01.27.09
Le Procope
Have you ever walked past a person or place and felt you had just passed someone or something that must be important? It was this feeling that drew us inside Le Procope. Amid the holiday lights, we were greeted to our left with a glass case housing Napoleon’s hat. We began to suspect we had found a place in history. We were drawn further inside, thinking that somehow we would come to understand our interest in this particular restaurant. Not wanting to advertise our ignorance, we sort of stood there hoping someone would announce its significance. But no, we only received a proper pronunciation.
We did not know that we had just stumbled into the oldest café in Paris. Some sources say it is the oldest restaurant in Paris, but I had always heard that honor belonged to La Tour d’Argent established in 1582 as an inn for the dining pleasure of aristocrats. (Even a visit to the web site is an experience: http://www.tourdargent.com) Le Procope was actually established in 1686, as a café for fashionable men only 20 years after the introduction of coffee. Later, when the Comédie française opened across the street, Le Procope became the café associated with the theater. Throughout the years, the restaurant hosted Rousseau, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. And the story goes that Napoleon who was a frequent visitor had left his hat as a pledge. The literary and social history of Le Procope is documented by the décor. The web site offers a glimpse through photos of this inviting establishment, click here to visit the site.