823-825 Decatur St.

"At 8:40 fire originated on the second floor of P. Baguey's Clothing Store No. 211 Decatur Street...flames quickly destroyed the building - A two-story brick, owned by Wm. Gomez...Flames communicated to the adjoining building, a two-story brick, owned by Mrs. Mary D. Weil and occupied by A. D. Gomez, as a clothing store...next flames came to Nos. 215 and 217 Decatur Street, a two-story brick owned by Paul M. Godchaux and occupied by Hench and Company as a wholesale liquor store. No. 207 Decatur Street owned by Mrs. M. Durel and occupied by H. Beguie, as a barroom and restaurant received damages to the extent of $300... No. 215 Decatur, a two-story brick owned and occupied by G. Tujague as a barroom and restaurant around to the extent of $300 damage...A shoemakers shop located in an alley adjoining No. 211 Decatur Street occupied by J. Terrano was destroyed altogether..."

"Madame Begue died yesterday...Mme. Begue did not come without experience to the precedence of the kitchen in that modest and quaintly-built two-story brick edifice at the corner of Madison and Decatur Streets which was tenanted by Hippolite Begue, Caterer...her young womanhood days soon after coming to this city in 1853 from Bavaria...then married Hippolite...who installed her as directress of his establishment in 1877...native of Bavaria, Germany and came to this city in 1853 and for 43 years exercised the profession as cook..."

"Nice Guy Corrects Begue Blooper:

This seems to be the proper moment to purge my conscience of a venial blooper, while at the same time pursuing the thesis enunciated here a few days ago, that the world is full of a lot of super-nice individuals who, by and large, are not sufficiently appreciated. Both these concepts deal with the late lamented restaurant which stood at the corner of Decatur and Madison (NOT Decatur and Dumaine) sts. in old New Orleans..."

"Among the many things interesting about a visit to Tujague's Restaurant in the French Quarter, in addition to the table d'hôte cuisine and the running fire of amusing conversation indulged in by everyone serving the tables, is the ancient cash register on which the money is rung up.

There is probably none other like it. It has a wheel on the side and every time a sale is recorded it is necessary to turn the wheel to open the drawer to make the change. A recent patron, Mrs. Frank Reyes, took a look at it and declared, 'It must be 90 years old.'

So I called Philip Guichet, the congenial owner of the restaurant, to ask him was it really 90 years old. 'Could be,' he chuckled. 'I know it's older than I am.'

Then he said, 'You know we bought a new one about five or six years ago but it's upstairs.'

'Upstairs?'

'Yes. The employees didn't like it as much as the old one so we put it away and are still turning the wheel on the old one.'"

"Death Claims Restaurateur:
Mrs. Castet Longtime Owner of Tujague's:

Mrs. Clemence Castet, owner and operator of Tujaque's Restaurant in the French Quarter for the past 40 years, died Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. at Mercy Hospital..."

"Behind the Bar:

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No, despite the first-glance impression, this is not one of DIXIE Roto's familiar 'Pictures Out of Our Past.' Although it might well be, were the men attired differently...

Have you guessed which present-day New Orleans bar it is?

If you said Tujague's, you've been there."

"2nd Oldest Restaurant:
Tujague's Traditions Unchanged:

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If you want to throw around some impressive facts and figures in the local restaurant business, Tujague's can supply a whole bunch of them.

It's the second oldest restaurant in the city of New Orleans; the fourth generation of the Guichet family is now in the business; it was established in 1856, nearly 120 years ago, as Madame Begue's; and the building it is housed in is nearly 200 years old..."

"Guichet, Tujague's owner, dies:

Philip Guichet, owner of the famous Tujague's Restaurant and one of the last of the great old New Orleans restaurauteurs, died today following a lengthy illness. He was 78..."

[Obituary]

"GUICHET. Philip John Guichet, Sr., age 78 years, on Thursday, May 15, 1976 at 6:30 a.m. Husband of the late Grace Planchard. Father of Mrs. Leafy Guichet Lockwood, Mrs. Joyce Guichet Cooper, Mrs. Kay Guichet Darauto, Otis P. Guichet, Sr., and Philip J. Guichet, Jr."

"Quarter Haunts of Famous Writers Provide Unique Tour:

When you stroll through the streets of the French Quarter you are walking in the footsteps of many famous American and European authors. Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Tennessee Williams, Washington Irving, Thorton Wilder, Carl Sandberg and Booth Tarkington are among the host of major literary figures who have frequented or lived in the Vieux Carre.

...823 Decatur. During the 1800s, this was the site of Madame Begue's Restaurant. It was frequented by O. Henry, Eugene Field and many other literary celebrities. Edna Ferber uses it as the locale for a scene in 'Saratoga Trunk.'"

"Tujague's is tradition that's still one of New Orleans' finest:

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Hanging on the wall at Tujague's in the French Quarter is one of the strangest pictures you'll ever see.

It's a photo of three bartenders behind the picturesque wooden bar---and no booze on the shelves behind them.

'Prohibition,' laughed Otis Guichet. 'They kept it in their pockets. We never closed.'"

"In Madame Begue's memory: Tujague's restaurant has been the occupant of the building at Decatur and Madison streets in the French Quarter since 1914. But before that, it was where Madame Elizabeth Begue reigned as the most illustrious restaurant cook in New Orleans. The Latter family, present owners of Tujague's, have decided to honor their illustrious predecessor by reopening and refurbishing one of the dining rooms and naming it the Madame Begue Room. Plans are to revive some of her recipes and offer them on the menu, and to display her original guest registers and cookbooks, photos and other memorabilia."