There are more than 9,000 vintage menus in the Los Angeles Public Library’s massive collection, the subject of “To Live and Dine in L.A.,” a celebration kicking off on June 13. In addition to a massive exhibit at the downtown Central Library and a series of celebrity-chef panels, Angel City Press is releasing a book of highlights with analysis by USC professor and Los Angeles contributor Josh Kun. “These menus are urban texts,” he says. “You can read them the way you would an old map of the city.” Behold, a sampling of the archives to whet your appetite for history.
The cover of the menu from Googie landmark Ship’s Coffee Shop
A page from Kelbos, a “Hawaiian Bar-B-Q” restaurant popular for their sweet, sticky spare ribs
Desserts at Kelbos. Pie anyone?
Cover of the menu from Chinatown’s Golden Pagoda, now Hop Louie. The pagoda was constructed in 1941.
Golden Pagoda menu, where a “De Lux” dinner cost $1.25
The Original Willard’s opened in 1928 on Pico Boulevard. A second Willards opened later in Los Feliz and later became the famous domed site of the Brown Derby. Also, we’ll take a Zombie.
One of the collection’s oldest menus dates to 1895, from a Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce dinner
Tastes in 1895 weren’t all that different from today: oysters, roast lamb, lime frappe, and champers.
Yes, but did they have crayons at the Broadway?
A menu from the famed Scandia, which opened in 1947. The historic Sunset and Doheny structure is slated to be demolished to make way for a Marriott.
Scandia helped make Scandanavian food the cuisine du jour for much of the 1950s. Herring has never been so hot.
The original Spago menu, signed by Wolfgang Puck in 1981 (the restaurant officially opened in January of 1982).
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