Our current show in the Radio Room, “The Menu Cover as Art,” features an eclectic international collection of restaurant and bar menu covers evocative of dining experiences spanning the globe from New York and Hollywood to Paris, Copenhagen, Prague and Riga.
The presenter of this exhibition is Aldis Alexander, a Danbury native whose profession as a travel agent has afforded the opportunity to pursue his passion as a collector of rare restaurant menu covers and promotional items worldwide.
Alexander’s uncommon collection, which will be shown through June 19, includes framed menus from restaurants in diverse locales such as the restaurant of renowned furniture designer Arne Jacobsen in Denmark and the “Soviet state feeding establishment” of the Hotel Riga in Latvia, shortly before the Baltic nation’s separation from the Soviet Union. Alexander traces his avocation of collecting menus and other restaurant and bar items back to his days as a university student in Austria, and his subsequent globetrotting for the past four decades as a travel agent.
“I started saving menus and other restaurant and bar memorabilia and then later had these items matted and framed, so as to become framed art items,” Alexander recalled. “After all, aren’t menu covers simply small posters? The styles of each and the finished results vary greatly, from detailed sketches of the buildings housing the establishments to unique representations of the name or theme of the places.”
In addition to rare menu covers, Alexander also has acquired a substantial collection of restaurant and bar business cards, matchbooks, coasters and other memorabilia from establishments around the world.
Starting at the bar entrance to the Radio Room, you may take a clockwise walk around the room to view these items in the collection, as numbered:
1. The Hawes Inn (Menu/South Queensferry, Scotland)
2. Lido de Paris (Flyer by René Girau/Paris, France)
3. Riga Hotel Restaurant (1991 Menu/Riga, Latvia)
4. Lucky Cheng’s (Menu/New York NY)
5. Il Fornaio (Menu/San Francisco CA)
6. Pazzo! Italian Cafe (Menu/Naples FL)
7. Peppers (Menu/Washington DC)
8. Le Ritz Cafe (Menu/St. Martin/French W. Indies)
9. Blame It On Midnight (Menu/Palm Springs CA)
10. Chez Jenny Brasserie Alsacienne (Card/Paris)
11. MTS Orpheus Cruises (Menu/Aegean Sea)
12. Maison LeBlanc (Menu/New Milford CT)
13. The Bubble Room (Menu/Naples FL)
14. Kirk’s American Bistro/Bar (Menu/St. Louis MO)
15. Duval Street Seafood Co. (Menu/Fort Myers FL)
16. Cha Cha Coconuts Bar & Grill (St. Petersburg FL)
17. Tropics Classic Bar/Cookery(Menu/Wilton Manors FL)
18. The Stinking Rose (Menu/San Francisco CA)
19. Mark’s Restaurant (Menu/Los Angeles CA)
20. Tropical Cocktails (Menu/Caribbean region)
21. The Road to Ruby’s (Menu/Palm Springs CA)
22. Bal du Moulin Rouge (Flyer by René Girau/Paris, France)
23. ter Halle (Card/Bruges, Belgium)
24. The Plaza Hotel (Menu/New York NY)
25. Tavern on the Green (Menu/New York NY)
26. Dom Kolsch (Coaster/Cologne, Germany)
27. Por Favor (Menu/Los Angeles CA)
28. Downcity Dinner & Cocktail (Menu/Providence RI)
29. Kaiser Grill (Menu/Palm Springs CA)
30. Pazzia (Menu-Signed/San Francisco CA)
31. The Deck (Menu/Fort Lauderdale FL)
32. Au Kay’s Bistro (Flyer/Munich, Germany)
33. Crown Jewel (Inaugural event cover/New York, NY)
34. Quarter Scene (Menu/New Orleans LA)
35. Jacobsen (Menu/Klampenborg, Denmark)
36. The Russian Tea Room (Ticket Env./New York)
37. Le Coupe Chou (Menu/Paris, France)
38. New York Co. Bar & Grill (Flyer, Los Angeles CA)
39. Rundales Pils (Coaster/Rundale, Latvia)
40. La Vie en Rose (Menu/Dresden, Germany)
41. Cover Charge (Flyer/San Antonio TX)
42. Hamburger Mary’s (Menu/Vancouver BC)
43. Hamburger Mary’s (Menu/Honolulu HI)
44. Hamburger Mary’s (Menu/Phoenix AZ)
45. Hamburger Mary’s (Menu/San Francisco CA)
46. Bars Melnais Balodis (Menu/Riga, Latvia)
47. Alley’s End (Menu/New York NY)
48. Lido de Paris (Program & Menu/Paris, France)
49. Roof Top Cafe (Menu/Key West FL)
50. La Te Da (Menu/Key West FL)
51. Zimmer Room Service (Menu/Cologne, Germany)
52. Pleasure Island Jazz Co. (Menu/Disney World FL)
53. Paradise Room @ Reno Sweeney (Flyer/New York, NY)
54. Bali (Card/Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
55. Rainbow Cactus Restaurant (Card/Palm Springs CA)
56. Eddie’s Grill (Card/Phoenix AZ)
57. Chez Clement (Card/Paris, France)
58. Pigalle Restaurant (Card/New York NY)
59. Rouge Hotel & Bar (Coaster, Washington DC)
60. Piccolo Diavolo (Menu/Montreal, Quebec)
61. Restaurant Hanavsky Pavilon (Flyer/Prague, Czech Rep.)
62. The View (Menu/New York, NY)
63. Royal Maeva Resort (Menu/Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)
64. The Left Bank (Card/Palm Springs CA)
65. Toucans Tiki Lounge (Card/Palm Springs CA)
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