The Last Supper

Dinner Menu Bidding Goodbye to Booze on the Eve of Prohibition

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Behold the menu for a private dinner held at Bergez-Frank's Old Poodle Dog in San Francisco on June 30, 1919. It’s a clever artifact with lots of drinking puns and even makes the suggestion that Prohibition might lead customers to seek out “dope” (likely meaning heroin) to replace alcohol.

The thought that there might be a nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages at first seemed like a joke. So businessman Carl Henry hosted this dinner for friends whose spirit was “destined to be crushed … by the untimely demise of J. B. Corn” (meaning John Barleycorn, a personification of whiskey), according to this menu with its comic illustrations. Verso below.

Bergez-Frank's Old Poodle Dog was a famous French restaurant in San Francisco that operated from 1908 to 1922. It was the result of a merger between four earlier restaurants: the Old Poodle Dog, Frank's Rotisserie, the Bergez Restaurant, and the New Franks. Going further back: Frenchman François Péguillan opened Le Poulet d'Or at the corner of Washington and Dupont Streets in 1849, catering to miners. It came to be known as the Poodle Dog. In 1868, it moved to the corner of Bush and Dupont streets and the name was officially changed to Old Poodle Dog Restaurant.

During the “Gilded Age” of the late 1800s, the restaurant was known for its lavish cuisine, elegant decor, and discreet service. It catered to the city's elite, who enjoyed its 23-course meals, extensive wine cellar, and private dining rooms. The restaurant also had a reputation for being a place where wealthy men could meet with their mistresses or prostitutes in secret.

The Poodle Dog earned its reputation as a "five-storied dome of pleasure". During the lunch hour, it was a "who's who" of famous and powerful businessmen, such as "poets, journalists, physicians, politicians, and luminaries of law". 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.

Fun Fact: Carl Henry is credited with the idea of switchbacking the steep section of Lombard Street that is now a tourist attraction in San Francisco.

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In case you missed it - “Your drinking choices - from milk to morning whiskey”

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Artifact: Private Dinner Menu from Bergez-Frank's Old Poodle Dog

Location: San Francisco

Date: June 30, 1919

Archive: Grolier Club Exhibitions Bergez-Frank's Old Poodle Dog, “Private Dinner”