Questions of the times

The following are questions from restaurant operators, consultants, journalists, and consumers about restaurants generally, dating from 1900 into the early 2000s.

Many of those that I’ve chosen particularly reflect and represent the industry and the times. Prominent among the questions are those concerning race, modernization, and automation. There are also some that are reflections about what’s been lost over time.

The questions with capitalization are headlines. Sorry no illustrations — I’m still trying to recover from a computer meltdown.

1900 “Do American men ever dine together in the cozy and communicative way that foreigners do?”

1908 “Should the Unchaperoned Girl Have an After Theater Dinner?”

1909 “What sense is there in calling potatoes ‘Pommes de terre,” oysters ‘huitres,’ soups ‘potages,’ and so on through a lot of lingual fol-de-rol, when plain everyday English would tell the story comprehensively?”

1912 “Why is there such a hubbub of late over a few negroes and East Indians being denied entrance and accommodations in some of our Detroit restaurants and theaters, when these dark skinned people know that the places they complain of cater to ‘white people only?’”

1913 “Why Are There No Woman Chefs?”

1922 “What Do Women Prefer to Eat?”

1926 “Has Prohibition Hurt the Restaurant?”

1927 “Where is the scrapple of Pennsylvania, the genuine clam chowder of New England?”

1928 “Who remembers the Irish waiters, stalwart and cheery-faced, who once were such a familiar sight in the oyster and chop houses of New York?”

1930 “Why Don’t They Give Women Restaurant Operators a Square Deal?”

1933 “Have We Forgotten How to Really Dine?”

1946 “How are your roadside signs these days? Can the fast-driving motorist read your message easily?”

1949 “It is Criminal to Refuse Any Person Food Who Has the Cash?”

1952 “What is the attitude as between fresh and processed foods?”

1957 “In big cities, in the small towns, all across the nation, all along the highways, the question echoes, ‘What’s the truth about these restaurants building franchises?’”

1958 “What are definite clues to success or failure in the Drive-In business?”

1959 “Do New Super-Roads Doom Restaurants?”

1959 “We call it the ‘All-American’ at Sandy’s, ‘cause what’s more American than a good Hamburger, Milk Shake and French Fries?”

1963 “If Mr. and Mrs. Consumer buy cigarettes, gum, candy, and soda from machines why shouldn’t they buy hot meals from similar machines?”

1964 “What happened to the diners at which we used to grab a quick bite?”

1965 “Do the shining golden arches that form an M on the McDonald’s float look familiar?”

1965 “Integration? Where do you stand? Where do you want your employees to stand?”

1966 “What has become of au gratin, scalloped, Lyonnaise, cottage fried, hash brown and good old home fries?”

1968 “Will the Real Owner of This Restaurant Please Stand Up?”

1969 “Isn’t anyone cooking at home any more?”

1969 “Just how much will the celebrity’s name add to the attraction?”

1970 “Will Frozen Foods Come to Gourmet Restaurants?”

1972 “Was it really true, as the manager implied, that in our society today there was no longer any requirement for the haute cuisine?”

1979 “Can Mexican food capture the palates and pocketbooks of the American heartland?”

1984 “It’s trendy and revolutionary, but does California Cuisine really exist?”

1984 “An Italian restaurant without spaghetti?”

1988 “Nutmeg on steak?”

2004 “Should tips be taxed, or are they like a gift from a customer to a worker and should not be taxed?