Unlike the stories on the backs of the black-and-white photo menus shown in the past few days, the stories on the back of the pastel menus that Rio Grande began using in 1938 were related to the cover images. This 1939 lunch menu showing a moonlit scene in Glenwood Canyon is accompanied by a story of a couple on their honeymoon in (presumably) 1938 or so meeting another couple who had also honeymooned there in 1883.
Click image to download a 1.3-MB PDF of this menu.
Although the a la carte side of the menu included Rio Grande’s specialty, mountain trout, it is absent from the table d’hôte side. Instead, that side has salmon, oysters, chicken, beef tenderloin, omelet, and roast veal. Most of these cost $1 (about $18.50 today; the omelet was 90¢ and the veal $1.10) and come with soup, veggies, salad, bread dessert, and beverage. Priced separately, the accompaniments alone cost around $1.20. The trout was comparatively expensive, costing 90¢ and coming only with potatoes.