Where to start? America's first and oldest restaurant invented a la carte ordering, menus, tablecloths, bus boys, the first Amex accepted and the first separate wine list. No ... let’s talk food. With varying levels of certainty, they invented/popularised: Steak Delmonico, Lobster Newburg, Eggs Benedict, Baked Alaska, Chicken a la King and Manhattan clam chowder. Today, the food is still wonderful and well worth a visit to the past to enjoy an absolute icon of world gastronomy. The pillars at the entrance are imported from Pompeii and bankers rub them for good luck. The video posted here is a love letter to what is sometimes known as "The Citadel.” America’s most famous Maitre D - Oscar Tschirky - started here before moving to the Waldorf Astoria.