NYPL human-transcribed historical menu collection
Last verified: April 1, 2026
This API requires an API key for authentication. Here's how to get started:
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?api_key=YOUR_KEY) or in the request header (Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY). Check the API's documentation for the exact format.API keys are free for most public APIs. They're used to identify your application and enforce rate limits — not to charge you.
CORS support for this API is unknown. If you get cross-origin errors in the browser, try calling the API from your server instead.
What's on the menu? is a free API in the Food & Drink category. It requires a free API key, which you can obtain by signing up on their website. This API does not require HTTPS and has unknown CORS support — test from your environment to confirm.
What's on the menu? fits naturally into projects that touch the Food & Drink space. Here are a few directions developers commonly take when working with APIs in this category — any of them could be a fit depending on the specific endpoints What's on the menu? exposes:
If a specific use case isn't listed, scroll back to the code examples above and adapt the request shape to match the endpoint you need. Most Food & Drink APIs follow similar request/response patterns, so the snippet that works for one endpoint usually works for the rest with small tweaks.
1. Skim the documentation first. Open the link above and look for two things: the base URL pattern and a list of available endpoints. Knowing both up front saves you from guessing parameter names or formats. Most providers also publish example responses next to each endpoint — copy one into your editor as a reference for the JSON shape your code will be parsing.
2. Get an API key. What's on the menu? uses API key authentication. Sign up on the provider's site, look for a developer dashboard or API section in your account settings, and copy your key somewhere safe. Treat it like a password — don't paste it into a public repo or a client-side bundle that ships to a browser. Read our API security guide if you're unsure how to keep keys out of source control.
3. Make a request from the command line. Before wiring an API into your application, send a single request with curl or your HTTP client of choice. Confirm that the response shape matches what the docs promised. If it doesn't, your application code would have hit the same surprise — better to find out now while you only have one terminal window to debug.
4. Wire it into your code. Once a manual request works, copy that request into your application as a function. Add error handling: APIs return 4xx and 5xx codes for client and server errors respectively, and your code needs to behave reasonably when one comes back. Our error-handling guide covers the patterns that make this less painful.
5. Test browser compatibility. CORS support for What's on the menu? isn't documented in our directory. The fastest way to find out is a one-line test in a browser console — open devtools, run fetch(API_URL).then(r => r.json()).then(console.log), and watch for a CORS error in the network tab. If you see one, call the API from a backend instead.
Heads up: HTTPS. What's on the menu? is listed as not requiring HTTPS, which is unusual for modern APIs. If your application runs on an HTTPS-served page, browsers will block plaintext requests as mixed content. Either run your code from a non-HTTPS host (locally is fine) or look for an HTTPS variant of the same API in our directory.
Authorization header, or a custom header — every provider does it slightly differently. The official docs will say which.curl but not in your app: almost always a header-encoding bug. Print the exact request your client sends and compare it to your working curl command. Look for missing quotes, extra spaces, or a header name typo.Explore free Food & Drink APIs available for developers. Browse our collection of public APIs in the Food & Drink category, each verified and documented for easy integration into your projects.
What's on the menu? is one of dozens of free Food & Drink APIs we've catalogued. Some are nearly interchangeable; others have distinct strengths and weaknesses that only become clear when you read their docs side-by-side. If What's on the menu? doesn't quite fit your project, the Food & Drink category page lists every alternative we know about, with auth and CORS columns so you can compare at a glance.
When evaluating Food & Drink APIs, the criteria that matter most are typically: rate limits on the free tier, freshness of the underlying data, regional coverage (does it work for your users' geography?), and how active the provider's maintenance schedule is. APIs that haven't been updated in years tend to drift out of sync with the underlying data sources, even if they technically still respond.
What's on the menu? is a food and drink API that may offer recipes, nutritional information, ingredient databases, restaurant data, or beverage information. The scope depends on the API's focus — some are recipe-centric while others focus on nutritional analysis or food product databases.
Recipe search by ingredient is a common feature in food APIs. What's on the menu? may support ingredient-based search, dietary filters (vegan, gluten-free, keto), cuisine type, or calorie ranges. Check the API documentation for available search parameters and filtering options.
Nutritional data (calories, macronutrients, vitamins, minerals) is available from some food APIs but not all. What's on the menu? may provide nutrition facts per serving or per ingredient. Check the response schema for nutritional fields. Browse our Food & Drink APIs for APIs that specialize in nutrition tracking.
Yes, What's on the menu? is listed as a free public API. You will need to create a free account to get an API key, but the key itself is free. Some APIs have rate limits on their free tier, so check the official documentation for current limits.
Yes! According to our most recent health check (What's on the menu?'s last ping: 2026-04-01 13:40:26), this API is responding normally. We periodically verify all listed APIs to ensure they are still online and functioning.