The recent release of the film Top of the World (about the restaurant that surveyed New York from the 107th floor of the World Trade Center), got me thinking about the late Joe Baum. He virtually reinvented the American restaurant. Joe was a serious showman, perhaps the first American who understood that when people go out to eat they’re after more than merely food. They want an experience, they want excitement, they want fun. And of course, they want delicious new dishes.
In the many restaurants he created, Joe Baum gave them all of that - and more. He spared no expense. His most famous endeavors were The Four Seasons - opened in 1959 when few people gave much thought to seasonality in menus - and of course, Windows on the World. He also created La Fonda del Sol, The Forum of the Twelve Caesars and my personal favorite, Zum Zum, a sausage shop that proved that inexpensive food could be delicious and eating at a counter could be chic. (Hot dogs seem to be having their moment just now; Zum Zum served a really great one. Loaded with sauerkraut and piled onto an awesome bun it cost 35 cents.)
In 1988 Baum and his partner Michael Whiteman took on the revival of The Rainbow Room, and I was thrilled when Metropolitan Home sent me to New York to write about it. I not only got to meet Joe, but also Milton Glaser, the most celebrated graphic designer of the era, and the incredibly courtly architect Hugh Hardy whose enthusiasm for the project knew no bounds.
Should you now be intrigued by the idea of Lobster Thermidor, one of the dishes resurrected at the Rainbow Room, here’s the recipe Gourmet published in one of the magazine’s first issues. We retested it - to our great delight - for Gourmet’s 65th anniversary issue and found it absolutely delicious.
Louis P. DeGouy (have fun with that name!) was Gourmet’s first resident chef. He was also the chef at the Waldorf-Astoria and the author of an astonishing number of cookbooks. That man kept busy! His best-known cookbook is The Gold Cookbook, which happens to be one of the only cookbooks my mother owned (because it was published by Jae Greenberg, a close friend).
Since we’re speaking of iconic recipes - and since I rhapsodized about Judy Rodgers in last weeks edition of La Briffe, I thought I’d offer up a few of Judy’s signature recipes from another article in Met Home.
I probably reach for this tiny 1/4 cup liquid measuring cup more than almost anything else in my kitchen. Bring one to a friend and they’ll look at you strangely - and be forever grateful. Buy one for yourself and you’ll be surprised how useful it is.
Speaking of innovative New York restaurateurs…
Danny Meyer, has a new book, What Could Possibly Go Right, and these days he’s all over Instagram. I just saw him broadcasting from the construction site of the new Maialino, which made me go looking for a menu from the original.
I really loved that restaurant; I’m so glad he’s opening a new one.
I love my tiny measuring cup, too.
That Zuni chicken and bread salad is TDF and a free-wheeling joy to make. Thanks for reminding me of it. I had also forgotten how easy Lobster Thermador is to make!