What's the restaurant in Mad Men?
In a few episodes of Mad Men Season 2, Don Draper and Co. keep going to a restaurant in New York called "Lunesse". Its depicted as a really classy joint, a french place. Don takes the comedian and his wife there, and Don's wife gets really excited about going to such a fancy restaurant.
I know that in other episodes of the show, they talk about, and go to real New York establishments (Sardi's and P.J. Clarke's come to mind) but after googling Lunesse, I couldn't find any info.
Does anybody out there know anything about this place, Lunesse? Or is this possibly just a fictional Old New York establishment?
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13 Comments:
Lutece. It's closed. I've never been but from what I understand in it's day it was THE place to be.
VerasTastyFreeze at 10:51AM on 09/11/08
The NYTimes on the closing of Lutèce in early 2004.
Alaina Browne at 11:44AM on 09/11/08
Truly Lutece.
bessfour at 2:11PM on 09/11/08
@VerasTastyFreeze @Alaina Browne. Thanks for the info, guys! Lutece, not Lunesse...that NYT article is interesting. The description of its legacy as "the Four Star French" restaurant in NYC completely fits in with how its used in Mad Men....
JudgeFudge at 3:56PM on 09/11/08
Lutece was opened by James Beard and another gentleman whose name escapes me. They hired a guy named Solznic (sp?) as the chef and was concerned the place to be. There is an excellent description of the restaurant in a book I am ready about New York food.
pksmash at 3:59PM on 09/11/08
Andre Soltner, who is now a dean at the French Culinary Institute.
Lutece was our special occasion place for years. I miss it.
Cathy at 4:25PM on 09/11/08
It's doubtful if Don Draper would have been able to get away with what he did in that scene with the tall redheaded wife of the comedian at the real Lutece, though. Very doubtful.
foodvox at 4:48PM on 09/11/08
I thought I heard them say "Lutece," not "Lunesse."
baboo at 11:02PM on 09/11/08
Ladies... gentlemen, please. A few seconds of searching will turn up:
For many New Yorkers, the name André Soltner is synonymous with fine dining. Soltner’s culinary training began at age 15, and he secured his first formal job at the Paris restaurant Chez Hansi. In 1961 he came to New York to accept the position of head chef at a new restaurant called Lutèce. Soltner eventually bought out the owner, and for over 30 years he ran the renowned outpost for gourmands, winning a multitude of fans by consistently turning out impeccable classic French cuisine. “To generations of sophisticated New Yorkers,” wrote Bryan Miller of the New York Times, “Lutèce has represented a gastronomic lighthouse in an ever-changing sea.” Many mourned Soltner’s departure from the restaurant in 1994, but he has remained a visible figure as a teacher and dean of classic studies at the French Culinary Institute, co-author of The Lutèce Cookbook, and winner of the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France and a James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.
http://jamesbeard.starchefs.com/events/2006/01/005.shtml
Sommelier at 5:18PM on 09/12/08
In addition to all that, he's quite a charmer.
In the Classic French Tradition, of course. :)
foodvox at 8:29PM on 09/12/08
I first ate at Lutece in 1979. There were dining rooms on multiple floors. We ate on the ground floor, where the walls were covered with paper that looked like yellow flowers and green leaves on trellises.
I don't know if the other rooms looked different, or if Soltner had redecorated between 1962 and 1979, but I was disappointed not to see the restaurant I knew in the set on "Mad Men."
klg19 at 3:59PM on 09/13/08
Lutece was the absolute best restaurant in NY and every meal I ever had there was a revelation of what food could be. These were more innocent times, granted, but I remember having a roasted chicken there that was beyond anything I had ever conceived of. Compared to today's restaurants, the decor was pretty low-key. Downstairs was a faux arbor effect, and upstairs was simply a room with tables. But going there was such an unbelievable treat. At one point in the 1980s I had a pretty large expense account, and I remember having several business dinners there. It was the height of swank and I remember feeling extremely honored when Andre Soltner would come to your table to ask, in his very gentle way, how everything was. I don't know when the restaurant opened though, and I am not sure if it was in existence in the time-frame covered by Mad Men. I guess that would be pretty easy to figure out...
roxlet at 8:08AM on 09/15/08
i had an expense account in the 80s. And my youthful figure. And exuberance. And not a damn clue of how to eat, or where, or what.
annien at 6:06PM on 09/19/08