they are members of america's power elite. >> it's a wonderful restaurant and i've been coming here for years. >> so many of my friends are here. >> the biggest names in business. >> it's elegant. but extremely efficient. >> i don't do much of the social. it's just mostly business. >> brokering some of the biggest deals. >> several things about it here, it's the best private chub in

new york with no dues. >> they're here at the four seasons restaurant, celebrating the 50th anniversary as one of new york city's most exclusive landmarks. and a distinctly american idea. the power lunch. >> it's a very sexy place. >> this hour, we'll take you inside the legendary restaurant where cuisine and style and big rollers all come together. i'm bill griffith, the co-host of cnbc's "power lunch." welcome to the four seasons, the grill room, where the captains of industry come to dine and do business. what you just saw, by the way was exclusive footage taken by our cnbc cameras of the four seasons gala 50th anniversary celebration. and we'll be showing you more as well. over the next hour, we're going to tell you the story of how this restaurant came to be the home of the power lunch.

and what is a power lunch, anyway? we'll ask martha stewart what the rules are. and you'll meet the man who came up with this classic design and get an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of this american institution. so sit back, relax and enjoy the ultimate power lunch. as we celebrate 50 years of the four seasons restaurant. >> it's 12:00 in new york city. lunch time, and people have choices. lots of them. for many of the city's rich and famous, this is their choice. the four seasons restaurant. this is their haven. where they are made to feel at home. >> it's a wonderful restaurant and i've been coming here for years and they are wonderful people. who could be anything but happy and i'm grab able to work for them. >> this restaurant has maintained the aura of quality, which is very intriguing. >> the thing about a great

restaurant is that the it's not just the food, you know. it's the environment that people create, the feeling that people create in the room. and it's always had this sort of wonderful, it always feels like a wonderful place to be. >> some restaurants get hot for a while, they become the place for the in crowd, and then suddenly, they are not. the in kraud moves on. but the four seasons is different. for some reason, it has had staying power. >> because it's sort of a family restaurant. for me, anyway. and so many of my friends are here. for lunch. >> the four seasons is almost two separate restaurants. there is the light and airy pool room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, marble, the artificial trees that change with the seasons and its signature 20-foot square pool in the middle of the room. and then there's the warm and intimate grill room. years ago, it was called the barroom. with its two-tiered dining area,

its booths and its french walnut paneling. for new york city's top executives, a table here in the grill room tells the world that you have arrived. in between the two dining rooms is a hallway known as picasso alley, where this one of a kind piece of art hangs. a theater curtain designed by pablo picasso in 1919 for a ballet production in paris. the owners of the four seasons purchased it from picasso himself for $50,000. in fact, there is art everywhere in the four seasons. including chairs designed by arctic tekt charles eames. service ware by garth and ada louise huxtable. and the stunning bronze sculpture hanging over the bar. in october of 1979, "esquire" magazine writer wrote about the flunl people who dined at the four seasons. and in this article that he

coined the term that would ultimately become the restaurant's most enduring legacy. the power lunch. >> the power lunch, i guess there are a couple of levels to it the obvious level is a couple or three or four people getting together and have lunch. but around that, i guess, are a numb of conditions. it has to be place where people who don't have power can't get in very easily. it's a self-defining club. another thing i think that defines the power lunch is that the conversation tends to be very muted. it's very intense. there's a lot of sort of hunching over. a lot of eye contact. there's a lot looking around. these people have carried looking around to a highly polished and refined art form. i think that's a really important quality. maybe that's how they get to be powerful in the first place. certainly a skill they learn once they're powerful. >> we're look at the four ingredients essential for a

power lunch. gracious hosts. you'll meet the current owners of the four seasons and they'll tell you their secrets for success. great food and service. we'll give you an unprecedented look behind the scenes at all of the preparation that goes into a single day's lunch service. powerful people, we sit down with beam who certainly know what a power lunch is, including martha stewart, who reveals some surprising stories about what goes on during a power lunch. >> i started like to see what people are doing here and it's a flirtatious place. >> you flirt with other tables? >> no, i've been flirted with. >> but first, you need a classic venue. >> so when we come back, some history, the remarkable story of the people who created this sophisticated lunch room, including its unlikely designer, an architect who had never before designed a restaurant. and what it took to make the most expensive restaurant in the world. when this school district added aflac to complement

