Hotel Governor Clinton, New York, N.Y.

Hotel Governor Clinton, New York, N.Y., December 31, 1932

This New Year's Eve menu from the 1930s has great style. During the struggles of the Great Depression, people still celebrated. . . and dined out! According to The New York Times, restaurants and hotels, including the Governor Clinton across from Penn Station, anticipated larger crowds that year, moderate weather, and lower prices. (Dec. 30, 1932) The Clinton served Jenny Lind soup, patty of lobster, and breast of chicken. Contrary to its stylized cover, the menu reads like a product of the depression, without the extravagance we see on other holiday menus. Luckily, 1933 would see the beginnings of an economic recovery and, alas, the repeal of Prohibition!

From the Culinary Institute of America Menu Collection, Eugene Hiller Menu Collection, menu 30-23.