Raoul’s: Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon? Like this famous ad phrase, Raoul’s has French roots, a haughty air, and was popular a generation (or two) ago. Thirty years back, the European milieu had a penchant for attracting bohemian winos, and while a lot has changed about New York City in the past three decades, the client base of Raoul’s has not wavered. What keeps customers coming back? Maybe it takes a particular breed of city folk to appreciate the nude modern art hung opposite the bar, or maybe it’s loyalty to Eddie Hudson, one of Raoul’s original bartenders and living proof that filling drinks in a neighborhood haunt is more rewarding than filling your bank account with Wall Street paychecks. It’s this old-school mentality that keeps Raoul’s alive, and it’s the heavy eggplant-colored velvet curtains enveloping the entrance that keep the riff-raff out. |
