What a Swell Party It Was!

Michael Turback not only created and nurtured one of Upstate New York’s first destination restaurants, he built a reputation around his ability to stalk, procure, and support the best of local food and wine. The Los Angeles Times called Turback’s “the first Finger Lakes restaurant to really devote itself to New York’s culinary and enological bounty.” A true culinary pioneer, his efforts sparked trends that are seen throughout the hospitality industry today. He is the author of a culinary trilogy (Hot Chocolate, Mocha, and Coffee Drinks), and has taken on, in print, such topics as the ice cream sundae, the banana split, artisan cocktails, food and cocktail pairings, and the pleasures of Finger Lakes Wine Country. He lives in Ithaca, New York.

“Sip a Monkey Wrench cocktail at Ciro’s. Order a Walter Winchell Burger at the Stork Club. Rub elbows with Joan Crawford or Clark Gable at the Mocambo. Dance the night away at El Morocco. What a Swell Party It Was! is a Polaroid snapshot of the best-of-the-best during the decade of decadence, the 1940s. . . . Welcome to the party!” —Brian Van Flandern, Michelin three-star mixologist, president of Creative Cocktail Consultants, and author of Craft Cocktails“A delightful chronicle of a fascinating, dramatic, and glamorous time in America, an era of sophisticated menus and white-jacketed mixologists in the biggest, boldest, and baddest clubs in the country. Going back to that period gives us that escape fantasy that we all need from time to time. Thank you for this book, Michael." —Nathalie Dupree, celebrity chef and author of Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking"Daiquiris, cigarette girls, brass horns and big bands, Dietrich and Sinatra, zebra-striped banquettes, booze, Marilyn and Joe, glassed-in aviaries, tuxedos and floor-length gowns, dancin’ till dawn, the Copa and the Mocambo—all wonderful stops on a delightful memory-lane tour of America’s Golden Age of Nightclubs, and all the stars that made it glitter! I love this book, and am jealous I didn’t think of it myself." —Rick Browne, host of Barbecue America on PBS and author of A Century of Restaurants“The book I have been waiting for all my life, What a Swell Party It Was! replaces the standard time machine, transporting the reader back to the glamorous heyday of the ‘40s nightclub, the era coming vividly to life through the optic of swank venues, glamorous people, glossy photos, and even original recipes. If you are anything like me and long for a time when you could swathe yourself in Schiaparelli and dance after dinner, this beautiful book will utterly immerse you in the era we missed out on, yet feel we belong to.” —Professor Amanda Hallay, author of Vintage Cocktails: Retro Recipes for the Home Mixologist and host of YouTube’s Ultimate Fashion History “Open this book and you can almost hear Benny Goodman’s clarinet and Glenn Miller’s trombone.” —John R. Tumpak, jazz journalist and author of When Swing Was the Thing“This carefully researched and conceptualized book, written with utmost care by the talented Michael Turback, unlocks the ghosts of Jazz Age cocktails and their enjoyment of celebratory victuals for fans of food and drink. I give this book my highest praise.” —Warren Bobrow, master mixologist and chef, also known as the Cocktail Whisperer, and author of The Craft Cocktail Compendium"In this elegant tribute, Michael Turback conjures up not only the names and the famous patrons of such retro hot spots as The Latin Quarter, The Rainbow Room, El Morocco, and so many more, but also offers a series of indelible images of a bygone era of luxury and splendor. Beautifully written, the book is brimming with wit, humor, nostalgia, and pictorial beauty—an exotic, enticing ode to a vanished lifestyle of twentieth century Americana." —Wheeler Winston Dixon, author of Death of the Moguls: The End of Classical Hollywood"Michael Turback’s well-curated archive of memorabilia and recipes teaches us well about the visual, musical, and culinary opulence enjoyed by both celebrities and average Americans in glamorous nightclubs of the WWII era. Food historians, students of cultural studies, and lovers of over-the-top, mid-century food and drink can imbibe deeply here, and come away satisfied." —Jacqueline Foertsch, professor of English, author of American Culture in the 1940s