{"id":215,"date":"2018-03-05T02:55:05","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T02:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-mpp\/?p=215"},"modified":"2018-04-13T19:49:31","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T19:49:31","slug":"eating-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-mpp\/2018\/03\/05\/eating-places\/","title":{"rendered":"Thymes Have Changed: Biting into the History of Eating Places\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever taken the time to think about why you eat at the places you eat? Maybe you have a favorite place to eat, or a place that reminds you of your childhood when you eat there. What\u2019s the significance of eating at a restaurant versus at your home?<\/span><\/p>\n

Eating places<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>are exactly what it sounds like. Places where people consume food. This includes bistros, cafes, diners, restaurants, lunchrooms, and even your dining room. These spaces are often not just places for food consumption. They are places for ideas, fellowship, and business. The history of eating places is extremely complicated and has drastically changed in the past couple of centuries. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about eating places.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1.) The first fast food restaurant wasn\u2019t mcdonald’s<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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Historians actually consider the first fast food chain to be a restaurant called White Castle. White Castle was created by Walter Anderson around May 1921, during the roarin\u2019 20s in Wichita, Kansas. Anderson was not the richest man, but he was an entrepreneur. He decided to refurbish an old shoe repair stand and sell hamburgers for a nickel.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Anderson began to make a profit and was able to eventually partner up with Billy Ingram to create the official White Castle design. Each restaurant or \u201cCastle\u201d had the same layout, with a grill, counter, 5 stools and was staffed by two male employees. The restaurant was known for its impeccable hygiene and speed.[1]<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

2.) Diners started in the United States<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Diners actually evolved from lunch-wagons in the first decades of the 20th century.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 A lunch-wagon could be considered an early food truck made from a wagon. Later on, people began to use trolleys, streetcars,\u00a0and railroad dining cars as a diner which is why the diner\u2019s original style was narrow and elongated.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 The original diners were established in the North East of the United States because that is where there was a condensed population. Many diners were transported from New Jersey to other parts of New England, but not much farther out. It was very rare to see the early diner established south of Virginia or west of Ohio because traveling on local roads meant traveling at 10 miles per hour. [2]<\/a>\u00a0The streetcar era is what really spread the idea of the American diner we see today.<\/p>\n

The menu of the diner stayed simple over time with basic American cuisine. The \u201ctrue\u201d diner rose around the 1920s; its menu is what most people are familiar with today. [2]<\/a> This includes hamburgers, french fries, club sandwiches, and breakfast foods. Typically today the interior of a diner will be a rendition of the 1950s\/1960s model.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

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Miss Worchester Diner in Worchester, Massachusetts. Source: Photo via Flickr user Liz West<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
3.) Most colonial Americans never dined in a restaurant<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Most of the Colonial Americans during the 17th and 18th century did not have any reason to dine in at commercial establishments – even if one was available to them. Before the industrial revolution, many colonials lived on farmland. They only traveled away from homes to go to the market or for civic duties. They did dine away from their homes, but only for special occasions such as church gatherings, weddings, funerals and other social events. Dining at taverns, inns, and boarding houses were seen as a luxury for the wealthy. [2]<\/a><\/p>\n

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4.) You\u2019ve been eating wrong your whole life<\/strong><\/h5>\n

According to Vivian Brown, author of Table Etiquette in The American Journal of Nursing, <\/em>\u201cIf an individual does not know how to handle a cup of tea or a plate or a fork in an easy…manner [they] will find some opportunities closed to [them].\u201d[3]<\/a> Brown’s beliefs were not rare during the time she wrote her piece. Most people believed that having proper table manners was directly related to someones lifestyle. Her piece was published in 1933 during the Great Depression. A few of Browns \u201cNevers\u201d include:<\/p>\n

Never stir your tea and leave the spoon still standing.<\/p>\n

Never fail to close the lips while you are chewing.<\/p>\n

Never prop your weary head upon your forearm.<\/p>\n

The video below will provide some more basic table manners.<\/p>\n