After reading the story in the New York Times about the two branches of the Benedict family who both claim to have invented eggs Benedict, all I can say is, who knew? Apparently, at least according to a 1942 New Yorker article, in 1894 a hungover ladies' man, Lemuel Benedict, created the first version of the brunch standard when he ordered two poached eggs, bacon, buttered toast, and a pitcher of hollandaise sauce at the old Waldorf Hotel (now the Waldorf-Astoria. Lemuel Benedict would not tolerate substitutions, so the English muffin and the Canadian bacon must have come later. Not so, according to Bon Appétit magazine, which in 1978 published an article crediting Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict with...
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