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there's no place like this in the world. >> it has the combination of being very beautiful and very quiet. >> it's one of those icon ic american places. >>is clear that one of the most distinctive features of the four seasons is its timeless design. the history of the classic venue is the story of strong-willed people with very specific ideas. and an awful lot of money. >> in 1954, canadian distiller, samuel bronfman decided to build a headquarters for his seagrams empire in new york city. always a master of marketing, he proposed designing a building in the shape of a giant whiskey decanter. his 27-year-old daughter,

phyllis, a talented arctic tekt living in paris read about her father's idea and she was not pleased. >> she called and told him that that was just outrageous and he ought to do something better. and my grandfather was never thrilled to the idea that she was a single woman alone in paris, anyway. he made a deal with her. he said, all right, if you'll come back to montreal and oversee the project, i'll let you handle it. so she did. >> phyllis lambert hired german architect van der rohe to come up with the design. >> she felt he was the greatest architect of that movement and greatest architect of that time. >> she and mies were able 0 come to a meeting of the minds. >> when they presented their plans to samuel bronfman, things

didn't go as planned. >> my grandfather kicked them out of his office. he was very upset. >> my grandfather was from the old world, he had never seen a building built on stilts. never seen a building where the windows didn't open and he thought he was being played with. >> eventually, phyllis lambert was able to convince her father. construction took four years at a cost of roughly $1 million per floor, or dd 38 million. legend has it that samuel bronfman paid cash. but what to do with the lowest two floors? the bronfmans proposed opening an art gallery or a cadillac dealership. then in 1958, they were approached by executives from restaurant associates, including company ceo jerry brody and joseph baum, a flamboyant restauranteur who would make his name creating the windows on the world, atop the world trade center, and overseeing the

revival in 1974, of the legendary rainbow room. eventually, samuel bronfman agreed to put a restaurant in his new building. >> it served a number of purposes, it attracted people to the building, it see the building. of a business caliber. that i think would have pleased my grandfather. and it also wasn't competitive in any way with the building. if you have a car dealership here, you're going to have all kinds of signage here for whichever car dealership it is. or a bank, the same kind of thing. >> several names were considered for the new restaurant. including the calendar room. plaza of the 12 fountains and cleopatra. it was joe baum who came up with the four seasons concept. >> there is a period as the restaurant was being developed, that my father was reading a lot of haiku. there was a haiku based on the concept of four seasons and the changing of time and the concept of time. and i think there was a eureka moment. >> mies van der r ohe assistant

designed everything from the at&t building in new york city to the crystal cathedral. like mies, johnson ascribed to the less is more theory of design. using classic materials like glass, marble and wood. but not everything happened by design. when johnson's brass chain curtains were hung, he couldn't stop their gentle swaying motion. which he feared would disturb diners. so he asked joe baum for his opinion. >> he was very concerned about whether or not this was a good idea or not. and apparently approached my father to say, what do you think? are people going do get sick when they see all the movement in the dining room. and my father's response is phillip, it will be perfect. >> it was completed in 1959 at a cost of $4.4 million. or roughly $35 million today, making the most expensive

restaurant in the world. after its grand opening, craig claiborne of the "new york times," the most influential food writer in the company, called it perhaps the most exciting restaurant to open in new york in the last two decades. it didn't take long for the rich and famous to discover it. the four seasons became a favorite of society pages. >> in 1962, president john kennedy celebrated his 45th birthday at the four seasons. but he didn't stay long. after a quick bowl of soup and a beer, he headed to madison square garden where he was famously serenaded by marilyn monroe. in the mid 1970s, restaurant associates went downscale and expanded into other areas of food service. airline catering and roadside restaurants. the four seasons was losing money and its luster. so in 1973, it was sold to two

