I prepared a new post for today, but with the grotesque events happening in Ukraine, the invasion worsening by the hour as Russia attacks daycare centers and residential housing, it seems so wrong to post it.
For that matter, I feel that over the past couple of years I haven’t seriously acknowledged the effects of Covid on restaurants. When it all began – which now seems long ago – I wrote a post on the effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic on restaurants, noting a number of responses similar to what has happened recently. But since then I haven’t really dealt with the difficulties contemporary restaurants have been having, with staff miseries and shrinkage, shifts to carry out, disappearance of printed menus, mass closings, etc. I hope to come up with some new themes that touch upon historical precedents. For example, there was terrific difficulty in hiring restaurant kitchen and dining room staff during WWII. I could look at how restaurants dealt with that problem.
If you want to read something new today, I recommend some of my “old” posts that still seem to hold up. Since I’ve been doing this since 2008, there are many to choose from. Some have few likes which is because when I started blogging there was no “like” button!
Here are some of my personal favorites:
The (partial) triumph of the doggie bag
Once upon a time it was embarrassing to ask for a doggie bag.
That glass of water
Visitors from other countries are always surprised at getting a glass of water without asking.
No smoking!
Ending smoking in restaurants was a long struggle.
Deep fried
Where would restaurants be without deep frying?
You want cheese with that?
Everything’s better with cheese, right?
Chocolate on the menu
It all started with cups of hot chocolate.
Basic fare: club sandwiches
How a mere sandwich became a classic.
Take care,
