Table at Le Cirque: Stories and Recipes from New York’s Most Legendary Restaurant

The first cookbook from the New York institution that has cultivated some of the best chefs of our time and has served as the social club for celebrities and power brokers for more than thirty-five years. If you had to pick a single restaurant that has wielded the greatest influence in the last fifty years, it would be Le Cirque. Started in 1974, Le Cirque has redefined fine dining for the entire country. The seductive man behind it all, Sirio Maccioni, slyly introduced patrons to the delights of fine Italian cuisine alongside French classics. Most famously, he created a social club for titans and tastemakers from all walks of life–presidents and kings, cafe society and business magnates, and stars such as Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, and Andy Warhol. For the kitchen, Maccioni has always handpicked up-and-coming new talent. Among its alumni are David Bouley, Michael Lomonaco, and Terrance Brennan. Now for the first time, the recipes for the restaurant’s iconic dishes are presented here, in the same form as they were originally invented–including such classics as Daniel Boulud’s Black Bass with Barolo Sauce, Alain Sailhac’s Fettuccine with White Truffles, Pierre Schaedelin’s deconstructed Caesar Salad, and Jacques Torres’s Bombolini. Woven throughout the book are colorful anecdotes and candid photographs documenting the glitz and glam of the restaurant, where a reservation is always coveted.