A History of New York Through Some of NYC’s Best Restaurants

"In 1929, he arranged for a dowdy 65-year-old Central Park restaurant known as the Casino (not a gambling spot, despite its name) to become a swanky nightclub. Specifically, the mayor broke the previous restaurant operator’s contract and handed it to his friend and supporter Sidney Solomon, who got the license for $8,500 per year, which would turn out to be the amount the Casino took in every night. Joseph Urban — the architect behind Mar-a-Lago’s interiors, no less — redid the place in Art Deco shimmer with black glass ceilings. It seated 600. The food prices, it was disapprovingly remarked, were even higher than at the Plaza or the Ritz." - The Editors