The Original Hells Kitchen

Okay, forget randomness, I have found some sculptural delights for you. The photo is unfortunately old and poor, but it was the general idea that warmed me to this effort, it is a shame the photo is not more detailed and I have no idea if this establishment still exists today, but enjoy the photo and story below anyway. Image and text from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/flashback/0308/index.html

"A hot spot called Hell’s Café lured 19th-century Parisians to the city’s Montmartre neighborhood—like the Marais—on the Right Bank of the Seine. With plaster lost souls writhing on its walls and a bug-eyed devil’s head for a front door, le Café de l’Enfer may have been one of the world’s first theme restaurants. According to one 1899 visitor, the café’s doorman—in a Satan suit—welcomed diners with the greeting, “Enter and be damned!” Hell’s waiters also dressed as devils. An order for three black coffees spiked with cognac was shrieked back to the kitchen as: “Three seething bumpers of molten sins, with a dash of brimstone intensifier!”

Any Parisians who know whether or not this place still exists please post a comment, it is somewhere I might like to visit on my next trip to fabulous Paris!

dfb