"And one night, about eight months ago, Tony had Connally in his wine cellar, Agnew upstairs in the dining room and Jaworski across the room 'as far away as I could find,'" read a July 1977 piece in the Houston Post. Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski (left) makes an appearance at Tony's in Houston in May 1977. Regardless of the year, there is no doubt such an evening would have been awkward for the three parties involved. In 1973, Agnew resigned and was almost replaced by Connally, but the president ended up opting for Gerald Ford. "They avoided each other all night," read a 1994 retrospective article in the Houston Chronicle, which also claimed this occurred "during the Watergate scandal." But according to two other historical mentions of this incident, it was in fact in 1977, three years after Nixon resigned in 1974. On the same night, Vice President Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon adviser and Texas governor John Connally, and Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski all dined at Tony's-at three different tables. An awkward Watergate-era encounter appeared to have happened in the 1970s at the Houston restaurant. Johnson has reportedly dined at the restaurant, but newspaper accounts of the most interesting politico sightings show how the retelling of old stories can reveal inconsistencies and muddy waters. Timothy Bullard/Houston ChronicleĮvery president since Lyndon B. Men reportedly had "active lunches" with their mistresses in Tony's wine cellar. Throughout the years, there are tales of Vallone-who called himself "a pleasant dictator," "a hustler" and "a perfectionist" in a 1977 Houston Post profile-turning away stars such as Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, Tom Jones and Liza Minelli's musicians for not having ties, then a required garment at Tony's. Male diners came in with their mistresses, whom the staff code-worded "nieces," or booked the entire wine cellar for "active lunches" with women who weren't their wives. Tony's settled into its swagger and reputation as a place to see and be seen, particularly among the rich and famous. ( Make the recipe at home.) Tony's in the 1970s It's unclear when they left, but there is a recipe for mushrooms stuffed with prosciutto, salami and herbs in "Tony's: The Cookbook" by Vallone and George Fuermann. opened her column with "I've had Tony Vallone Jr.'s marvelous stuffed mushroom…" Unfortunately for the rest of us, the elusive stuffed mushrooms are no longer on the menu.
The next year, visiting the restaurant for a friend's birthday, she dined on Tony's "famous stuffed mushrooms," this time providing us with a little more information: They are stuffed with crab meat and cheese. That June, the columnist wants us to know that she ate Tony's stuffed mushrooms with a great glass of Barolo. sure loved Tony's, but her favorite dish didn't crop up in her writing until two years later, in 1967. In October, she wrote about Tony's again, where she reportedly had "an evening of unsurpassed enjoyment." returned to Tony's, this time delighted by a "Rock Cornish game hen" that would at times be shaped like a frog, or a steer, or an alligator. Courtesy Vallone Restaurant Grouĭescriptions of dishes, from French chef Edmond Foulard, hint at the creativity and decadence that would define Tony's-those lucky enough to have been alive (and wealthy) then could have dined on Hawaiian chicken baked and served in a fresh pineapple. The original Tony's dining room on Sage Road, circa 1967.
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(whose full name was Mary Herolz and later Mary Kilburn) claimed on April 23, 1965, that this new restaurant has everything to offer "for those who appreciate the very best in food, decor and service." She talks of "gleaming tables," "sculptured foil paper" and "gold carpeting."
In what is likely the very first mention of Tony's in the Houston Chronicle, Dining Out columnist Mary K. Manuel Chavez/Houston Chronicle Tony's in the 1960s Restaurateur Tony Vallone passed away in 2020 at the age of 75.
Here's a by-the-decade look at what caught our eye in old articles from the 1960s to the 1990s. Vallone passed away in September 2020, but stories of awkward politician encounters and long-lost decadent dishes live on.