National Lobster Newburg day on March 25th ushers in a celebration worthy of a sea captain. An American seafood dish, Lobster Newburg includes lobster, butter, cream, cognac, sherry, eggs, and cayenne pepper. 

Delmonico’s of New York debut Lobster Newburg in 1876. A sea captain by the name of Ben Wenburg developed the elegant and rich dish.  After he demonstrated the recipe to restaurant manager Charles Delmonico, Chef Charles Ranhofer made refinements and they added the creation to the restaurant’s menu as Lobster a la Wenburg.  It wasn’t long before the dish grew in popularity.

However, an argument between Wenburg and manager Charles Delmonico caused the dish to be removed from the menu. After many requests from patrons, Delmonico’s returned the dish with a new name. The entree came to be known as Lobster Newburg.

When Delmonico’s first opened in 1930, Brothers Giovanni and Peter transformed a small café into New York’s first customary restaurant with cloth-covered tables and printed menus. Similar to the café’s transformation, Lobster Newburg came about right around the time lobster was transforming from a poor man’s food to a delicacy. See before the mid-1800s, people considered lobster to be fish bait or food for prisoners. It was an undesirable food. But right around the time Captian Wenburg invented the dish, tourism by train and ship was taking off. Couple that with improved canning options (including lobster), people were experiencing the seafood for the first time. 

As dishes like Lobster Newburg, lobster tails, lobster bisque, and others found their way on to restaurant menus, the nation’s love of the crustacean grew. 

Explore More Seafood…

• National Seafood Month
• National Fried Scallops Day
• National Shrimp Day
• National Baked Scallops Day
• National Crawfish Day
• Clams on the Half Shell Day
• National Shrimp Scampi Day
• Oysters Rockefeller Day
• French Fried Shrimp Day
• National Lobster Day
• National Go Fishing Day
• National Catfish Day
• National Caviar Day
• National Oyster Day
• National Seafood Bisque Day
• National Crab Meat Day
• Lobster Newburgh Day
• Deep Fried Clams Day
• Crab Stuffed Flounder Day
• National Sardines Day
• National Clam Chowder Day
• Spanish Paella Day
• National Catfish Month
• Creamy Shrimp with Asparagus
• Spinach Artichoke Crusted Salmon
• Shrimp Mushroom Pasta Salad
• New England Style Clam Chowder

HOW TO OBSERVE #LobsterNewburgDay

There are so many ways to celebrate this day. Of course, enjoy a dish of Lobster Newburg. But you can also do some exploring.

• Check out the history of Delmonico’s.
• Learn more about the types of lobsters in the sea.
• Explore the history of the lobster industry.
• Who was Captian Wenburg?

Use #LobsterNewburgDay to post on social media.