Easter dinner was a feast at the luxurious Hotel Windsor in 1893, once on Fifth Avenue and 46th Street.
Judging by the cover of the menu (left), the day’s religious significance was front and center.
Starting with “Easter eggs,” this Gilded Age menu details more than seven hefty courses, ending with a delicious strawberries and cream option.
Mutton kidneys and frizzled beef, on the other hand, sound less than appetizing.
Fast-forward to 1955. We’re at the Park Lane Hotel (located on Park Avenue and 48th Street until 1971), and Easter Dinner is now Easter Sunday Brunch, its religious significance not referenced.
The menu is a lot smaller and features brunch favorites New Yorkers indulge in today, such as Eggs Benedict and pancakes (okay, wheat cakes) and sausage.
Looks like only hot buns, filet of sole, and sausage appear on both menus, which are part of the New York Public Library’s fantastic Buttolph Collection of American menus.
If the Park Lane Hotel still hosts an Easter Brunch, I bet it’s no longer $4.50 a person!