Creator
Delmonico's
Title
Municipal Celebration Banquet
Coverage
New York City
Date
June 24, 1885
Description
Delmonico’s farthest uptown location at Madison Square played a central role in the civic life of New York. Its third-floor banquet room could accommodate up to about 250 guests, who typically paid $12 to $15 for a subscription banquet during the social season. This dinner honored the French naval officers of the frigate Isère, which had just arrived with the component parts of the Statue of Liberty packed in wooden crates. The sherbet at this affair was “sorbet young America,” a standard dish in Delmonico’s repertoire that normally appeared at bon voyage dinners, where it was served in a small sugar boat with an American flag. On this occasion, the little ships were decorated with the flags of France and the United States. All evening, New Yorkers cheered every mention of France and of Liberty’s sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The menu was made by Tiffany’s.