Rainbow Room
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rainbow Room is a well-known upscale restaurant and nightclub on the sixty-fifth floor of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It first opened on October 3, 1934 and was originally conceived as a formal supper club, where the elite and influential of New York could gather to socialize over cocktails, dine on fine cuisine, and dance to the strains of legendary big bands on a revolving floor.
In 1974, David Rockefeller oversaw a $25 million restoration and expansion of the Room’s facilities, ushering in a new era of prominence for what many architects and designers is said to be the "most perfect room in New York". The food is loosely northern Italian, and there are cocktails, wines, liqueurs, cognacs, and other drinks available.
It features a revolving dance floor, a live big band orchestra, and what is generally considered an impressive view of the city. In 1998, the Rockefeller family passed operations of the facilities of the restaurant over to the Italian Cipriani family, which had started the renowned Harry's Bar in Venice.
Private events are hosted in several banquet rooms and for special events and holidays elaborate celebrations are organized. On New Year's Eve, the caviar, truffles, champagne, and mixed drinks are included with the price of admission, for dinner through to breakfast at sunrise. However, it is still expensive; for example, admission to the 2007 New Year's Eve party was $1600.00 per person. The Rainbow Grill is a separate, somewhat less expensive restaurant with an à la carte menu on the same floor of the building, which has its own celebrations for main holidays.
In his memoir, Kitchen Confidential, chef/author Anthony Bourdain wrote an entire chapter ("I Make My Bones") about his year and a half in the kitchen staff of the Rainbow Room, describing in detail - both good and bad - the working conditions in an extremely famous and busy restaurant, and the numerous dealings normally kept invisible behind the kitchen doors.
