Tea is to China as steak is to NYC

What does the price of meat tell us about the economy?  NPR has an interesting article about legendary NYC steakhouse, Delmonico's.

Delmonico's, the New York City steakhouse, has been around forever. 

The New York Public Library's archival menu collection doesn't go back quite that far. But it does have a Delmonico's menu from 1918. The archive also, sort of randomly, has a Delmonico's menu from 1988. Delmonico's current menu is online.New York Public Library 

Click here to view a PDF of Delmonico's menus from 1918, 1988 and 2012.

One item that's on all three menus: filet mignon.  This allows us to ask an interesting (to us) question: How has the price of filet mignon changed over the past century? Here's the answer, adjusted for inflation.