America Eats Out: An Illustrated History of Restaurants, Taverns, Coffee Shops, Speakeasies.....

Mariani ( The Dictionary of American Food & Drink ) surveys American dining from the inns of the Revolutionary era to the food fashions of the 1990s, showing how Americans have found themselves attracted to eating out by a progression of ``good ideas.'' He reveals how innovations, such as the elegant menu choice and flexible hours of Delmonico's in New York City, circa 1837, the lunch wagon in Providence, Rhode Island, of 1872, and the showmanship of Maxwell's Plum in New York City, founded in 1966, have helped to change American expectations and eating habits. The author also looks lovingly at the wide variety of American eateries and at how they grew, including the origins of diners and fast food, as well as how continental gave way to nouvelle in haute cuisine. And though Mariani rather rushes from trend to trend and from historical sketch to anecdote, readers intrigued by popular culture at its most (and least) delicious won't want to put the book down. (Oct.)