Reading a food history book and found a wild fact about restaurant menus

I was flipping through a book called 'The Menu' from the library and learned that the first printed menu in America appeared in 1838 at a hotel in New York. Before that, you just asked the server what was available. It's crazy to think the whole concept of a physical menu is less than 200 years old. The book said that early menus were often just a single sheet of paper listing a dozen or so dishes. It makes you appreciate how much the menu has become a core part of the dining experience. Has anyone else come across any other surprising bits of kitchen or restaurant history?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_rivera4510d ago

That "single sheet of paper" menu sounds about right. I bet the first person to get one immediately spilled soup all over it. Some parts of history just feel inevitable.

troystone9d ago

Wait, they only gave out one single sheet? @river_rivera45, you're right about the soup, but I'm stuck on how they handled it for the next customer. Did they just hand out a soggy, stained paper? That seems like a terrible system from the very first lunch.