of its own executives. tom margatiy and paul cobe, both of hungarian descent, almost immediately changed the restaurant's focus, from dinner to lunch. >> one of them had a bright idea, why don't we start to serve lunch here? >> something was changing from power and business. i think the american food culture was changing. what the idea was, to use this room to serve a dramatically different kind of food. and serve it in a very different way. >> fresh food prepared simply. the four seasons now had a menu to match its minimalist design. it's a plan that's been successful for almost 30 years. >> would your father be pleased, do you think, with the four seasons he would see today? >> i think he would be thrilled that it's here. and how he would feel about it's here or why it's here or what he missed or not, that, i obviously

can't answer. but i think you know, i really never had this conversation with him. i can only think that in his mind, heart and mind, he may have looked back at some point at the four seasons certainly was probably an ultimate, ultimate expression of his entire career and lifetime. >> how are you? >> when we come back, the next ingredient for a successful power lunch. gracious hosts, you'll meet the current owners of the four seasons. and they will reveal the secret of turning great hospitality into profit.

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toast of julian and alec, who have done an extraordinary job of keeping this place alive. to carry on the tradition in their own way, to celebrate what they have done. >> happy anniversary. >> when diners arrive at the four seasons, this is their first stop, the reservation desk at the grill room. chances are they'll be met by two familiar faces, the current owners. two very different men known simply by their first names. alex and julian. in 1976, owners margati and kobe hired the quiet reserved swiss-born alex von bitter, was working for a hotel queen, to jump-start the restaurant's banquet business. in just a few years, business soared from $200,000 a year to $1.3 million. to oversee their growing lunchtime business in the grill

room, they lured the 23-year-old italian, julian nicolini away from the luxurious palace restaurant. together, these two hard-working young men helped to restore the four seasons luster. in 1995, alex and julian became its new owners. >> when i say to you, to describe the grill room, how do you describe the grill room? >> oliver stone said once, it reminds him of his high school cafeter cafeteria. and someone with him said, you wish. what i mean by that or what he meant by that is he knows everybody. it's fun and there are cliques and people that love each other and people that do business with each other and there are people that are suing each other. so there's a lot going on. >> i say, well this gentleman is going to sit here. this lady is going to sit there.

just want to make sure we don't have any complication at all. by the time they come here, everybody is seated, you know? basically, they could just walk up, say hello to me and i could just basically direct them to whatever table they're supposed to go in. >> you make it sound simple. is it? >> yes, simple as that. and if anybody complains, you know, then we have a problem. >> then they don't get a table, right? that's when they make julian mad. >> exactly. >> you don't want to have that happen. >> no, you don't want to have that happen at all. but if you look even today, today was a very difficult seating. look, you can see we only have 33 tables and about 42 reservations. so basically i have to figure out where to seat them. >> and you have to say to a regular customer -- i'm sorry -- >> no, no. we never say that. no. >> the answer is always yes. >> what happen is that the answer is always yes. so when people come in, you know, we have stables here, we might have a table in the back.

but, yes. we don't have any problems. we never say no to customers. >> let's go to the pool room. >> what's the difference between this week and the grill room and the pool room? >> way back, when the grill room was in its early stages, nobody wanted to sit there. >> why? >> because they thought that, they felt that all the action was around the pool. >> and there was a market for people that wanted to have a quiet lunch. and that's how the grill room started. and then the grill room became very busy and very popular. and very powerful. so the people that wanted a quiet lunch wanted to have more privacy, wanted to not being seen, not table-hopping, they are here. in many ways, they're more serious over here. >> it's a beautiful room, isn't it? >> i think it's one of the most spectacular rooms in new york city, as you can see. you know, when you're seated by

