À La Carte
Over one hundred years of menu graphics
Until restaurants became commonplace in the late 1800s, printed menus for meals were rare commodities reserved for special occasions. As restaurants proliferated, the menu became more than just a culinary listing: it was an integral part of eating out, a clever marketing tool, and a popular keepsake.
Menu Design is an omnibus showcasing the best examples of this graphic art. Illustrated in vibrant color, this compact volume not only gathers an extraordinary collection of paper ephemera but serves as a history of restaurants and dining out in America. Featuring both covers and interiors, the menus offer an epicurean tour and insight to more than a hundred years of dining out.
An introduction on the history of menu design by graphic design writer Steven Heller and extended captions by culinary historian John Mariani accompany each piece throughout the book. Various photographs of restaurants round out this compendium that will appeal to anyone who enjoys dining out and its graphic and gastronomic history.
The editor
Jim Heimann is the Executive Editor for TASCHEN America. A cultural anthropologist, historian, and an avid collector, he has authored numerous titles on architecture, pop culture, and the history of Los Angeles and Hollywood, including TASCHEN’s Surfing, Los Angeles. Portrait of a City, California Crazy and the All-American Ads series.
The contributing authors
Steven Heller, co-chair of the School of Visual Arts MFA Design / Designer as Entrepreneur program, writes “The Daily Heller” for printmag.com and is author or editor of more than 190 books on graphic design, editorial illustration, and political art.
John Mariani is food and travel columnist for Esquire Magazine, wine columnist for Bloomberg International News, and author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, America Eats Out, The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, and How Italian Food Conquered the World.
Menu Design in America
Hardcover, 5.5 x 7.7 in., 2.96 lb, 592 pages
