Since writing the above the Avondale has firmly established itself as one of the fashionable dining-places, and, following the example of most of its elder competitors, has become a company with Hachett's, the Whitehorse cellars, as a second asset of the company. Hachett's, of which the dining-room, underground, has always had a good cheap table d'hôte, is now managed by M. Eugène, while M. Garin is in command at the Avondale. Amongst interesting dinners I have eaten at the Avondale, one of the most interesting was a "Household Brigade Magazine" one, a dinner which the staff of the Magazine, written by Guardsmen for Guardsmen, hold from time to time. This was the menu of the feast, and it is a good example of a dinner, not a very expensive one, for some twenty guests—
Canapés à la Russe.
Petite marmite. Bisque d'écrevisses.
Turbotin. Sauce mousseline.
Volaille Derby.
Selle d'agneau Richelieu.
Bécassines rôties.
Salade.
Asperges vertes.
Bombe Martinique.
Ananas glacés.
Petits fours.
Soufflé Viennois.
I asked M. Garin to give me the recipe of Bortsch Soup, which I always think the best soup in the world, and here it is, as written out by M. Dutruz, the chef—
Bortsch Soup
Ayez un bon consommé avec lequel vous manquez un morcelle la marmite comme il est l'usage pour le consommé extra, faites blanchir un morceau de poitrine de bœuf que vous ajoutez et une caneton que vous faites rôtir pendant quelques minutes, le tout étant cuit, coupez les filets du canard et le maigre du bœuf en petit carré d'un dessin centimètre, passez votre consommé à la serviette, ayez d'autre part une Julienne de légumes, avec beaucoup de choux. Servez notre potage en ajoutant aux légumes les morceaux de bœuf et canard plus un jus de betterave rouge de façon de lui donner une couleur rougeâtre et un peu de poivre moulu frais; envoyez une saucière de crème à part.
Take a good stock, and nearly fill the saucepan with it, as is usual in the case of a rich soup. Blanch a piece of brisket of beef, add this, with a duckling which has been roasted for a few minutes. When all is cooked, cut some slices off the duck and cut them up into little squares of less than a quarter of an inch, cutting up the lean part of the beef in the same way. Pass your sauce through a linen strainer. Have ready some Julienne made with vegetables, with plenty of cabbages. Serve your soup, after adding the vegetables, the pieces of beef and duck, and also the juice of a beetroot so as to give the soup a red colour, and a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Send up a sauceboat of cream separately.
Not only did M. Garin give me the soup recipe, but he sent me the recette of soufflé de filet de sole à la d'Orléans, a dish invented by the Duc d'Orléans, who is one of the best patrons of the Avondale. It has a double interest, through being an interesting dish, and showing Monseigneur le Duc as being an expert in the detail of the haute cuisine.