the pool, when you're seated basically at any given table, you can have a conversation and the next table will not be able to hear you at all. and i think because of that, you know, people really like to be in this room. it's very romantic as well. the pool is really spectacular piece of architecture, if you like to call it architecture. and we change the paintings here all the time and the trees, during the particular seasons and people love it. >> you were summoned to the pool room and you found a group of people chasing each other around the room? >> oh, my god. >> tell that story. >> i went down to my office during lunch, to check what's going on in the office. and i get a call, come to the pool room right away. and i never get a call like this. only when there's a fire or something like that. so i ran upstairs, and i see two guys chasing each other and one has a handgun. >> wow. >> and all of the other customers were ducking and the staff didn't know what to do. i didn't know what to do. so -- i screamed out, everybody

sit down. "everybody sit down" and everybody did, including the guy with the gun. so i went over to him and i said, it's time to leave and i led him out. and we had him arrested. it turns out he came in, and the guy he was chasing was having lunch with his wife. with the gun-toter's wife. so it was a family affair. >> but that's very unusual. >> it never happened before and it never happened since. >> is it true that a group of young ladies removed their clothing and defense into the pool? >> of course. >> it was great. >> were you here then? >> i was enjoying a table of wine together. we were drinking some nice cristol. and then we had some more wine. i was enjoying myself because i wasn't paying the check. somebody else was paying the check. but the beauty was quite

remarkable. and it lasted until about 1:30 in the afternoon until about 5:00. and then you know, i managed to i think we came upstairs and said, i think it's time for you to go home. >> it's time for dinner. >> so they left and we all left you know. they went outside in the plaza where we have two swimming pools there as well. and they took off their clothes again and did it one more time. >> it was spring fever. that's what that was. >> and this gentleman totally enjoyed paying the check. the check was close to $8,000, and he didn't mind at all. it was a lot of fun. >> we had a lot of complaints that day. a lot of people in the grill room said that they were not told that we would have this going on. >> they had a great time. >> let's walk back into the grill room and i can get some more stuff from you about the power room. >> jackie onassis, when i mentioned her --

>> the first time she walked in, the whole room fell silent. absolutely silent. i had never seen that with anybody else. and actually, we were slort a table. and we put in a table and she left the table and it stayed there and it's still there. >> you had to put an extra table for jackie? and she liked it so much, you kept it there? >> the table is still there, look. the one thing she always said, she referred to this place as her cathedral. which i thought was a very special way for her to appreciate the space. she loved it. >> tell the story about when barbara bush came here? >> the first time barbara bush came in, she was first lady. and i was thrilled to welcome her. and i said hello and i walked up the stairs with her. and i asked her, is this the first time you were were at the four seasons. and she said young man, i have no idea where i am. i just go where i'm told. >> that's pretty good. >> it's the same deal like when

ronald reagan had lunch here one day. he had lunch at this particular table. and everybody was entertained, asked him, what are you having for lunch? and they showed him the menu and he said, i can't read. and one of his assistants said, mr. president, what are you having for lunch? and he said, whatever you're having, i'm having. >> easy to please. >> he was very -- >> when he left, there was a huge crowd outside and everybody wanted autographs and he reached into his pocket -- and he had a stack of business cards with his signature and picture. >> what does did mean to you, to having been together this long, running this establishment? i mean, give me your thoughts on the four seasons restaurant? >> it's a responsibility. and sometimes i'm a bit intimidated by all of the

accolades we get and all of the attentions we get. because we're basically pretty simple restaurant guys. and we like to do a good job every day. and so, when you focus it in this way, it's kind of heavy sometimes. >> do you feel the weight sometimes? >> no, not really. because people say that i don't take anything seriously. which is not true actually. but i think it's been a lot of fun. i don't think i would like to do anything else at all, but run a place like this. this is a home away from home. i'm very lucky. i think the only thing that i would like to do, i would like to make the restaurant a better restaurant. because that's what people should do all their life. always improve themself and try to deliver a better product to the customer that they would like to have. >> i have one more thing to add, i've read in a book, really cute book, that there are three things worthwhile doing in life.

