Ten Restaurants That Changed America

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. (Sept.)