Menus: The Art of Dining

…on my way to look for material for a history of BBQ post (for Jubilee's Outlaw BBQ), I came across and couldn't resist this wonderful collection of menus and notes on their history from the UNLV Libraries distracted me from via a post on More or Less Bunk (history blog with a food history category), which comes, in turn, from the Scout Report (not food but a weekly report on best new internet resources, truly an information junkie's delight). That may be more provenance than anyone reading cares about, but all are resources worth looking at more closely.

Menus provide a wealth of information beyond their purely aesthetic value and are a particularly rich resource for aspects of cultural and social history. They give us information on the most popular cuisine of a time period and region and are evidence of changing culinary tastes. They can indicate how particular food items have been used regionally, and in the case of notable restaurants can provide evidence of the work of well-known chefs.