Ten Restaurants That Changed America

December 12, 2016
Freedman (Food: The History of Taste), a history professor at Yale, highlights 10 restaurants that influenced a culture of eating. Some of the landmark eateries featured in this volume no longer exist but they still claim a cherished and notable spot in culinary history. The edifice of Delmonico’s in New York graces the cover; it’s given American palates a taste for fine dining since 1827. Freedman also prominently features Schrafft’s, the East Coast institution that catered to “ladies who lunch” and served dainty, middle-class fare without the grease-laden platters enjoyed by working men. Freedman believes the Howard Johnson restaurants carved out a niche for the on-the-road, market which grew exponentially in the auto-crazed period of the 1920s. Freedman discusses Sylvia’s, a Harlem restaurant that has welcomed a spectrum of eaters from locals to heads of state; he also supplies wonderful details of the Four Seasons, the Mandarin, and Chez Panisse in Berkeley; Antoine’s in New Orleans; and Mamma Leone’s and Le Pavillon in New York. Freedman’s extensive knowledge and trusted palate give readers a definitive and approachable take on restaurant history in America.

A robust historical trek through America's restaurant cuisine over three centuries.Rather than a mere listing of the 10 best restaurants in the country, Freedman (History/Yale Univ.; Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination, 2008, etc.) establishes these 10 as significant representatives of specific times, places, and trends in American culture. Delightfully illustrated with menus, photos, and other visual accompaniments, the narrative delves into each of the 10 restaurants' unique stories, beginning with America's first restaurant, Delmonico's, which "would offer impeccable French cuisine worthy of Paris." Opened in 1827 in New York City, "it set a pattern for what fine dining meant for the nineteenth century and had many worthy and successful imitators." The author also recounts the story of Antoine's in New Orleans; how the many branches of Schrafft's courted women customers while expanding middle-class restaurant options; and why the rise of automobile travel created the need for consistent meals at reasonable prices and how Howard Johnson successfully filled this need and led to the concept of franchising. Freedman tracks the demise of the reverence for French food and the rise of the power lunch, and he shows how the mass migration of African-Americans from the South led to the hunger for what became known as "soul food." The author concludes with a chapter detailing the still-reverberating changes in the food world wrought by Alice Waters and Chez Panisse, where "the combination of uniquely delicious food and barely controlled chaos would remain a constant for decades." For those intrepid readers wanting more tasty tidbits, Freedman includes a selected bibliography, dozens of notes, and an appendix containing such classic recipes as Sylvia's Boiled String Beans with Ham or Chez Panisse's Curly Endive, Radicchio, and Fuyu Persimmon Salad. Culinary historians, those besotted with food culture, and curious general readers will all find something of value in this well-researched, entertaining social and cultural history. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2016

This eminently readable food history charts the course of U.S. culture through familiar restaurants such as Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA; Delmonico's and the Four Seasons in New York; Harlem, NY, staple Sylvia's; Antoine's in New Orleans; former candy chain Schrafft's; San Francisco's the Mandarin; and fast food chain Howard Johnson. According to Freedman (history, Yale Univ.; Out of the East), these eateries defined how we dine today. The author devotes a chapter to each of the restaurants, describing how they came to be popular and how that success translated into a larger societal impact. Packed with photos and menus, the book further includes an appendix with recipes. VERDICT In a narrative that is intellectually delicious, Freedman presents a new way of thinking about "you are what you eat." This will appeal widely, engaging readers with both a casual or scholarly interest in food history and its influence on American culture in the late 19th and 20th centuries.--Courtney McDonald, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington

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