Restaurant Info

Columbia Encyclopedia

2009-02-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

Restaurant, a commerical establishment where meals can be bought and eaten. In the 16th cent. English inns and taverns began to serve one meal a day at a fixed time and price, at a common table, and usually distinguished by a special dish. The meal was called the ordinary, and inn dining rooms and eating places generally began to be called ordinaries. Famous among those in London were the Castle, much frequented by luminaries, and Lloyd's, a meeting place for merchants. In the 17th cent. the ordinaries became fashionable clubs, gambling resorts, and eventually centers of such intense political activity that they were closed by Charles II in 1675. In France, a loose equivalent of the ordinary called the table d'hôte, which served a standard daily meal, usually roasted meat, at a communal table, was popular by the mid-18th cent. The name restaurant was first used (c.1765) for a Paris establishment serving light (restoring) dishes. By the late 18th cent., the Parisian restaurant had become a place offering single servings from a somewhat varied menu and seating at private tables. After the French Revolution, many former chefs of aristocratic houses opened restaurants. While the revolutionaries had favored the egalitarian table d'hôte, the bourgeoisie of the Restoration transformed the restaurant into a French institution that flourished in the 19th cent. and thereafter.

Early American taverns and inns resembled those of England. The White Horse Tavern in Newport, R.I. (founded 1673), claims to be the oldest. Fraunces Tavern (see under Fraunces, Samuel) in New York was a famous meeting place. The first modern restaurant in New York City was opened (c.1831) by John and Peter Delmonico. The self-service restaurant, or cafeteria, was originated in the United States by philanthropic organizations to help working women secure cheaper meals. The idea was rapidly adopted by commercial restaurants, business organizations, and schools. An outgrowth of the cafeteria was the automat, which first opened in 1902 in Philadelphia and offered prepared food that was displayed behind small glass doors and could be purchased by depositing coins into a slot, which opened the doors. Although the last automat closed in 1991, the idea survives in the fully automated vending area, in which prepackaged food and drinks are dispensed from coin-operated machines. In the 1920s and 30s, diners, quick, cheap eating places resembling railroad dining cars, became popular places to eat. Car service restaurants, or drive-ins, first appeared in Florida during the 1930s. The foods sold at lunch counters and drive-ins was called fast food: hamburgers, hotdogs, french fries, and milk shakes. The franchising of fast-food restaurants has led to a boom in these establishments, and today millions of people throughout the world eat at fast-food chains such as McDonald's. Since World War II, most major cities have experienced a proliferation of ethnic restaurants.

See J. Finkelstein, Dining Out (1989); R. L. Spang, The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture (2000); A. B. Trubek, Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession (2000).

Restaurants

2008-11-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

Great service is part of any great restaurant experience but good help does not come cheap. In order to boost the performance of all team members, consider pooling tips in order to elevate everyone's pay and keep the team members happy. People that cannot stand the thought of sharing their tips with other people on the team probably are best working someplace else. Find Restaurant Services at http://www.restaurantshotels.info

Restaurants are a perfect example. While in theory, the economics of buying low and selling high are more crucial to a small eatery than almost any other type of business, there’s more to running a successful business than keeping an eye on the bottom line. Restaurants do sell food, but they market ambiance, and the meal is only as memorable as the service which imparts it. Hotels face the same challenges, as a properly motivated and managed staff can make a mediocre property lucrative while an unfriendly staff can could spoil a weekend at the Carillon. Find Restaurants and Hotels at http://www.restaurantshotels.info

Sonoma California Wine Tours For Zinfandel Lovers

2008-11-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

When it comes to Zinfandel, Americans are just plain crazy about both the red and white versions, making it the third most crushed grape varietal in the U.S., right behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. When it comes to growing and bottling zins, California is king, so whether you love a nice refreshing glass of slightly sweet White Zinfandel on a hot summer day, or you prefer the intensely fruity, spicy red versions there's something for everyone in California. With good weather all year long, anytime of the year is a good time to tour some of the best places in the world for growing this American favorite.

