In 2023, it didn’t matter if you were grocery shopping for meals at home or dining out, you were paying more for your food. Unfortunately that trend has continued into 2024. Believe it or not, there was a time in Central New York where you could dine out super cheap.

As our wallets and purses all remember, food price prices started climbing in July 2021 and really surged through the first eight months of 2022, when food inflation in the United States hit a peak of 11.4% in August. That’s why many of your favorite restaurants raised the prices on their menus.

There was a time here in Central New York when you could filet mignon for less than $13 and you weren’t just getting the steak. You were also getting a salad, baked potato or soups, or coffee for that price. Prime rib meals were less than $10 with everything included, and all sorts of amazing platters for less than $10 too.

Do you not believe us? We have the evidence to prove it. We did a search for vintage Utica, Rome, and Syracuse menus on eBay and found a handful of menus for restaurants around Central New York dating all the way back to the 1930s. We did our best to compare the prices from these menus to what similar restaurants of today are charging.

Want to see what we found out? Here’s a look at those menus:

Classic Central New York Menus Reveal How Cheap Eating Out Was

We did a search for vintage Utica, Rome, and Syracuse menus on eBay and found a handful of menus for restaurants around Central New York dating all the way back to the 1930s. We did our best to compare the prices from these menus to what similar restaurants of today are charging.

Want to see what we found out? Here’s a look at those menus:


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