one is to build something new. one is to take care of something old. and the third one is thinking about either of these two while petting your dog. and so it seems that i like to take care of old things, old buildings, old houses, old boats. and old friends. >> when we come back, an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of the four seasons restaurant. >> and laterer, we convene our own power lunch, with three power players, including martha stewart, who tells us about some of her biggest pet peeves during a power lunch. >> i had one regular during lunch, he took three phone calls during lunch and he read his blackberry at least three times during lunch. >> you must have been mortified. carol, when you replaced casual friday with nordic tuesday,

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i would say that nine out of ten days i have smoked salmon. they have the best smoked salmon. but on certain days i eat breakfast for lunch. if it's not on the menu and they actually tolerate it. >> meal time at the four seasons is like a broadway production. it's performed each day in the grill room and the pool room. like all great productions, they don't just happen, there are an awful lot of hard-working people behind the scenes. and they work here, in the kitchen. all 6,000 square feet of it. and their job begins long before the diners arrive for lunch. it's 9:00 a.m. and joel patraker, the four seasons purchasing manager is receiving his daily shipments of produce. >> in the morning, my two best

friends are the magic marker and the pocket knife and i open everything and i look at everything, and i label it. it's very important to rotate everything. i label it and rotate it. we like to know our producers. i deal with farmers and fishers in the northwest, from florida, in the stone crab season is being caught the day before it comes here. >> the shrimp, the ruby red shrimp are favorites. >> that's the freezer of the four seasons, this little room, that's it. we can buy 30 or 40 pounds of one kind of fish a day and every day it goes, and every day something new comes in. so it's extremely fresh all the time. which is a wonderful thing. >> good morning. >> jeffrey, you know, we have a cake to make today, one small one, you have it, right? you're going to take care of that? okay. tony, macaroons, what color today? >> orange.

>> orange sounds good. >> patrick, the executive pastry chef arrives and greets his staff. >> we have about ten different desserts on the menu. we just are in the freezer, one or two we can have them a couple of days. but we have to make sure we're ready with the deserts. these are passion fruit and chom lat bombes, we're going to glaze them with a milk chocolate glaze. this is a chocolate velvet cake. this cake has been designed for the opening of the four seasons, 50 years ago. and it's very famous. it's sometimes shipped all over the country. as you can see, the molds are pretty banged up. they were designed a long time ago. but we're still using them. so -- >> let's go. >> grilled zucchini, the special. >> we have two rooms operating

at the same time in the same kitchen. so plus banquets. they want to come in and they talk about business and they eat fast. it's a real power house. >> fred is one of the four seasons two chefs de cuisine in charge of the kitchen and the first order of business is preparing the specials for the day's lunch menu. >> we have the beautiful shrimp from florida, the ruby red shrimp, we're making it as a scampi. scampi being in vermouth, white wine, garl ig, very simple in a little butter sauce. and that's the taste today. that'sed john doory. the john doory is going to be grilled. a really nice presentation and clean. the carrots, grilled zucchini with herbs, artichoke puree and the john doory. >> the average entree is $42.50.

>> katherine, can you print out the specials today? >> sure. >> the members of the wait staff arrive and begin their day. >> this is waiter juice. breakfast of champions. >> we use these for the particular party, the lady in charge of the party likes to have lemon on the table. one extra lemon for each guest. i guess she has puts stock in lemon. >> meanwhile, in the dining room, the tables are being set precisely. >> the long-time restaurant manager at the four seasons. >> the menu in the grill room is designed for speed, especially at lunchtime. the food is interesting, but the chefs are aware that they have to go back to work. so it's designed for speed and the staff is trained to function

at 100 miles per hour. so we deliver. and you know, people are in and out. >> back in the kitchen, fred and his staff are busy preparing lunch. >> it's the zucchini special today? frank has been here how long? >> 32 years. >> 32 years, frank. frank's chef saucier. when he was about two, he started. >> our guys -- specials today, we have ox tail mushroom ravioli with sage mushroom brown butter as an appetizer, and also buffalo mozzarella and peppers. >> minutes before diners arrive, fred briefs the wait staff about the day's lunch specials. >> the main course is ruby red florida shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta and pepperoncini. >> no detail is left to chance.

