A lunch-centric blog that's a companion to The New York Public Library's exhibition Lunch Hour NYC, which looks back at more than a century of New York lunches.

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is the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the Lunch Hour NYC exhibition and related programming.

Additional support for this exhibition has been generously provided by the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.

Support for The New York Public Library’s Exhibitions Program has been provided by Celeste Bartos, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos Exhibitions Fund, and Jonathan Altman.


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Posts tagged "history"
How did the Irish impact lunch in New York City? When it comes to ethnic food, it’s near impossible to ignore the number of Irish restaurants and pubs in New York City.  The city boasts the highest number of Irish-Americans than any other U.S. city, and 13 percent of the state claims Irish heritage.  In an 1850 letter to her family, 23-year-old Irish immigrant Margaret McCarthy underscored the reason for this high percentage: “This is a good place and a good country, but there is one thing that’s ruining this place.  The [Irish] emigrants have not money enough to take them to the interior of the country, which obliges them to remain in New York…”  Soon enough, however, Irish immigrants and successive Irish-American generations earned enough money and a place in American culture to open up Irish restaurants in the city, forever changing lunch in NYC.  McSorley’s Old Ale House has been serving up shepherd’s pie and corned beef on the lunch menu for 158 years while the Pig ‘N’ Whistle was established by an Irish immigrant in more recent times (in 1969) on West 48th Street.  It doesn’t need to be St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy a good ol’ corned beef sandwich one rye for lunch!

How did the Irish impact lunch in New York City?

When it comes to ethnic food, it’s near impossible to ignore the number of Irish restaurants and pubs in New York City.  The city boasts the highest number of Irish-Americans than any other U.S. city, and 13 percent of the state claims Irish heritage.  In an 1850 letter to her family, 23-year-old Irish immigrant Margaret McCarthy underscored the reason for this high percentage: “This is a good place and a good country, but there is one thing that’s ruining this place.  The [Irish] emigrants have not money enough to take them to the interior of the country, which obliges them to remain in New York…”

 Soon enough, however, Irish immigrants and successive Irish-American generations earned enough money and a place in American culture to open up Irish restaurants in the city, forever changing lunch in NYC.  McSorley’s Old Ale House has been serving up shepherd’s pie and corned beef on the lunch menu for 158 years while the Pig ‘N’ Whistle was established by an Irish immigrant in more recent times (in 1969) on West 48th Street.

 It doesn’t need to be St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy a good ol’ corned beef sandwich one rye for lunch!

Photo
nypl: A cool now-and-then pic of a building on W. 72nd Street that used to be an Automat, courtesy of Landmarks West!. A few of their summer interns came to visit Lunch Hour NYC, where we have a restored Automat machine on display, and were inspired to write a very kind blog post. Glad you loved the exhibition! Very cool! It’s crazy how the two locations still look very much alike. 

nypl:

A cool now-and-then pic of a building on W. 72nd Street that used to be an Automat, courtesy of Landmarks West!. A few of their summer interns came to visit Lunch Hour NYC, where we have a restored Automat machine on display, and were inspired to write a very kind blog post. Glad you loved the exhibition!

Very cool! It’s crazy how the two locations still look very much alike. 

Photo
nypl: This week’s Caturday is an 1870’s print from our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection depicting Robinson Crusoe eating with the dog and two cats he rescued from a shipwreck. It’s a little random, but it’s cute, neat and, because it shows food, it’s also appropriate - we have a brand new, free exhibition (that just opened yesterday at our 42nd Street building) called Lunch Hour NYC. It uses our collections to tell amazing stories about the history of the midday meal in New York. The Times dug it. You will, too. So go check it out. While you’re at it, if you’re a foodie, check out the blog (well, blogs) of exhibition co-curator (and NYPL culinary collections librarian) Rebecca Federman. Here’s a little tidbit - she has a cat. Happy Caturday! PS - Yes, we know Robinson Crusoe is eating dinner in this image. Whatever.

nypl:

This week’s Caturday is an 1870’s print from our Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection depicting Robinson Crusoe eating with the dog and two cats he rescued from a shipwreck. It’s a little random, but it’s cute, neat and, because it shows food, it’s also appropriate - we have a brand new, free exhibition (that just opened yesterday at our 42nd Street building) called Lunch Hour NYC. It uses our collections to tell amazing stories about the history of the midday meal in New York. The Times dug it. You will, too. So go check it out. While you’re at it, if you’re a foodie, check out the blog (well, blogs) of exhibition co-curator (and NYPL culinary collections librarian) Rebecca Federman. Here’s a little tidbit - she has a cat. Happy Caturday! PS - Yes, we know Robinson Crusoe is eating dinner in this image. Whatever.

Photo
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