The Bowery Boys: New York City History
In celebration of his new book “The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining and Legendary Recipes From The Restaurant That Made New York,” author Max Tucci joins The Gilded Gentleman for a talk about food, family history and the real meaning of hospitality. Delmonico’s! Just the name was legendary. Edith Wharton mentioned it in her fiction set in… Read More
Famished: Mark Twain and a few friends at Delmonico’s in honor of his 70th birthday, dated Dec 5, 1905.Just in time for NYC Restaurant Week! I just put up a new ‘illustrated’ version of the August ’08 Delmonico’s Restaurant podcast in our archive feed. Before Delmonico’s, New Yorkers ate in taverns or oyster houses. But… Read More
New York City started 2010 with an important bit of ceremony: the swearing-in of Michael Bloomberg. One hundred years ago, New Yorkers did the same thing, but with a new face — former state Supreme Court judge William Jay Gaynor, replacing George B. McClellan. I did a whole Know Your Mayors posting about Mr. Gaynor… Read More
Delmonico’s Restaurant set the standards in fine dining by which future restaurants would be judged. But don’t just take my word on it. In the January 1, 1859 edition of the New York Times, Delmonico’s and other eateries of the city were the topic of that paper’s very first restaurant review. And the establishment of… Read More
The kitchen staff, 1902 Before Delmonico’s, New Yorkers ate in taverns or oyster houses. But the city caught the fine dining bug at this family-owned business, which standardized everything you know about restaurants today. Find out about “menus”, “fresh ingredients”, “dining rooms for ladies” and other unusual and exotic Delmonico innovations. Listen here: The Delmonico… Read More
Had there been a paparazzi in the 1880s, the woman they would have hounded the most would be New York stage singer and actress Lillian Russell. Like a Scarlett, she was always hanging on the arm of a famous, powerful man. Like an Angelina, she did dramatic things in her personal life that often upstaged… Read More