“In a sex-segregated era when women and men spent much of their time in separate spaces, the Astor House Ladies’ Ordinary provided the rare place where a sit-down meal could be had for a solo female traveler, a group of women friends, or a mixed-gender party.
“This 1843 breakfast menu speaks to 19th century New York’s same-sex dining culture. The offerings probably weren’t much different than the menu in the men’s dining room. But if you were an upper-class woman in search of a morning meal, here’s what you could order.
“Options abound, with an emphasis on meat and seafood—like boiled mutton, boiled tongue, and the mysterious ‘small birds, Italian style.’”
