About four years ago, 230 people paid $1,000 each for the privilege of dining at Paris' restaurant "Laurent". That their meal was prepared by Alain Ducasse and Joel Robuchon, two of Europe's greatest chefs, was not considered of great significance. Nor was anyone present overly impressed that among the wines served was a 1924 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The real reason the guests (who included among others Pierre Salinger, the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, Francis Ford Coppola, and Louis Latour) had flown to Paris from twelve different nations was to smoke cigars.

To show just how strong the devotion of cigar lovers can be, Marvin Shanken, who is the publisher and editor of both the "Cigar Aficionado" and the "Wine Spectator" and who organized the sumptuous dinner in Paris, commissioned three Cuban cigars to be produced especially for the evening. Unveiled for the first time were the Trinidad, the Cohiba Torpedo and The Cohiba "A". At the end of the dinner, six boxes of Trinidads, each autographed by Fidel Castro and each containing 50 cigars were auctionned. The price for the three hundred cigars was $225,000, part of which was donated to UNICEF. One guest was seen to puff contentedly on his own Trinidad and then to turn to his companion to remark: "Reflect for a moment, my friend, and thank God for the fact that you are now smoking a $750 cigar".

Such dinners are no longer rare. In fact, they have grown so much in popularity in France, England and the United States that in addition to sponsoring dinners, one of the major attractions of which are the cigars, many of the best restaurants now have special rooms set aside for cigar smokers. More than this, many of the most sophisticated diners in Boston, Paris, Atlanta and New York make a point of going only to those restaurants where it is as taken for granted that both cigars and brandy will be offered after their meals.

So "in" are cigars that clubs devoted to the pleasures of cigar smokers are opening at a remarkably rapid rate. The president of France, the vice-president of the United States, the owners of three of Bordeaux most prestigious chateaux and the president of Cartier International all belong to cigar clubs, and in the United States, so do another 600,000 people. Following are the addresses of what many consider the best cigar clubs in the United States. Some are restaurants that host their own periodic smokers and others are clubs that organize periodic cigar dinners in various restaurants in their area. All are reliable and all welcome visitors.

The Cypress Club: 500 Jackson St., San Francisco, California. Tel.415 2968555.

West 63rd St. Steakhouse: 44 W. 63rd St. New York, N.Y. Tel. 212 246-6363

Biba: 272 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Tel. 617 426-7878.

Bob's Steak and Chop House: 4300 Lemmon Ave., Dallas, Texas. Tel. 214 528-7878.

Hotel Inter-Continental: 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami, Florida. Tel: 305 577-1000.

Les Halles: 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. Tel. 202 347-6848.

Oak Room, Plaza Hotel: Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, New York, N.Y. Tel. 212 546-5330.

Ozio Martini and Cigar Lounge: 1835 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Tel. 202 822-6000.

Circle City Cigar Club: Indianapolis, Indiana. Tel. 317 465-0758.

Cigar Connoisseurs Club of Arizona: Scottsdale, Arizona. Tel. 602 275-7709. Extension 199.

Jerri's Tobacco Shop: 1616 Glenarm Place, Denver, Colorado. Tel. 303 825-3522.

Westchester County Cigar Dinners: 11 Hopper Street, Pleasantville, New York. Tel. 914 741-2676.

Ritz Carlton Hotels: Smokers are held at more than 30 hotels worldwide. Telephone 404 237-5500.

© Daniel Rogov