ELV in the throes of his addiction with two of his favorite dealers.*
(ELV note: Yours truly has a book in him that will probably never be finished or published. Here is one of the chapters.)
“Hi ELV!” is how all those twelve-step programs start, and then they sink into one maudlin account after another of each individual’s slide into personal oblivion. Here’s my story:
It started innocently enough, as all addictions do. In 1982 in Wheeling, Illinois. “The first one’s free,” said Jean Banchet – at the time the celebrated chef/owner of Le Francais (considered at the time the best French restaurant in America). Then, in 1983. Andre Soltner, the dedicated Alsatian running New York’s best French restaurant, made a personal appearance at my table at Lutece. “Just take another hit, no one will notice,” he purred. And so I did.
Oh yeah, and Jacques Pepin — he of the velvet delivery and oh so elfish countenance — he was one, insidious seducer as well. Maybe the worst of them all.