If you're eating out at one of New York City's restaurants this Thanksgiving, you're actually taking part in a long-standing tradition that goes back to the 19th century.

During the height of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln made the third Thursday of November a national day to pause and give thanks with his 1863 Thanksgiving Day proclamation, building on what was already an official holiday in several states such as New York.

By the late 1800s the holiday — with the turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie that most Americans now think of — had become ubiquitous enough that some of Manhattan's most elegant hotels and clubs were offering special menus to mark the day.

Here's a look at what was for Thanksgiving dinner:

Murray Hill Hotel (1891) Courtesy of the New York Public Library The Murray Hill Hotel at 40th Street and Park Avenue made choosing Thanksgiving dinner easy in 1891 with a pared down list of options. The meal started with cherrystone clams, and then patrons chose either a bisque of oyster-crabs or consummé of chicken for the soup course. The main course of Philadelphia turkey stuffed with chestnuts and served with cauliflower au gratin would fit on modern tables, but the saddle of English mutton with sautéed Brussells sprouts, grilled sweetbreads, and suprême breast of partridge à la Diane are less familiar. Don't worry though. Dessert included the familiar New England pumpkin pie as well as mince pie, "fancy" ice cream, cakes and a cup of coffee. Murray Hill Hotel (Courtesy of the New York Public Library)

Broadway Central Hotel (1899) Courtesy of the New York Public Library Before it was transformed into the welfare hotel that would collapse and kill four people in 1973, the Broadway Central Hotel was a grand Gilded Age luxury accommodation between West Third and Bond streets. In 1899, New Yorkers and travelers might have eaten an elegant Thanksgiving dinner — served between 5 and 8 p.m. — in the hotel's dining room. It started with a selection of consumée quinelles or cream of artichoke soup, followed by a fish course with broiled kingfish or Kennebec Salmon. The main event would have been Vermont turkey with chestnut stuffing and cranberry sauce, or selectins of roast and game like prime rib, sweetbread braisé, and broiled quail on toast. The dessert course included New England plum pudding with brandy and hard sauce, angel, pound, fruit or almond cake, and, of course, pumpkin pie. A detail from the Broadway Central Hotel Thanksgiving menu from 1899 (Courtesy of the New York Public Library)

Plaza Hotel (1899) Courtesy of the New York Public Library Before the famous Plaza Hotel we know was built in 1907, another hotel of the same name stood at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South. It hosted an elegant Thanksgiving dinner with multiple options on Thursday, Nov. 30, 1899. The menu includes with soups like clear green turtle for 65 cents, fish courses including whitebait sauté with Boston brown bread toast for 50 cents and fried oyster crabs for 75 cents. Diners could get turkey stuffed with chestnuts for 75 cents, as well as other roasts and hot and cold game. The meal would have been rounded out by sweet dishes like baked apple dumpling in hard and brandy sauce or champagne jelly, both 25 cents. The hotel's restaurant also served half portions for diners celebrating the holiday solo. A previous hotel called the Plaza (seen in this etching from 1893) stood on the site of the current day Plaza Hotel at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street. (Courtesy of the New York Public Library)

Hotel Manhattan (1900) Courtesy of the New York Public Library If your family didn't want to eat Thanksgiving dinner at home on Nov. 29, 1900, they might have gone to the Hotel Manhattan at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue. The Midtown hotel's Thanksgiving menu started with oysters and clams, followed by hors d'oeuvres and soup — all for less than a dollar a dish. A fish course included selections like planked bluefish for $1.50 or scallops for 60 cents. For the main event, there was a lot more than turkey on the table (although diners could order the bird broiled for $2.50 or $1.25 if they were eating alone). Entrees included partridge sauté with grapes for $2, saddle of Canada lamb for $1 and mutton chops for 60 cents. Game, vegetables and cold meats were also on offer. The meal was finished with pumpkin pie for 20 cents, as well as cheese, ice cream and fruits. The Hotel Manhattan photographed in 1904 (Courtesy of the New York Public Library)