he tells his staff the names of the power players who will be dining with them today and what their table assignments are. >> 35, don mairn, 36, don florio. >> every table is custom-tailored to their needs. for example, let's say we know that michael wolf likes to drink still water, but at room temperature. so does mr. lauder. so his table will be set with still water at room temperature. most likely we'll have an idea before even he orders, that this is what he's going to have for lunch today. >> it's noon. and diners are beginning to arrive. >> i'll be right with you. mr. lee? they're waiting for you. hello, nice to see you. >> all right, sir, sorry to interrupt. it's my job to make sure you have a little lunch today. >> back in the kitchen, the orders are coming in.

>> excuse me. >> sorry about that. >> one special! >> so, how is the champagne? is it good? >> you cannot leave it in the glass. you have to drink it. >> nice to see you. >> one special, one john doory special. >> 1:00. >> yes, sir. >> so far, so good? >> how do we do with this? >> beautiful. i got to tell you, this was exceptional. >> you have a good day? >> thank you for coming. stay well. >> our guests come in very much at the same time. it's like a fire drill. we take the orders as quickly as possible. that way, the kitchen can get started. so it's a process of an hour, an hour and a half. the lunch is done. back to work. and that's what it's like.

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get your new chase sapphire card at chase.com/sapphire.. you are the consummate deal-maker. have you ever done deals here? >> we've done some. >> the tables are far apart, the food is very good. everybody's friendly, but it's private, also. >> have you done deals here? >> a few.

>> over the years, it's clearly become a hangout for a lot of business people. so everybody likes to exaggerate the deals they make at this restaurant. >> i don't know that we've like proverbially shaken the hand, but yeah, several things have happened here. >> it has a reputation for deal-making. the power lunch. >> have you ever done deals here? >> there are always deals here. >> for a successful power lunch, we've already established you need a classic venue, gracious hosts and great food and service. the final ingredient? powerful people. to find out what really goes on during a power lunch, we sat down with three regulars here at the four seasons who also know a thing or two about making deals. the queen of real estate, dolly lenz, the vice chair of prudential douglas element, who have sold $7 million worth of properties. wall street veteran, donald

marin, the investment giant of payne weber and the chairman of lightyear capital. >> and the one and only, martha stewart. >> you three could eat anywhere. why do you eat at the four seasons? >> i come here because it's the most beautiful room in new york. and in terms of dining. it's the most power-ridden room in new york. every table has somewhat interesting at it. but it's also very comfortable. and it's kind of like a club. and for women in new york, having a club atmosphere is kind of nice, don't you think? >> without a question. it's not even a pool we can go naked in, but other than that, it's okay. >> although people have, i hear. >> exactly. >> why do you come here? >> well first of all, i'm in the building. >> i'm heard people tell me real estate agents, give me an office where i can be within four blocks of the four seasons so they can come here every day. >> that's a pretty good ad for the restaurant, isn't it? i come here because it's

comfortable, it's convenient, the tables are far enough apart, you can have a serious conversation. and to see martha occasionally. >> there is a mystique around this concept of the power lunch. what is a power lunch? >> well, you come here with somebody you're making a deal with. somebody you're in a deal with because you can't scream here, it's very polite. >> have you ever done that? >> yes. >> it's also a place where you can take somebody very, very important to you and make other people kind of -- you know, try to figure out what you're doing. >> they kind of say, if martha stewart is seen with -- >> maybe something's happening. maybe there's a deal going on. >> a new magazine, new book.

