a career. Just before I left I observed a waiter carrying in a couple platters of oysters-on-ice. He had a towel draped over his forearm, and it fell. Without missing a step, while it was still in mid-air and before anyone (else) could see, he gave it a quick soccer kick to underneath an unoccupied table. SCORE!