Delmonico's

Coordinates: 40°42′18″N 74°00′36″W / 40.70508°N 74.01007°W / 40.70508; -74.01007

Dinner in honor of Admiral Campion at Delmonico's in 1906

Pièces montées for a banquet being prepared in the Delmonico's kitchen in 1902

Delmonico's building at 2 South William Street (56 Beaver Street)

Delmonico's restaurant at the corner of 5th Ave. and 44th St. in 1903

Delmonico's is the name of series of restaurants of varying duration, quality, and fame located in New York City. The original and most famous was operated by the Delmonico family during the 19th and early 20th centuries, closing due to a Prohibition-era slowdown in 1923. Since that time restaurants using the Delmonico's name have reopened in one of the historic locations in lower Manhattan under different proprietors.

The original Delmonico's began in a rented pastry shop at 23 William Street in 1827, appearing listed as a restaurant in 1830. Relocating several times before settling at 2 South William Street for eighty years, it is credited with being the first restaurant in America to allow patrons to order from a menu à la carte, as opposed to table d’hôte. It is also claimed to be the first to employ a separate wine list.^{[citation needed]}.

As the decades passed this Delmonico's reputation spread, being widely regarded as one of the nation's top fine dining establishments^[1][2] and birthplace of the universally imitated Delmonico steak. At the peak of "Delmonico's" fame the family operated four restaurants under the name simultaneously, and a total of ten during their tenure.

Six years after they closed the doors of their final iteration restaurateur Oscar Tucci opened a revived Delmonico's at 2 South William Street, which stayed in business until 1977. Other Delmonicos have operated in the space from 1981–1992 and from 1998 to present.

History

Origin

The restaurant was opened by the brothers John and Peter Delmonico, from Ticino, Switzerland. In 1831, they were joined by their nephew, Lorenzo Delmonico, who eventually became responsible for the restaurant's wine list and menu. When the William Street building was opened on a grand scale in August 1837, after the Great Fire of New York, New Yorkers were told that the columns by the entrance had been imported from the ruins of Pompeii.^[3]

Expansion and closure

Beginning in the 1850s, the restaurant hosted the annual gathering of the New England Society of New York which featured many important speakers of the day. In 1860, Delmonico's provided the supper at the Grand Ball welcoming the Prince of Wales at the Academy of Music on East 14th Street. Supper was set out in a specially constructed room; the menu was French, and the pièces montées represented Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Great Eastern and Flora's Vase. The New York Times reported, "We may frankly say that we have never seen a public supper served in a more inapproachable^[4] fashion, with greater discretion, or upon a more luxurious scale".^[5] In 1862, the restaurant hired Charles Ranhofer, considered one of the greatest chefs of his day.

The business was so successful that from 1865 to 1888 it expanded to four restaurants of the same name. At various times, there were Delmonico's at ten locations. Delmonico's vacated the six-story Delmonico Building at Fifth Avenue and 26th Street in 1899. The edifice was sold to John B. Martin, owner of the Martin Hotel, in May 1901.^[6]

In 1919, Edward L.C. Robins purchased Delmonico's. Its grand location at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street closed in 1923 as a result of changing dining habits due to Prohibition. That location was the final incarnation of Delmonico's with continuity to the original.^[7]

Almost immediately after the closing of the last Delmonico's, a number of imitators opened "Delmonico's" restaurants. The Delmonico family attempted to retain exclusive rights to the name, but a court ruled that with the closing of the last restaurant the name had passed into the public domain.^[8]

Restaurants owned and operated by the Delmonico family^[7]

Location	Dates	Comments
23 William Street	December 13, 1827 – December 16, 1835 (destroyed by fire)	“Delmonico & Brother, confectioners” small cafe and pastry shop
25 William Street	March, 1830 – December 16, 1835 (destroyed by fire)	“Delmonico & Brother, confectioners and Restaurant Francais”
76 Broad Street	February 23, 1836 – July 19, 1845, (destroyed by fire)
2 South William St.	August, 1837 – July 10, 1890. Rebuilt and reopened July 7, 1891, closed 1917	“Delmonico's Restaurant," informally called “The Citadel.”
25 Broadway	June 1, 1846—1856	The Delmonico Hotel
Chambers Street and Broadway	1856 – October 26, 1876
East 14th Street and 5th Avenue	April 9, 1862 – September 11, 1876
22 Broad Street	1865—1893
Fifth Avenue and 26th St.	September 11, 1876 – April 18, 1899	Lobster a la Newberg invented here in 1876
112–114 Broadway near Pine St.	October 26, 1876—1888
Fifth Avenue and 44th Street	November 15, 1897 – May 21, 1923	The final Delmonico-owned restaurant

Later revivals

In 1929, Oscar Tucci opened a "Delmonico's" popularly called "Oscar's Delmonico's" at the former Delmonico's location at 2 South William Street (sometimes listed as 56 Beaver Street) in New York. The Tucci incarnation adopted the original menus and recipes, and became distinguished in its own right, continuing to attract prominent politicians and celebrities. It was open continuously until it closed in 1977.^[9]

In 1981, a new Delmonico's was opened at the location by Ed Huber, which operated until 1992.^[10]

The building was vacant until 1998, when the Bice Group acquired the property and again opened a Delmonico's, with Gian Pietro Branchi as executive chef. In 1999, the restaurant was sold to the Ocinomled partnership, which continues to operate Delmonico's at the South William Street location.

