50 Years of Las Vegas Dining Chronicled in New Online Menu Exhibit From UNLV Libraries

Digitized Collection of 1,500 Menus From Las Vegas, Canada and Europe Provides a Unique Look at Culinary Trends and Cultural History

Las Vegas's emergence as a top culinary destination the last 50 years is reflected in a new UNLV Libraries online collection of historical menus. "Menus: The Art of Dining," includes a catalog of Las Vegas restaurant menus, which traces the early influence of gourmet cuisine in Las Vegas to the late 60s and early 70s, when many of the city's high-end restaurants, buffets, casinos and coffee shops first offered high-end menu offerings.

"There's a sense of nostalgia that resonates with any of us who want to relive the experiences we had at a particular hotel or restaurant," said Su Kim Chung, a UNLV archivist. "For Las Vegas, the menus illustrate a rich culinary history and the way people dined out and were entertained."

As an example of the rich history captured by the project, at The Caesars Palace's Bacchanal, where diners allotted three hours for the gourmet dining experience, menus were written partially in Latin and waiters dressed in togas. Guests of the Sands Hotel's Copa Showroom sampled rainbow trout with shrimp and capers while musician Wayne Newton, who graced the cover of the showroom's menu, entertained.

The Las Vegas menus are a part of UNLV Libraries' archive of 5,000 hard copies of menus, which includes the Bohn-Bettoni Collection, an extensive compilation of American, European and Canadian restaurant menus from 1870 to 1930.

UNLV Libraries began collecting menus in 1969 and added the Bohn-Bettoni Collection in 1970 when then UNLV Harrah Hotel College founding Dean Jerome Vallen and UNLV Libraries worked together to purchase the Bohn-Bettoni Collection. Vallen saw the Bohn-Bettoni Collection as a useful tool in instructing hotel college students the technique of menu writing - which is still part of the hotel college curriculum today. The Bohn-Bettoni menus also illustrate graphic design elements of particular historical time periods. In addition, local food writers, historians and restaurateurs donated many of the Las Vegas restaurant menus.

The online project is funded through a $50,000 grant from the federal Library Services and Technology Act through the Nevada State Library and Archives. UNLV Libraries' staff spent more than a year digitizing and cataloging 1,500 menus.

For more information, please visit: UNLV Libraries. Members of the public may call Special Collections at (702) 895-2234.

 

A painting of various birds and animals dancing a jig around the serving dish.
Briggs House Thanksgiving menu, 1883, Chicago - It's such a fun and colorful image, with the various birds and animals dancing a jig around the serving dish, until you open the menu and discover that they are the dinner.

 

A menu cover from the Painted Desert Room that features different desert blooms.
Painted Desert Room, Las Vegas - There were a series of Painted Desert Room menu covers in the 1950s featuring different desert blooms.

 

A menu for the Painted Desert, which includes a silhouette of Jimmy Durante on the cover.
Inside, the Painted Desert’s menu is a lovely mix of dishes- some perhaps a little heavy for July (turkey and giblet gravy anyone?) and that evening's featured performer: Mr. Schnozzola himself, Jimmy Durante. Naturally, his famous profile forms part of the graphic.

 

A photo of Wayne Newton on a Copa Room menu cover.
Copa Room, Las Vegas - Wayne Newton graced the menu cover in the Sands Hotel’s showroom, as did Phyllis Diller, Robert Goulet, and Bob Newhart.

 

A very colorful dinner menu with an illustration of a woman sitting on top of a tiger.
Casino de Paris dinner show menu, Las Vegas - This is certainly one of the most colorful and risque menus in the collection. Cover artist Jose Luis Vinas was the costume designer for Casino de Paris, and he had a distinct flair in his illustrations.

 

A dinner menu for Casino de Paris.
Casino de Paris dinner show menu, Las Vegas — With typical showroom fare, it's obvious that the show itself was the main attraction.

 

A dinner menu cover for Caesars Palace's Bacchanal, Las Vegas.
Caesars Palace's Bacchanal, Las Vegas - Diners allotted three hours for the extravagant gourmet dining experience of the Bacchanal Room. The concept was conceived by Nat Hart, who is considered one of Las Vegas's first celebrity chefs.

 

The dinner menu for Caesars Palace's Bacchanal, Las Vegas, showing various items and prices.
Caesars Palace's Bacchanal, Las Vegas - Waiters wore togas and the menu was printed partially in Latin to keep with the Grecian theme.

 

A food menu with pink fabric fringe surrounding a colorful landscape.
Hubbard House Christmas menu. 1883, Sioux City, Iowa — This is such an appealing menu with its pink fabric fringe surrounding a colorful landscape. I’m amazed that it has survived over 125 years. There's a heavy tilt toward game animals. For the picky eater who shunned buffalo tongue or antelope, there was always macaroni and cheese.

 

A restaurant menu showing the regiment of the British Army and Queen Victoria's seal.
Seventh Queen's Own Hussars meeting menu, 1898 – The regiment of the British Army was one of its most colorful and exotic. This menu features Queen Victoria's seal. The colors are incredibly vivid considering the menu's age, and they match the uniforms of the Hussars.

Topics:

community partnerships, Nevada, Las Vegas

Campus Units:

William F. Harrah College of Hospitality,  University Libraries

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