Tag Archives: Boston
Find of the day
I got lucky at a vintage postcard show this weekend and found this mid-1950s menu from a once popular restaurant in Boston’s theater district. Yes, believe it or not, Boston did have a downtown entertainment zone with night-clubby restaurants such … Continue reading
Filed under food, history, restaurants
Waitress uniforms: bloomers
The bicycling craze of the mid-1890s brought “wheelwomen” dressed in bloomers into public view. It didn’t take long for enterprising restaurant men to latch onto the sensational pants-like garment as a waitress uniform. It was the middle of a nationwide … Continue reading
Filed under history, restaurants
Taste of a decade: 1890s restaurants
As the decade starts there are over 19,000 restaurant keepers, a number overshadowed by more than 71,000 saloon keepers, many of whom also serve food for free or at nominal cost. The institution of the “free lunch” has become so … Continue reading
Filed under history, restaurants
Famous in its day: Taft’s
Throughout much of the 19th century game topped the list of desirable restaurant fare. Taft’s Hotel located on the shore at Winthrop MA, 5 miles outside Boston, attained widespread fame as a place to enjoy a fish or game dinner. … Continue reading
Filed under food, restaurants
Famous in its day: Fera’s
In the second half of the 19th century the wealthy families of Boston, New York, and Newport patronized Fera’s Confectionery and Restaurant in Boston, which had earned a reputation for high quality throughout the East. The business was established in … Continue reading
Filed under restaurants
America’s first restaurant
It’s always risky to declare that anything is a first. In some ways Julien’s Restorator, newly opened in July of 1793, may have been similar to the taverns that had been in business in Boston for ages. Almost any kind … Continue reading
Filed under restaurants
We eat in restaurants several times a week and yet know very little about their history. I plan to dip into my archive of research and images every so often to present a little tidbit that highlights aspects of our American restaurant culture. Let me know your thoughts.
