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		1900-1920: The Birth of Celebrity Delmonico's CHICKEN à LA KING might come in a can now, but it was grand when invented at Delmonico’s, along with lobster Newburg and pie à la mode. Mark Twain (below, at his birthday dinner) was a frequent diner at this most opulent of New York eateries, as was Samuel F.B. Morse, who sent the first transatlantic cable from his regular table. But it was the appearance of a new class of self-made sub-plutocrat big spenders like “Diamond Jim” Brady that would change New York society. Brady often began his meal with dozens of oysters, six crabs, and a few bowls of turtle soup, moving on to two whole ducks, six or seven lobsters, and a sirloin steak. He topped it off with a platter of pastries and often a two-pound box of candy. The democracy was in the piggery. Photo: The Granger Collection