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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?
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river_rivera456mo 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.
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troystone6mo 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.
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dixon.ryan4mo ago
Ha, right?! They probably handed that poor soul a crinkled, damp paper with a faint tomato stain and called it a day. Honestly, it sounds like the system was designed by the same person who thought one water fountain for the whole school was fine. Just peak efficiency all around.
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