Posted on 11/26/2024 12:03:01 PM PST by Red Badger
"Wow!! More options than The Cheesecake Factory!"
@BeschlossDC via X; @Kaboompics.com via Pexels
An image of the Thanksgiving menu from New York City's Plaza Hotel in 1899 is going viral as social media users note the difference 125 years can make.
Notably, the most expensive menu item was a roast Philadelphia chicken, at a price of $2. One dollar in 1899 would be worth slightly over $38 in present times.
The number of options also garnered attention. Over twenty deserts were listed under "Sweet Dishes," with pumpkin pie for just twenty cents.
1899 diners had multiple duck species and even grape varietals to choose from.
History buffs shared facts about the time period and New York City's Plaza Hotel.
Plaza Hotel in New York City 1908 [left] and 2018 [right]. Robert Cutts/Wikimedia Commons; Flickr
Others joked about how hard it is to come by a turtle soup these days.
This year, The Plaza Hotel offers a buffet style meal that will set diners back $315.
Ping!................
The prices seem to be mostly in pennies, but if you just convert to dollars, they are pretty accurate. This is what happens when your government spends 100 years “fighting inflation”.
I noticed that....................
They ate well.
Hard to imagine a kitchen cooking up that variety of a menu.
I stick to one entree at a time for home dinner and let my wife handle vegetables.
Not very interesting in the way of salad...
Wages were lower too.
I’m impressed by the variety of foods, including several game birds.
Your salary is also greatly inflated now, from what it was then.
Looks delish!!!
Two of my grandparents were born in 1899 (one in 1892 and the other in 1904.
Always with the oysters in the old days
In today’s money....
$.05 = $1.84
$.25 = $9.20
$.50 = $18.41
$1.00 = $36.83
seems like the prices were high!!
$11 for a cup of chicken broth???
The 12 daysof Christmas wasn’t about getting a lot of avian pets, but dinner!
Our tastes and diets have changed. Interesting how much foul and game birds are on that menu.
“Your salary is also greatly inflated now, from what it was then.”
You neglect to mention that inflation spikes hits goods and services first and wages take several years to catch up. Inflation is government theft through money printing.
They still have turtle soup at Commander’s Palace in NOLA.
Real?....................
What would it cost in a high end New York hotel’s restaurant today?
Probably mock.
Kinda hard to come by terrapins anymore.
For perspective:
Bartenders: Earned $425 per year
Surgeons: Earned $1,625 per year
Bankers and brokers: Earned $1,600 per year
Electricians: Earned $1,550 per year
Saloon keepers: Earned $1,500 per year
Hotel keepers: Earned $1,250 per year
Lawyers: Earned $1,200 per year
Journalists: Earned $950 per year
Photographers: Earned $700 per year
Waiters: Earned $500 per year
Servants: Earned $144 per year, plus board
Prices and Wages by Decade: 1900-1909 - Library Guides
General sources.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
