Many years ago, the first fancy restaurant that my husband and I went to was La Caravelle, one of the many children of Henri Soulé’s Le Pavillon, New York’s first temple to haute French cuisine.

The chef at La Caravelle was Roger Fessaguet and the maîtres d’hôtel/owners were Robert Meyzen and Freddy Decré. (Freddy was the younger brother of the majestic Martin of Le Pavillon.) The years went on. Freddy moved to Florida. Robert took over La Crémaillère, in Connecticut, with his son.

New owners, the Jammets, took over La Caravelle. The service remained divine as did the food. Now, that it is closed, I miss it like crazy, along with its light-hearted Jean Pages murals. It was a favorite of some of the first round of Kennedys; I miss them, too.

Someday, I will share with you the ultimate put down of a brash and boorish young customer. In the meantime, here’s the recipe for Crème Anglaise that went on almost every dessert at La Caravelle. If a vanilla sauce is too much for what you’re serving, try this classic Orange Sauce instead.

(This is the seventh installment of The Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology.)

Posted by barbara in dessert | | Subscribe to this feed