The Nation Has An Appetite

WGOM Eats Out, Hollywood 1941

30 Comments

 

This February 1941 menu (click to embiggen) for the Warner Bros. Studio Cafe made the social media rounds recently. I thought it would be fun to see what everyone would order if deposited back on the Warner’s lot. To keep it fun, let’s limit ourselves to a $1.05 tab (equivalent to $22.00 in December 2022). Gratuity will be covered by the advanced being that sends us back in time. If folks enjoy this, maybe it’s an occasional feature.

What’ll ya have, Mac?

30 thoughts on “WGOM Eats Out, Hollywood 1941”

  1. I think I'll order up both of today's specials, an assorted pie (rhubarb! apple if not), and some lemonade to wash it down please

    Anyone going to risk ordering the milk instead of the certified milk?

    1. Imported caviar, 1/2 doz oysters, and a Luxury beer. OK I overspent, but will wash dishes to cover.

  2. I'll also go with a special. The roast beef sirloin with baked potato and Yorkshire pudding. Add in a bottle of Piels and end with some dessert, maybe pie.

  3. Corned beef hash, head lettuce salad, Piels dark, pie (coconut cream or lemon meringue or banana cream).

  4. I am in the mood for the lamb chops, au gratin potatoes, and am intrigued by the consomme brunoise. That leaves me without a drink but one of you will spare me a swig. I'll donate my 5 cents leftover

  7. I've been thinking about this for awhile, but in the end, I'm just going to go for a simple seafood dinner:

    A Crab Leg Cocktail and Blue Points in Half Shell, washed down with a Miller High Life.

  8. A cup of cream of fresh mushroom, the WB Special if I'm a visitor, the second daily special if I'm a regular, a slice of pie and a lemonade.

  11. So many fascinating options! I think I'll try the lettuce and tomato salad, the fresh vegetable dinner with a poached egg, and a French pastry for dessert.

        1. Haha, there's an idea!

          I also ran out of money for a beverage, but I figure I can just swipe one of free's beers when he's not looking...

  12. I will answer with Roasted Sirloin with the Yorkshire Pudding and a couple bottles of Pabst Bock. On another note, holy crap is that menu all over the place! I can't imagine how the kitchen could possibly offer all of those items on a daily basis, especially back in those days. Just reading over that menu stressed me out big time. Menu design has come a looooong way baby!

    1. My first thought as well. The amount of prep needed to accommodate that assortment of dishes! Tracking all that inventory in a fully-analog world! The staff training to pull off what looks like a mixture of fine dining and short order dishes! All the walk-in space!

      1. I also had similar thoughts, but then I considered that this was a giant movie lot at the height of its power. The amount of manpower and money going through that lot must have been insane.

      1. By production staff using moveable type & printing presses — no Adobe InDesign & laser printers churning out the job after getting the specials from the CdC after once they hear what deals the fish and produce guy have that morning.

        1. At least they had until 11 a.m. to get it set. I imagine they must have had numerous printing presses somewhere on site to handle scripts, newsletters, etc, that adding in a daily menu wasn't a stretch.

          1. Also I'm guessing you'd only have to switch out the middle part. The outside menu would be mostly set I'd imagine. Or maybe they have the menu with the outside selections preprinted, and they just add the inside of that center rectangle. That's where the date is. It kind of looks like a different printing on this menu.

      2. Ok, just reading this interaction brought a smile to my face. Only on this site would we go down the road of analyzing the printing of the menu. This is a good thing.

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