A vintage tea room menu from Lord & Taylor

Vintage menus from department store tea rooms are always fun to read, and perhaps the most unique one yet is this small menu (4-1/2 x 7-7/8 inches) from the Bird Cage tea room at Lord & Taylor, a store founded in New York in 1826 and still in business today! Can you see what's inside, that unusual little artifact up top? For a clue, see some images of the Bird Cage restaurant/tea rooms here and here.

It was, after all, called the BIRD Cage.

Inside is a winsome graphic of this bird winging its way to diners with tea and treats!

So yes, the fun find inside is a feather! (Slightly discolored from glue, I imagine.)

I so enjoy reading the offerings at the old department store tea rooms, things like Tuna Fish and Celery Salad Sandwich, Chive Cottage Cheese and the delightfully-named Piff-O-Puffs. (Any idea what those were, anyone?) But what really turned my head was …

OVEN BAKED BEANS WITH FRANKFURTER CHUNKS? DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THEY SERVED BEANEE WEENEES AT THE LORD AND TAYLOR TEA ROOM? (Sorry. Didn't mean to yell there, but I nearly got the vapors reading that!) Still, this was a unique addition to my little collection celebrating part of America's tea room history, and I'm also happy Lord & Taylor is still with us today!