La Côte Basque

La Côte Basque was a New York restaurant. It opened in the late 1950s and operated until it closed on March 7, 2004. In business for 45 years, upon its closing the New York Times called it a "former high-society temple of French cuisine at 60 West 55th Street."

History

The restaurant opened in the late 1950s by Henri Soulé, Jean-Jacques Rachou became the owner and chef in 1979. At that time the restaurant was located a block to the east, moving to the West 55th Avenue location in 1995. It was "known as much for its elegantly arrayed tables, set against a backdrop of handsome French seaside murals, as for its food. Mr. Rachou said he spent more than $2,200 a week on flowers and more than $3,000 on linen. The fabulous floral designs were created by the team of Charlene Rooney (daughter-in-law to actor Mickey Rooney) and Suzanne Preisler, the wife and occasional writing partner of multi-bestselling author Jerome Preisler. Suzanne's experiences as the longest-tenured florist at La Cote Basque are reflected in her recent collaborative Grime Solvers' mystery series. At the time of its closing, a prix-fixe dinner at La Côte Basque was $70 per person, and an average à la carte meal was about $100, not including wine.

Truman Capote's unfinished novel Answered Prayers had as its setting a "catty and thinly veiled" version of the La Côte Basque; the chapter "La Côte Basque 1965" was excerpted in Esquire magazine in 1979. A scene from the film Light Sleeper (1992), directed by Paul Schrader, features Willem Dafoe and Susan Sarandon eating lunch in the restaurant.

Famous patrons included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Babe Paley and Frank Sinatra.

External links

• The New Yorker, "Talk of the Town: Dept. of Dining: Aftertaste", March 22, 2004, by Adam Gopnik.