Classic Restaurant Thanksgiving Menus

November 24, 2015

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What did our restaurant forefathers -- in this case many from the 1920s and '30s -- serve for Thanksgiving dinner? If you're looking for some retro menu ideas for your dinner spread, take a look these restaurant menus. Most of the traditional fare is familiar to us today, but perusing the offerings leaves me with so many questions: Is it time to bring back English plum pudding? What's California Burbank Snow Flake Potatoes? And just when was there enough snow in Burbank to inspire such a dish?

Would you want to recreate any dishes from the menus below? Tell us! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Blounts — Blount's Cafe in Glendale, 1930s / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

ChateauDeQualite — Chateau de Qualite in Glendale, 1924 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

TheChef — The Chef in Ukiah, 1958 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

ChicagoChopSuey1 — Chicago Chop Suey Parlor in Glendale, 1940s / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

DeLuxecafe — De Luxe Cafe in Venice, 1923 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

Grisons — Grison's Steak House in San Francisco, 1960s / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

HotelAlexandria — Hotel Alexandria in Los Angeles, 1924 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

hotelcarmel — Hotel Carmel in Santa Monica, 1936 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

HotelMiramar — Hotel Miramar in Santa Monica, 1924 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

PetesGril — Pete's Grill in Venice, 1926 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

SpencerSnackShop — Spencer Snack Shop in Los Angeles, 1949 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

Symmes — Symmes Grill in Ocean Park, 1930 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

theVictorHugo — The Victor Hugo in Los Angeles, 1926 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

VelvetTurtle — The Velvet Turtle -- Sam's Cafe in Pasadena, 1960s / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

Warrens — Warren's in Hollywood, 1921 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

GlenInn — The Glen Inn, 1920s / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

Montmartre — Cafe Montmartre in Hollywood, 1927 / Image courtesy LAPL Menu Collection.

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