Hauteur

Liz Smith has enthused about mayonnaise, about fried chicken and about French cuisine and she wrote in the New York Times "We ate high off the hog, low off the calf" and told in that space another good anecdote:

I learned a lot about comfort from Henri Soulé. One weekend the elegant DuPont-wed Francis — yes, with an "i" — Carpenter and her friend Shirley Maytag sailed into Sag Harbor. "We must go to the Hedges," Francis said, and so they set out for East Hampton. Arriving, Francis was stunned to see only a few cars. The dining room was all set up but empty. "Tell Mr. Soulé that Mrs. Carpenter is here for lunch," Francis said to a passing busboy. Soon, Soulé appeared in a bloody apron wiping his hands. Apologizing that he'd been butchering, he was charm itself, seating the ladies and asking what they'd like. "Whatever you'd like us to have," responded the gracious Francis. To Mrs. Maytag, she whispered: "Poor Henri. He has no customers."

Soulé served them a fine lunch accompanied by an excellent white Bordeaux. When Francis asked for the check. "Oh, madam," Soulé said, bowing. "There is no check. For you see, there is no lunch at the Hedges!"

So, who says there's no free lunch? If you're lucky, you eat high, and you eat low.

Liz Smith
"Mayo With A Slice of Life"
The New York Times Magazine
November 4, 2001

And so for day 1249
15.05.2010