Restaurant Menu Collection

Although the word menu originated from the French language, the first uses of restaurant menus, or what one could recognize as a 21st century restaurant menu, finds its origins in China. During the Song Dynasty street vendors would list the delicacies merchants could find inside. This allowed patrons to choose between a variety of options versus going to street vendors which often specialized in one item (Civitello, 2004). It might also be argued that China was a leader in the creation of a form of printed menu as they also excelled in the development of paper making and movable type.

However, the printed menu did not spread throughout the world quickly. In smaller tavernas across Europe, daily dishes were often verbalized to customers or were written on boards outside. As printing became easier and cheaper, printed menus not only became more popular but also acted as opportunities for restaurants to show-off their respective dishes (Grimes, 2007). Of course menus have always served practical purposes: listing dishes, prices, and in some cases a small definition of the dish, restaurant menus certainly serve a use beyond practicality. Restaurants owners and chefs use menus to help define the current cuisine culture.

Depending on ones’ geographical location and dining choice, the 21st century menu can take on a number of different forms. Perhaps it is a leather bound menu, almost novella in size, listing fine steaks and chops, or a single sheet of paper listing a handful of empanadas; or all the incarnations in-between. The ever-changing style of the menu is often reflective of other trends in print culture. Archiving restaurant menus helps to trace the emergence and continued popularity or disappearance of certain restaurant types- which helps to better understand trends in immigration and migration, neighborhood gentrification, and related economic trends. Restaurant menus also inform us about culinary culture and reveal our own personal and familial cultures by documenting the where and what of the meals underscoring a sense of culinary nostalgia.

Sources Consulted: Civitello, L. (2003). Cuisine and culture: A history of food and people. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Grimes, W. (2009). Appetite City: A culinary history of New York. New York: North Point Press