Pancho Villa's Saddle at the Cadillac Bar: Recipes and Memories

Achilles Mehault Mayo Bessan and his eighteen-year-old bride transformed a dirt-floored cantina in Nuevo Laredo into a bar and restaurant renowned across the United States for its fine seafood and fancy cocktails. The Cadillac Bar built a reputation as one of the finest eateries and watering holes in the Southwest, even surviving a 1954 flood. Its history spans more than a half-century and its food and drink drew inspiration from the culinary traditions of southern Louisiana, pre-Prohibition New Orleans, and the dusty border towns that straddle the Rio Grande in far South Texas.

Format: Hardback
Length: 160 pages
Publication date: 28 February 2021
Publisher: Texas A & M University Press

In 1924, Achilles Mehault Mayo Bessan and his eighteen-year-old bride embarked on a journey from New Orleans to Mexico, where he transformed a dirt-floored cantina in Nuevo Laredo into a bar and restaurant renowned across the United States for its exquisite seafood and fancy cocktails. The Cadillac Bar, built in 1924, established itself as one of the finest eateries and watering holes in the Southwest, even surviving a devastating 1954 flood that affected cities on both sides of the Rio Grande. With a history spanning over half a century, the Cadillac Bar drew inspiration from the culinary traditions of southern Louisiana, pre-Prohibition New Orleans, and the dusty border towns that straddle the Rio Grande in far South Texas. In her introduction, author Wanda Garner Cash shares personal anecdotes about growing up behind the bar, speaking Spanish before English, and experiencing the vibrant atmosphere of the Cadillac Bar. She describes riding Pancho Villa's saddle on a sawhorse in the main dining room, feeding monkeys and parrots, and spending leisurely afternoons sipping Ramos Gin Fizzes while society matrons indulged in the bar's charm. The Cadillac Bar also played host to fraternity miscreants seeking refuge after their South of the Border adventures and tourists who patiently waited in long lines for 40-cent tequila sours and plates of chicken envueltos. Step into the Cadillac Bar and immerse yourself in its timeless charm. You'll want to linger and soak up the atmosphere, just like those who have come before you.

Weight: 430g
Dimension: 166 x 244 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781623498986