Digging Up a (Very) Old Menu

This evening, members and guests of the National Arts Club, the historic organization based in the townhouse once owned by New York governor Samuel J. Tilden, were treated to a dinner reminiscent of a similar one given in the same room 100 years ago. A quick scan of the history books will confirm that the year 1908 was not especially noteworthy, but one of the highlights for New Yorkers in the know a century ago was surely the soirée given to honor Spencer Trask, on January 22, 1908. A former president of the National Arts Club, Trask was also a noted philanthropist whose generosity helped fund the New York Public Library and to underwrite the work of Thomas Alva Edison. He is also credited with providing the financial assistance that enabled Adolph S. Ochs to reorganize the flagging New York Times. Flash forward to the present, the roomful of twenty-first century patrons started the evening with Bronx Cocktails and Manhattans (both created from recipes circa 1908) before tucking into baked trout duxelles and pan-roasted jumbo squab, again prepared from vintage menu descriptions. For now, the theme of next year's dinner remains unannounced, but our money's on it having something to do with 1909. Wager, anyone? %%showphotos [setid=72157603905648223]%%