Tag Archives: Chicago
Bumbling through the cafeteria line
In 1931 the American humor magazine Life (not to be confused with the later photojournalism magazine of the same name) published “The Cafeteria,” an essay that described an inexperienced patron’s befuddlement in composing a meal item by item while being … Continue reading
Filed under food, history, restaurants
Footnote on roadhouses
Is Casablanca one of the unluckiest names a restaurant could have? Granted, there is a fair amount of mayhem surrounding restaurants and cafes generally, at least judging from newspaper stories, but places with this name seem to have attracted more … Continue reading
Filed under history, restaurants
Anatomy of a restaurateur: Harriet Moody
It’s a good bet that there have not been many women, or men, who have opened their first restaurant at age 68 – and, furthermore, made a success of it. Harriet Tilden (Brainard) Moody [pictured below at about age 20] … Continue reading
Filed under food, history, restaurants
African-American tea rooms
When I wrote my book about the history of tea rooms, Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn, I knew very little about tea rooms run by and for African-Americans. There were few historical sources available on the internet then and … Continue reading
Filed under food, history, restaurants
Linens and things — part II
One trouble with the ideal of snowy white restaurant linens is, of course, laundry that piles up and must be washed. By the late 19th century huge steam laundries in big cities were able to handle up to 100,000 pieces … Continue reading
Filed under history, restaurants
The (partial) triumph of the doggie bag
I can’t remember when restaurant servers began automatically asking if you wanted to take home food left on your plate but I know it’s a relatively recent phenomenon. It used to be that food was wrapped up only if patrons … Continue reading
Filed under food, history, restaurants
Early chains: John R. Thompson
Although it is largely forgotten today, the Chicago-based John R. Thompson company was one of the largest “one arm” lunchroom chains of the early 20th century. We so strongly associate fast food chains with hamburgers that it may be surprising … Continue reading
Filed under food, history, restaurants
In the kitchen with Mme Early: black women in restaurants
It’s so hard to find anything about the history of Afro-American women in restaurants that I decided to go ahead with a sketchy story rather than none at all. As far as the “historical record” goes, you’d be tempted to … Continue reading
Filed under history, restaurants
Anatomy of a restaurateur: Dario Toffenetti
Who would predict that a boy growing up in the Austrian Tyrol in the 1890s would make his fortune by selling Idaho baked potatoes? But that’s exactly what Dario Louis Toffenetti did. Born in 1889, he came to the U.S. … Continue reading
Filed under food, history, 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.