and i just put out these for fun. my blackberry and my phone. >> are these allowed? >> they're not supposed to be. there's sort of an understanding that papers are never on the table. you never see anybody writing anything or sheaves of contracts and stuff. have you ever brought a contract here? >> absolutely >> other restaurants you would do that, but not here. >> how do you get along for 45 minutes without your blackberry and phone. >> i didn't say i didn't get along with it. >> she had her on the table. >> i do, yes. >> you're a real estate broker. >> i have to be realtime. >> and your clients would be really angry at you. >> i have to be at realtime. i am at the beck and call of all my clients. >> i have this on vibrate. i can feel it and excuse myself. other people now i'm noticing, they're reading their blackberries in this room. >> but at least generally it's like here. >> i know, but they're still

reading it. >> i had lunch with one of the regulars here the other day, and he took three phone calls during lunch and walked over there. he also read his blackberry at least three times during lunch. >> you must have been mortified. >> i was pissed, yes. >> that's not right. >> i'm pretty much with him. >> do you order alcohol during a business lunch? >> oh, never. first of all, i don't drink during the day. i would be finished. what about you? >> sometimes. if it's a celeb ratory lunch, it really is a place of choice. then you want a glass of champagne. you want a glass of rose and we do that. >> tell me about deals you have done here. >> the best deals i have done here build relationships. people love to come from out of town. i had lunch here one day with a very serious ceo and he said a lunch has to end at just this time because i have to go meet

my banker, a political figure who is important to me, and my lawyer, and i said, well, just wait. we sat here through lunch and by the end of the lunch all three had turned up. we covered a lot of ground right here. >> it's very efficient that way, isn't it? >> well, it's a serious place and serious people come here. but everybody feels comfortable, and the thing about julian is he will make all kinds of people feel comfortable. i have been here with ceos, politicians, and with my children, young children to celebrate events. all feel equally comfortable. >> tell me about a deal you have done here. give me a for instance. >> i sold a building lot on 36th and 5th where we did most of the deal here at several lunches and celebrated here at dinner. it was a man who came to america simply to buy an apartment. i said you know what? buy that apartment, but how about this building lot, it's a great opportunity. $212 million later, he bought

it. >> nowadays it would be the reverse. you would come for $212 million and buy a little. >> can you name a name? >> can i bring up dennis kolows kolowski? >> we had many lunches here, discussed many things including asking me to be on the board of the company here and thank god i said no, as you look back on it now. we did a deal here. he bought schwartzman's apartment at 955th. we closed the deal here. it was a wonderful deal. he got in through the board. he was very happy. schwartzman was very happy. the whole thing worked out very well and it was schwartzman's idea to come here. >> is there something you wouldn't order foodwise for a business lunch? everything is game? >> yeah. >> messy spaghetti. >> you can have spaghetti here

very nicely. and the menu changes regularly. that's why it's called the four seasons. >> you are the self-proclaimed rule keeper for the grill room here, right? >> well just for me, yeah. i sort of like to see what people are doing here, and it's a flirtatious place, too. i didn't mention that, did i? >> you flirt with other table -- >> well, no, i don't but other people flirt, and -- >> who have you seen flirt here? >> i have been flirted with. >> so somebody will catch your eye across the room. >> yes. >> right? >> and then very surreptitiously drop a piece of paper with a telephone number on it. things like that happen here. this is a sexy place. don't you think it's a sexy place? >> i must have missed out. >> you're too busy doing business. >> have you called them back? >> of course. >> what rules are broken here that you know of? >> the phone, the cell phone and answering at the table. it's being done, and like that.

>> table hopping is frowned upon here. >> everybody table hops. it's much, much less now. no one is frowning on it because, guess what? our friend julian is the biggest table hopper of them all, and julian, who really kind of runs this place with alex, julian is always table hopping and always saying, did you see so-and-so over there and then so-and-so sends dessert over here, and -- no, no, there's a lot of table hopping going on. >>. you do, too? >> of course. like the perfect club proprietors -- >> it's nice to come in a little late actually and stop at every table before you get to your table. >> thank you all. before we go we must acknowledge the untimely passing of another integral player in the success of the four seasons. it's long-time executive chef known to all simply as hitch. during his 33 years here at the four seasons, hitch was

responsible for maintaining its reputation of preparing fresh ingredients that pleased even the pickiest palates in new york city. thanks for watching the ultimate power lunch. 50 years at the four seasons. i'm bill griffeths. bon appetite.

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