Well, I had wine rather than a martini and I skipped the post-dessert smoke, but I'm old enough to remember restaurants like this.

quote:

The Drama of Dinner: How to Fine-Dine at Home

In postwar America, opulence took the form of heavy cream, butter, beef, seafood—and the occasional dessert on fire.

You can probably picture the sort of menu that features Clams Casino, Crab Louie, and Steak Diane. It’s oversize, a single card-stock placard, handed to you with great flourish by a waiter wearing a white dress shirt and black bow tie. The background music is piano, played at a gentle volume just out of sight. Elegantly old-school, this kind of fine-dining experience demands a pre-meal martini and might even make you long for a post-dessert smoke.

https://getpocket.com/explore/...source=pocket-newtab

Back when we were dating and shortly after we got married, Mr wtg and I used to go to a couple of places that served food like what's described in the article. One was called Seven Eagles (a huge place with waiters dressed in formal attire), and the other one was Baker Street (so named for its cozy British-y Sherlock Holmes could-have-lived-here decor). Both had great Steak Diane prepared tableside. I remember I thought Seven Eagles was soooo fancy...now it looks soooo old....


We don't eat much beef anymore, but maybe I'll muster up the energy and make some Steak Diane one of these days.

I love restaurants rants like that and seek them out on my birthday. If there’s Lobster Thermidor on the menu I’ll probably like the place.

The ultimate was Lawry’s in Beverly Hills. A real throwback with carving done table side and flaming desserts. I haven’t been there in years.

And the nice thing was, they weren’t acoustical nightmares like so many restaurants today. You could actually hear the person across from you.

Yeah, I remember when fine "French" dining was all about heavy cream sauces, and steak Diane adorned menus. Chicken Kiev was big too!

Then more people actually began GOING to France, Italy, Spain, Germany etc. and they came home with a different set of expectations.

This article is about the place where we had our wedding reception. They did a great job despite the fact that we were in the middle of the January 1979 blizzard that dumped like 20 inches of snow on Chicago.

https://www.chicagotribune.com...712120402-story.html


We used to go back for anniversary dinners and would almost always get one of the waitresses that worked our reception; we were legendary.

They closed years ago and the restaurant torn down and replaced by condos. I still miss the relish assortment, the butt steak, and the fabulous prime rib.

Sounds wonderful!

I’ve never heard of Shrimp de Jonghe but it looks to be easy enough to make. I’ll try it!

Cherries Jubilee. My Dad used to make is fir us on special occasions.