On the front of its rather charming menu (c. The Mon Lay Won Co on Pell Street in the Chinatown of New York City bills itself as ‘The Chinese Delmonico’.
![chinese food chop suey chinese food chop suey](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5d/5a/f5/5d5af50640f99f64f2a78a02a9476263.jpg)
The menu itself is only in English and clearly aimed at American customers, with sections on fried chicken, chicken chop suey, chow mein fried noodles, chop suey, omelets and salads, and a collection of very  unChinese-sounding desserts, such as chocolate cake. The cover of the Bill of Fare from the Hong Far Low, a restaurant in Boston in the 1930s, displays a black-and-white photographic portrait of a serious-looking man in a traditional Chinese gown with cloth fastenings, who is described as ‘the first man in Boston who made Chop Suey in 1879’. Two early examples particularly caught my eye. They offer a fascinating glimpse not only into the food, but the imagery used to sell Chinese food in America, including ‘chop suey’ fonts and dragons. Thanks to Cool Culinaria for sending me samples from their new collection of vintage Chinese restaurant menu prints, which date from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s! The originals come from the Harvey Spiller Collection, which is apparently the largest privately-owned Chinese menu collection in the world. Anyone for chop suey at the Chinese Delmonico?