Lobster Newburg

   Charles Wenberg was a prosperous shipping magnate in the nineteenth century, according to one story. Some say he was merely a captain on a West Indies ship. Regardless, he gave a recipe to Lorenzo Delmonico, the New York restaurateur famed for his opulent salon, for a dish that would be an epicure's dream. The recipe called for heavy cream, sherry, egg yoke, cayenne, and loads and loads of lobster meat, an astoundingly rich concoction. Lorenzo saw the merit in this rich concoction and told his chef to follow it carefully.

   The dish turned out to be a gastronomic delight. The wealthy patrons of Delmonico literally ate it up. So successful was the dish and so pleased was the chef that he named the dish in honor of Wenberg, Lobster Wenberg. Some time after this celebratory event, Wenberg, in the Delmonico dining room, drank too much, talked too loud, and picked a fight with another diner. Wenberg was ejected, and so was his name from the menu. The very next day the menu at Delmonico read: Lobster Newburg. What a penalty! The chef reversed the "w" and the "n," so that the Wen became New, and for good measure, altered the spelling to Newburg. Thus, Wenberg's combativeness cost him a place in the hierarchy of eponyms.