SCIENCES

Ten Restaurants That Changed America

by Paul Freedman
Liveright: Norton. Sept. 2016. 528p. illus. notes. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780871406804. $35; ebk. ISBN 9781631492464. COOKING
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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.
Reviewed by Courtney McDonald, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington , Aug 01, 2016
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