Lingering on the Palate: Yenching Palace (1955 - 2007)
Frequented by celebrities and politicians, Yenching Palace played a pivotal role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, as the meeting place between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.
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This restaurant opened as Peking Palace in 1955 and was located in the former space of Seafare, a restaurant which had operated in Cleveland Park since 1945. The original founder, S. Van Lung (1936- 1881), took so much inspiration from another popular Cantonese restaurant, The Peking Restaurant, that there was legal action – particularly related to the other restaurant’s famous dish, 00 soup. As a result, Peking Palace had to stop producing the soup and change its name to Yenching Palace. Soon enough, the restaurant became a recognizable local landmark due to its signage, a 20-foot neon red sign.
The menu, as described in a 2001 Washington Post article, consisted of “things like eggs rolls and chow mein and chop suey and thin slices of roast pork edged in pink.” The restaurant attracted “a glamorous following that included foreign diplomats, senators and congressmen, government hot-shots, top-ranking journalists and people from all over who just wanted to see what the buzz was all about.”
Particularly interesting is Yenching Palace’s Cold War history. Sources say that Yenching was at the center of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and is rumored to be the final meeting place in the negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union to avoid nuclear war. Apparently, the crisis’ resolution was celebrated over dinner here. Prior to this, the emissaries of President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had held a series of meetings at the eatery.
The historic plaque at the site lists many of the celebrities, politicians, and businessmen who frequented the famous location, as it “entertained more diplomats daily than the White House.” Despite this longtime popularity and impressive history, the restaurant closed in 2007. The commercial space was converted into a Walgreens Pharmacy, and the Yenching Palace facade on Connecticut Avenue was replaced with a replica of the old Seafare facade. The space is now vacant.
This is a stop on the Lingering on the Palate: the Ghosts of the DC Food Scene Tour.
