Learn to make an iconic lobster dish at home

Ben Wenberg was a wealthy sea captain who sailed between Cuba and New York in the late 19th century, taking part in the fruit trade. A gastronome, when ashore he often dined at New York's Delmonico's Restaurant.

One evening in 1876 he walked into the restaurant and announced he had learned a new way to cook lobster. Summoning a chafing dish to his table he proceeded to concoct an extravagant preparation of lobster chunks, cream, eggs, butter, sherry and a little cayenne pepper.

When the dish was ready, Wenburg called over the restaurant manager, his good friend Charles Delmonico, to have a taste. He pronounced it delicious and promptly put it on the menu as Lobster a la Wenberg.

Several months later Ben and Charles got into an argument and quit speaking to each other. Wenberg was banished from the restaurant and his eponymous dish was removed from the menu. But diners kept requesting it, so Charles simply altered a few letters in the name and put it back on the menu as Lobster Newburg, to this day an immortal Delmonico's classic.

This was not the only timeless dish Delmonico's would contribute to the culinary canon. For example, Eggs Benedict is said to have been created at Delmonico's at the suggestion of Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, a loyal patron who had become bored with the regular breakfast fare.

Delmonico's Restaurant building in New York City, at 2 South William Street/56 Beaver Street, in February 2006. (Photo by Chris Ruvolo/Wikipedia)

Then there's Chicken a la King. It was inspired by another restaurant patron, Foxhall P. Keene, and was originally called Chicken a la Keene.

Though some might dispute these claims, no one disagrees that the famous Delmonico Steak and the equally famous Delmonico Potatoes were invented at their namesake eatery.

Even when Delmonico's was not directly involved in the creation of a dish, it often took a pivotal role in popularizing it. Thus, when the restaurant christened the classic French Omelette Norvegienne as Baked Alaska it became a classic.

But Delmonico's many firsts were not confined to the kitchen. It was the first American restaurant to have a printed menu, the first to offer a separate wine list, the first to have tablecloths, the first to offer a private dining room, the first to provide an orchestra for background music and the first to claim a star chef, Charles Ranhofer. It also garnered the first restaurant review ever printed in the New York Times.

Indeed, Delmonico's, which started in New York more than 185 years ago, is America's oldest restaurant, the first to be called by that French term. Previous public eating places simply offered a daily fixed menu at a fixed price and at a fixed time. You didn't even sit at your own table. Delmonico's changed all that by adopting the customs of Parisian establishments and did so with such unbridled opulence that it virtually defined haute cuisine in this country, making it also the first American restaurant with a worldwide reputation.

After passing through several owners, it's still open at its original location, and its name, still synonymous with fine dining, has been expropriated by unrelated restaurants across the country in places like San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix and even Jackson.

Lobster Newburg

This recipe, adapted from allrecipes.com, also works well with monkfish, sometimes called the poor man's lobster. But stick with lobster, and you'll still save money making this delicacy yourself. It's currently $49 on the Delmonico's menu.

4 egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 teaspoon salt

generous pinch cayenne pepper

generous pinch ground nutmeg

24 ounces cooked lobster meat

Whisk together egg yolks and heavy cream. Melt butter. Whisk in yolk mixture. Add sherry. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, but do not let come to a boil. Remove from heat and season with salt, cayenne and nutmeg. Break lobster meat into chunks, add to sauce, and cook gently over low heat until heated through. Serve over rice, hot buttered toast, in crepes, or in puff pastry shells. Makes 4 servings.

Tom Harte's book, "Stirring Words," is available at local bookstores. A Harte Appetite airs Fridays 8:49 a.m. on KRCU, 90.9 FM. Contact Tom at news@semissourian.com or at the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO, 63702-0699.