From the two types of turtle soup to the to the turkey stuffed with chestnuts to the 18 varieties of game offered, the Plaza’s Thanksgiving menu was clearly a feast for the well-to-do New Yorkers who could afford to dine there.
Note the little crow mocking the turkey in the menu cartoon—who knew the Plaza at the time had such a sarcastic edge?
This menu comes from the New York Public Library’s incredible collection of 40,000-plus menus.
Tags: early Thanksgiving menus, New York Public Library menu collection, New York's Plaza Hotel, thanksgiving dinner 1899, Thanksgiving in the 1890s, the Plaza Hotel
Ephemeral New York 
November 16, 2009 at 1:33 pm |
Wow, that’s really cool!
November 16, 2009 at 6:41 pm |
[…] what was on the Thanksgiving menu at the Plaza Hotel in 1899 [Ephemeral […]
November 24, 2009 at 2:00 pm |
[…] What an 1899 Thanksgiving dinner at New York’s Plaza Hotel looked like. Turtles! Digg it | reddit | del.icio.us | Fark […]
November 24, 2009 at 2:47 pm |
I’m sorry, are those prices on the menu? In cents???
November 25, 2009 at 11:46 pm |
Yes, that’s in cents. This is back in the day when a dollar meant something and gold and silver were legal tender, not those fake pieces of paper with dead presidents (and one non-president) on them.
November 29, 2009 at 5:32 am
Make that two non-presidents — Alexander Hamilton ($10) and Benjamin Franklin ($100).
November 24, 2009 at 5:14 pm |
[…] a look at the menu from the 1899 Thanksgiving dinner at the Plaza for a little Turkey Day inspiration for your dinner table. Quail, grouse, duck – it’s […]
November 24, 2009 at 8:34 pm |
WHAT… No Manatee???? Must have been out of season! Green Turtles… yeah… I’ve always wanted to cook and try some… God forbid you bring one of them in… until after dark that is 😉 As a Sportsman the only real surprise is the Red Head Duck going for $2.50 and the Canvas Back for $1.50… they are equal fare… very high on the culinary scale both then and now.
November 25, 2009 at 5:11 pm |
And to think they were on the cusp of entering the 20th century. It must have been quite a party.
November 28, 2009 at 5:51 pm |
Anyone know how many of these courses an individual would actually eat? What exactly is a “releve”?
And then there are the salads between the main courses and the vegetables. Would the salad be served with the whole meal? After the entree?
This menu opens so many interesting questions.
November 28, 2009 at 9:41 pm |
I found one reference that explained it was a meat course that traditionally followed the first courses yet came before the entree. People had big appetites back then I guess.
December 23, 2009 at 9:50 pm |
I might be wrong, but I think servings were also smaller, and a meal like this would have been a very leisurely undertaking.
January 27, 2010 at 6:28 pm |
where’s something about my beloved library lions Patience and Fortitude?
Please submit a few pics and provide a little nostalgia on these wonderful bastians of books…(ok a little corny I know…but I love ’em!)
November 12, 2013 at 6:55 am |
[…] This relatively contemporary menu has been pared down from the massive bills of fare handed out by the city’s luxurious hotel restaurants during Gilded Age Thanksgivings. […]
November 26, 2014 at 11:13 pm |
[…] to the Ephemeral New York blog for this 1899 menu from the Plaza Hotel. And thanks to you for reading the EngAGE […]
January 6, 2020 at 6:58 am |
[…] a lot like the Plaza Hotel that’s been an icon of New York City for more than a century, […]
September 15, 2023 at 6:00 am |
[…] been a local favorite for Thanksgiving dinner in NYC since 1899. How do I know? Because of this vintage menu owned by the New York Public Library that advertises all the tasty food being […]
November 20, 2023 at 3:53 am |
[…] in point: menus from fancy Gilded Age hotel eateries. The titans of industry who spent Turkey Day at the Plaza Hotel in 1899 enjoyed several-course meals of the finest dishes—starting with appetizer courses of little neck […]