Princess Hotel, Hamilton, Bermuda (1936)

Princess Hotel, Hamilton, Bermuda, February 22, 1936

This menu features a porthole view of the Princess Hotel on the cover, along with a box denoting Washington's life dates and birthday. The inside shows photographs of Hamilton, Bermuda and the following note: "Coloured moving pictures of Bermuda and Lake Mohonk, N.Y. will be shown by Mr. Hamilton in the Music Room this evening following the dinner concert." This indicates the the evening's festivities were not centered on the holiday, but rather, the holiday was the footnote.

An interesting thing about the Princess Hotel menus is that they note the dishes that are made with local Bermuda produce with a star. On this menu, the entree of filet of red snapper with parsley butter is local. From the vegetable selections, the potatoes, spinach, beets, and peas are local, as is the lettuce and tomatoes salad. The desserts include steamed Victoria pudding, cherry pie (of course!), meringue glaze, fruit cake, and, in honor of the special day, Washington pie, which was actually a cake.

From the Culinary Institute of America Menu Collection, Smiley Family Menu Collection, menu 27-895.