'Food Events' Increase At Club

This is the bar in La Corona you go behind to join the club.

News About the 'Café Metropole Club'

Paris:- Saturday, 18. December 1999:- The server-lady, Linda Thalman, thinks there should be a 'Club Meeting Report' without this - as established last week - PR fluff - and that the 'report' should be put online on Monday with the regular issue.

She thinks it is silly for me to attend the 'Club' and then go back to 'Ed's office' and slave over putting its report online straight away; sometime when it is still Thursday somewhere in the world.

The server-lady is well-meaning. She gets many more emails than I do, and she is just as sick of staring at lines of words on her monitor as I am becoming to be with mine.

But, in the short history of Web magazines on the Internet, I started out doing 'nearly live' reports from Paris, and this is like some sort of addictive drug. I'll admit I have a hangover from it on Fridays, and this is a bad day, Metropole-wise, to be less than alert.

Except for it being a pain in the neck, I like doing this PR version of the Café Metropole Club. Quite often - maybe it happened once - there has been instant feedback from an actual Thursday 'Club Report' and I have been able to include it here.

Well, anyway, there is none of this, this week, here. The reader who wrote to ask if it is safe to wear fur coats in Paris will want to know that since I replied, I have actually seen real people wearing fur coats in Paris.

Although it is pouring rain steadily today, tomorrow the wind will switch to the north. Within a few hours, while I am asleep, the temperature will drop nine degrees in Paris; resulting in a Sunday 'high' that is far lower than Sunday's 'low.' Sunday will be fur-coat weather-day in other words.

Oh, the 'Club.' I remember last Thursday's meeting pretty well because we - you, me, all of us - chalked up four whole new real 'Charter' members. If this was a record, I will certainly report it to the Guinness people.

For last Thursday's 'City of the Week' we switched continents again, ending up in Louisiana - due to two great ladies from the crescent city of New Orleans, which is pronounced 'N'Awlins' if you happen to be from there. If you are not from there, it is pretty difficult to pronounce it correctly.

Dale Gaber, also from New Orleans, not only pronounced it 'N'Awlins;' but everything else she said sounded like it too. Her accent sounded like one of those fine, tall drinks with magnolias in them.

Although Adrian 'I Just Eat' Leeds tried to shovel Gumbo and Crawfish Etouffée into the Club's 'Food of the Week' award, this distinction had already been given to the Café La Corona's own Café Metropole Club Sandwich - ordered by Jan Shaw - which did not have eggs in it because the café was out of them.

The Gumbo and Crawfish Etouffée is available at a Paris restaurant named 'Thanksgiving' - I am not kidding - but is not on La Corona's menu. Since your Paris club meets at La Corona and not at 'Thanksgiving,' I don't think Gumbo and Crawfish Etouffée will ever become our 'Food of the Week.'

Absolutely paradisiacal meals for 100 francs or less guide-book author Adrian 'I Just Eat' Leeds does not eat just for fun, although she says she tries not to 'waste any meals' because the bills for them make her income-tax advisor happy.

Last Thursday's other brand new, real 'Charter' members were Dick and Carol Madden. Dick is in the cosmic-science business and he came from Bures-sur-Yvette, which is near the famous Cadillac Ranch out there somewhere in Essonne. Carol said she was from the part of Wisconsin that does not have particularly beautiful dirt. What there is, she said, is a lot of it.

She added that Wisconsin had a lot in common with Paris; "A lot of cheese", she said, cryptically adding, "Not like Mexico."

Dana Shaw's 'brick-through-a-window' claim of the best 'croque-monsieurs' in Paris, launched in this space last week, attracted no other pretenders for 'world's best' title. What's the matter with you members? Are you all marshmallows or something?

If you still want to dispute this, or if you want to know how a 'café noisette' actually snuck up on us, you should read the unauthorized and unofficial account of last Thursday's weekly Club meeting - in case you haven't already read it. Hit the hyperlink to see what happened.

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