Menu: Bégué’s (Royal Sonesta Hotel, New Orleans).

Where New Orleans brunch became an institution.

Large dinner menu with string-tied table d’hôte insert, c. 1970s–1980s. Folded card-stock 11 × 16.5 in.; interior daily-specials card (smaller) sewn in at center with cord; cover decorated with lively black-and-white restaurant artwork. Carefully handled; light splatter at lower right of interior, else clean.

Opened in 1969, the Royal Sonesta revived the historic Bégué’s name—honoring Madame Élisabeth “Bégué,” the 19th-century French Market cook celebrated for her 11 a.m. ‘second breakfast,’ a forerunner of American brunch. At the hotel, Bégué’s became the flagship dining room and is credited with mounting New Orleans’ first permanent Sunday brunch buffet; chefs Willy Coln, Gérard Crozier and Michel Marcais were among its notables. 

A handsome survivor from the Royal Sonesta era, linking a modern French-Creole menu to a storied Quarter tradition. See also contemporary mentions of “Bégué’s at the Royal Sonesta” and later reminiscences of the restaurant’s holiday brunches. 

Subjects: Royal Sonesta Hotel (Bourbon Street); Bégué’s restaurant (hotel era); Madame Bégué and “second breakfast”/brunch origins; French-Creole menus and table d’hôte service; New Orleans dining culture, 20th century; Restaurant ephemera; Culinary history; New Orleans/Creole dining; Hospitality & hotel memorabilia.

Item #21089

Price: $45.00