In the early stages of the menu project, I came across a menu that had nothing on the front except the text “If you’re game.” The black text stood out from its white canvas background, but other than that, there was nothing exceptional about this menu. Until I opened it.
If You're Game menu, approximately 1980-1990, UNLV Universities Libraries Collection of Menus, MS-00436
The first item on the menu is octopus soup. I knew then that the menu was not as simple and normal as the cover led me to believe! The food described in the menu includes bug-centric meals such as roast locusts with mutto grass as well as Spanish worms in butter and wine sauce. Other options include various and unique meats including camel curry and saute badger. Other dishes on the menu feature whale, hippopotamus, elephant, kangaroo, and castor (the genus name for a beaver). It’s a one-of-a kind menu to say the least! Unfortunately, there was little information on the menu itself, so we don’t know much about its origin. It doesn’t bear a date or a location. Since the menus in the collection come from all over the world, and the wildlife listed in the dishes are native to several different continents, the restaurant could have been anywhere with an English speaking clientele!
If You're Game menu, approximately 1980-1990, UNLV Universities Libraries Collection of Menus, MS-00436
The menu project was supported by funds from Mark and Marianne Haley and the UNLV University Libraries Advisory Board.