Dinner menu from Water St./ Beaver St. location, April 18, 1899. The reverse has the same menu in French.

Menu for a 1916 dinner honoring singer Johanna Gadski and musician Fritz Kreisler

Signature dishes

Lobster Newburg,^[7] and Delmonico Potatoes were invented at Delmonico's restaurant, and possibly Chicken à la King,^[11] but it was most famous for Delmonico steak. Eggs Benedict were also said to have originated at Delmonico’s, although others claim that dish as well.^[12][13][14] Baked Alaska's name was coined at Delmonico's as well.^{[citation needed]}

Notable patrons

Among the many well-known people who patronized Delmonico's are Jenny Lind, who, it was said, ate there after every show, Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, "Diamond Jim" Brady, Lillian Russell, usually in the company of Diamond Jim, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, J.P. Morgan, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., Walter Scott, Nikola Tesla, Edward VII, then the Prince of Wales, and Napoleon III of France. Journalist Jacob A. Riis claimed to be a patron of a different sort: in his book, The Making of an American, he mentioned that when he was down on his luck, a kindly French-speaking cook at Delmonico’s would pass him rolls through the basement window.

Other Delmonico's

The New Orleans, Louisiana, Delmonico's, which opened in 1895, was purchased by Emeril Lagasse in 1997. Lagasse refurbished the restaurant and reopened it as Emeril’s Delmonico.

The unconnected Delmonico's Hotel, at Park Avenue and East 59th Street, was a center of Beatlemania in August 1964, when the Beatles stayed there.^[15]

In popular culture

Delmonico's is mentioned in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), the story of a middle-class family in St. Louis at the turn of the century, as the place from which a well-to-do suitor places a long-distance call to a member of the family. In the stage show and movie, Hello Dolly!, the restaurant is mentioned as one of the 'must-see' locations in NYC in the song, "Put On Your Sunday Clothes". Delmonico's is also mentioned in the movie She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), a John Ford western set in 1876.^[16]

References

Notes

1. ^ Aaseng, Nathan (January 2001). Business Builders in Fast Food. The Oliver Press. pp. 8–10. ISBN 1881508587. 
2. ^ Hooker, Richard J (May 1981). "18 – Eating Out 1865–1900". Food and Drink in America: A History. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co.. ISBN 0672526816. 
3. ^ "History of Delmonico's Restaurant and business operations in New York". http://www.steakperfection.com/delmonico/History.html. 
4. ^ Sic: "irreproachable" may have been intended, unless a covert reference to the evening's crush was implied.
5. ^ Susan Bindig (1989), "New York Welcomes the Prince of Wales (1860)", Dance Chronicle 12 (.2): pp. 234 
6. ^ "Delmonico Building Leased". The New York Times: pp. 3. May 4, 1901. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Joe O'Connell (August 25, 2001). "History of Delmonico's Restaurant and business operations in New York". http://www.steakperfection.com/delmonico/History.html. 
8. ^ Lately Thomas (1967). Delmonico's – A Century of Splendor. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. pp. 333–336. LCCN 67025686. 
9. ^ Frank J. Prial (November 29, 1987). "Out of the Cellar". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/29/magazine/out-of-the-cellar.html. 
10. ^ Ed Huber. "Not in My Neighborhood: The owner of one of America's most historic restaurants faces a modern problem". Guideposts. http://www.guideposts.com/story/delmonicos-neighborhood-homeless?page=0,0. 
11. ^ "What's Cooking America: "History of Poultry Dishes: Chicken A' La King". http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PoultryDishes.htm. 
12. ^ Butler, Mabel C. (November 26, 1967), "Letters: Benedicts' Eggs", The New York Times Magazine: SM40, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1061FF63D5814728FDDAF0A94D9415B878AF1D3, retrieved February 23, 2007 
13. ^ "Talk of the Town", The New Yorker, December 19, 1942 
14. ^ Claiborne, Craig (September 24, 1967), "American Classic: Eggs Benedict", The New York Times Magazine: 290, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B13FB3B5F16738DDDAD0A94D1405B878AF1D3, retrieved February 19, 2007 
15. ^ Photograph included in the Museum of Modern Art exhibition, Pictures of the Times: A Century of Photography from the New York Times MoMA, No. 22 (Summer), 1996:10–130 illus. p. 13.
16. ^ Database of Movie Dialogs

Bibliography

• "John Delmonico – pioneer of fine dining in America" by Milford Prewitt. Nation's Restaurant News, February, 1996.
• New York Architecture Images – Delmonico's
• Website of modern-day Delmonico's restaurant in New York. (Opened in 1998.)