Originally an obscure Croatian grape varietal, Zinfandel came to America early in the 19th century. It's grown in many of California's grape growing regions from the Cucamonga Valley in the far south to the northern border with Oregon. From any major California city, you can be enjoying a Zinfandel experience in wine country in no time.

Although the Zinfandel grape has been around for a long time, White Zinfandel didn't come into existence until the 1970s. Sutter Home Family Vineyard in Napa Valley is widely credited with creating what became known as "blush wine" when they made a rosé of Zinfandel but stopped fermentation a bit early to ensure it had a touch of residual sugar. Today, inexpensive white zin far outsells its pricier red counterparts and tends to be produced by large wineries like Beringer and Sutter Home.

When it comes to red zins, there are a wide range of styles, quality and price. They tend to have high alcohol content and when very ripe, make good desert wines with a flavor profile somewhat like Port. Three of the top California regions for red zins are Amador County in the Sierra Foothills, Sonoma County and Paso Robles.

Amador County is the ideal spot to spend a few days checking out California Gold Rush country and sipping hearty red zins, while still only an hour away from the city of Sacramento. Tasting rooms here are mostly small family businesses where you can often talk to the winemaker, pet the family dog and enjoy a picnic lunch. And yes, you can still pan for gold and see traces of the rustic Wild West atmosphere that inspired writers like Mark Twain.

In Sonoma County there are many good micro-climates for Zinfandel including the Dry Creek Valley and Rockpile areas. Make the town of Healdsburg your starting point for a driving tour of numerous outstanding zin producers. If fine-dining is on your agenda this is also the perfect destination to experience some of northern California's best cuisine.

If your California vacation plans take you to the Central Coast region, be sure to stop in Paso Robles to taste Zinfandels and Zinfandel-based red blends that will knock your socks off. Although wine has been made in the area for a long time, the winemaking focus began to shift away from inexpensive wines to high-quality boutique wines in the 1980's and today some of the most exciting wines in California are made in Paso Robles.

When you head for sunny California, a good Zinfandel wine tasting tour is never very far away. Sample a few on your next visit and you'll know why the American love affair with Zinfandel is likely to remain a lasting one.

By Jim Hunter

Why Don't Restaurants Disclose The Nutrition Information Of Their Foods?

2008-10-10T00:33:00.000-07:00

By Angel Abdulnor

Weight loss is a big subject on a lot of people's minds these days, and for good reason. America and other developed nations are experiencing problems with obesity and overweight like never before.

If you eat out a lot, it may have crossed your mind that it is not easy to find out what the nutritional facts and calorie information on the food you are eating it. Indeed, even a lot of chain restaurants, which have web sites, will not reveal the nutritional data on the food they serve to the public.

Why is this? Restaurants successfully convinced congress a few years ago that they do not need to share its nutritional facts. This measure effectively exempts most restaurants from the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act. Most national chains such as Outback Steakhouse are not required to share the nutritional info on any of their foods, either in their restaurants, or on the Internet.

What may even be more alarming is the fact that, were you to ask the restaurant for nutritional facts, they likely would not be able to tell you. This is because most restaurants, owing to their legal "pardoning" by congress, do not even bother to perform a nutritional analysis on their foods. Not only do you not know what you are eating - they do not know, either!

In order to get a better idea as to the nutritional content, what you will have to do is note the ingredients that go in to the food you like to order at your favorite restaurant, and start crunching numbers on your own. To use Outback Steakhouse as an example once again, it has been shown that, despite the fact that they are apparently unaware of the nutritional value of their foods, an order of the popular appetizer, the Bloomin Onion, comes with 2,310 calories! While normally one person will not eat an entire order for themselves, that is still quite a lot of calories. Even worse, the Cheese Fries at Outback Steakhouse come with nearly 3,000 calories! That exceeds the recommended calorie intake for an individual per day! And that is only the fries, which are normally meant to be served as a side dish - add the rest of the meal on to that, and, well, you begin to get the picture.

One thing is clear - restaurants are not required to give you nutritional info for a reason. You probably would never want to eat at most of them again if you knew the truth!