The Legendary Delmonico's

"Cuisine" came into vogue around 1830 with the stylish elite.  It meant elegant dining and imaginative cooking.  Young ladies who were asked out to dinner requested their vegetables to be served in the "French cuisine" which meant in a separate bowl rather than all the food on one plate, the American style.  French influence was originally only on expensive menus in East Coast restaurants and only available to the well-to-do.

One of the best elegant restaurants was Delmonico's in New York City.  In 1832 Lorenzo Delmonico arrived from Switzerland and opened his restaurant at the age of 19.  It took just a couple of years for the name of Delmonico's to mean fine dining - so much so that restaurants in the west would claim to be the "Delmonico's of the West."  In 1860 George Pullman named his first dining car "the Delmonico."

Delmonico imported his chefs and his recipes from Europe, but he used American ingredients.  The local herbs and spices, the vegetables, and meats were all available in the backyard and woods of America.  The bad reputation of American food was not found at Delmonico's where fish, game, and meat specialties pleased even European travelers.

Some of the things we have to thank Delmonico's for are the discovery of a salad made from American greens, the use of green vegetables on his menu, and ices as a light dessert.  Of course, how many of us have never heard of a Delmonico steak?  He introduced Americans to simple ingredients prepared in a tasty manner that appealed to not only the wealthy but all people.

When he died in 1881, Delmonico had served every President from Jackson to Garfield and had done more to educate America's taste than any other restaurateur.  Delmonico's set a standard that, by the mid-20th century, had made New York City second only to Paris as the restaurant capital of the world.

Next time...Eat Your Vegetables!
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On October 24, 1901. a 63 year old schoolteacher, Annie Edson Taylor, becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.  She chose her birthday, and with the help of two assistants, she strapped herself into an old wooden pickle barrel just five feet high and three feet in diameter.  Taylor reached the shore 20 minutes after it all began.  

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