Poodle Dog Restaurants

Prospectors and early San Francisco The Poodle Dog Restaurants trace their origin to San Francisco's earliest days as a city. The first iteration of the Poodle Dog appears to have been a California Gold Rush era restaurant that provided inexpensive French cuisine to those seeking their fortune. Historians do not agree on the origin story of the Poodle Dog's name. Indeed, it has been suggested that the name came from the first proprietor's family dog, or that it was named "Poulet D'Or or Poule D'Or which was unpronounceable to the average American", The Poodle Dog quickly became a popular restaurant beloved by San Franciscans. By 1868, it had transitioned away from simple French cooking to fine dining with more extravagant food. The Poodle Dog maintained this level of sophisticated diner until its closing, some 100 years later. Gilded Age: 1890s through prohibition The Poodle Dog shifted again from mere fine dining to all-out opulence and luxury by the 1890s. Some say this era saw its "greatest popularity as a rendezvous and a restaurant". The menu reflected this: it had swelled to 17 pages. It is said that "the destinies of many important business undertakings was settled at these noon dinners." The Poodle Dog also had a decidedly more racy reputation in the evenings. It was well known for "its private upstairs dining chambers and love nooks [lending] a sort of Parisian air to the city's nightlife". This reputation was well-documented, and came with an expected level of scandal involving the city's elite, including the mayor of San Francisco. The restaurant maintained its reputation - both in the dining room and upstairs - during this era, but it was never the same as the gilded era. Finally, Prohibition dealt it the "finishing blow," and the PD closed its doors on April 15, 1922. The proprietors felt that a French restaurant without wine was not worth keeping open. Later days The Poodle Dog remained closed until 1933, when Calixte LaLanne, a former proprietor, reopened it. This iteration was called the "Ritz French Restaurant," until his son changed it back to Poodle Dog after Calixte's death in 1943. The restaurant remained open, although not in the same splendor, until it closed for good in the mid-1960s. ==Notable restaurateurs==

• François Péguillan (also known as Eugene Péguillan, or Francois Peguilhan), from New Orleans, Louisiana • Langsman Known as one of San Francisco's most famous restaurateurs of the era. • Louis Coutard (1864–1908) • Camille Mailhebuau (1867–1924) • Calixte "Cal" LaLanne (1873–1943) Cal's grandson File:Jean Bergez.png|Jean "John" Bergez File:Camille Evariste Mailhebuau.png|Camille Evariste Mailhebuau File:Louis Coutard.png|Louis Coutard ==Known locations==

• 1849: Washington Street & Grant Avenue (then DuPont), although also claimed to be near Clay and Grant (then DuPont). Other historians believe the first Poodle Dog did not open until 1858, and that its first proprietor was Nicholas Richit. • 1868: Bush Street & Grant Avenue., although some say this location did not open until 1873. • 1898: 151 Mason Street at Eddy Street, although some say this move did not happen til 1895. Location is now Parc 55 San Francisco. • 1906: 824 Eddy Street. • 1908: Bergez–Frank's Old Poodle Dog Restaurant, 415 Bush Street. • 1920: New Montgomery and Stevenson Street. • 1942: Ritz French Restaurant, 65 Post Street, later "Ritz Poodle Dog" ==Legacy==

Crab Louie Many restaurants, past and present, claim to have invented Crab Louis. Historians agree that Bergez-Frank's Old Poodle Dog has one of the strongest of those claims. ==References==