Lost Restaurants of Asheville by Chase Nan K.;

Author:Chase, Nan K.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2019-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

A postcard showing off Chez Paul. North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Public Library, Asheville, North Carolina.

The enticing “Dinner De Famille,” even if just a sop to respectability, began with a refreshing choice of chilled tomato juice, fresh fruit cocktail, Florida tangerine juice or half grapefruit and then soup du jour, fresh fruit and a relish tray. After that came an entrée from among seventeen varied choices served with Legume de Famille, Salade Francaise and dessert (along with coffee, tea or milk). The entrées included a mouthwatering array of dishes, such as half a fried spring chicken à la Maryland, Chicken Livers on Toast–Maitre d’Hotel, fried jumbo oysters Sauce Bon Vivant, baked Virginia ham Sauce Pomme, steak country style Bonne Femme, filet mignon or sirloin or T-bone broiled on charcoal and, curiously, a vegetable dinner with poached egg.

In weird contrast to this culinary lineup, the ad also included the restaurant’s board of directors—perhaps a first in restaurant promotion— which included a local attorney, the clerk of city court, a swimming pool technician and “Paul Houdeille, Owner & manager.” Or, as he called himself, “Monsieur Paul, Directeur.”

No matter what legal troubles Chez Paul Famous Restaurant would experience over the years to come—and there were many—the menu always oozed with appeal. Spaghetti wasn’t just spaghetti; it was Italian Spaghetti a la Caruse. Veal was Veal Cutlet, Milanaise. Chicken wasn’t just baked or stewed; it was Fricassee a l’Indienne. The shrimp were “Shrimps à la Creole,” and the filet of sole was presented with Sauce Meuniere. “Delicacies from the Sea to the Land of the Sky,” the 1952 Lake Shore Dinner menu proclaimed, would include lobsters, crabs, shrimp, scallops, pompano and frog legs.

Business hours were extensive—no particular closing times were mentioned—and Chez Paul had attractive table and booth seating for one hundred indoors and more on a dining patio outside.

Police reports tell the rest of the story, or enough of it. In 1949, “beer license revoked…drunkenness and disorderly conduct in the place of business…Alleged gambling…King Bee of Gambling…Assaults.…Mr. Paul Houdeille present at bloody brawl in apartment next to restaurant…money owed…fracas.”

But le soleil always rose brightly on the morrow. A 1949 advertisement gives a clue to the restaurant’s evolution:

Now Under the Management of

Mack & Jack Fortune, who say to you

Hear Ye Folks! Hear and see!

We can’t tell tales of Gay Paree.

We’ve never been there that is true

But CHEZ PAUL’S we know is the place for you—

To wine and dine and have some fun

The finest spot under Asheville’s sun.

The service the best, the Food superb

What more can you ask? Say not a word—

Until you’ve give[n] us a test

Come on out, we’ll do the rest.

We’ll make your evening full and complete

One you’ll say has been a treat.

We know what you want, we think we do

Our utmost we’ll do in pleasing you.

For any occasion or any date

We’d like to help you celebrate.

Just dial the number 9-4-4-9—

And with this thought we’ll end this rhyme—

Good Food, Good Wine, Good Friends, Good Cheer

That is our motto, the reason we’re here:

So an

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