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katemc7's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting to learn how some of the good movements of our country originated! Definitely recommend if you are a foodie.
bexrecca's review against another edition
3.0
I learned a lot, I fell asleep a lot. It is in many ways far longer than it needs to be, going on tangents that felt unnecessary and reintroducing us to the same people over and over as if the chapters were separate books. I get it. Stop giving me full details on critics and owners repeatedly. I can remember from one chapter to the next.
This was probably more of a 2.5, so I leaned toward rounding up rather than down because so much of it really was very fascinating. It's amazing when a book can be both really interesting and utterly boring.
This was probably more of a 2.5, so I leaned toward rounding up rather than down because so much of it really was very fascinating. It's amazing when a book can be both really interesting and utterly boring.
hodgesro's review against another edition
3.0
Spent too long on certain sections and not enough on others
tig_'s review against another edition
It’s just so dry. I can’t keep slogging through it. It’s so dull I started using it to help me fall asleep at night and even that didn’t work because I was so bored by it I became too annoyed to fall asleep lol. Wanted to like it, but just not my style of learning.
tx2its's review against another edition
4.0
Reading 2023
Book 20: Ten Restaurants That Changed America by Paul Freedman
Another book I found searching for nonfiction last November. I also love foodie books. Read this on audio.
Synopsis: Combining a historian’s rigor with a foodie’s palate, Ten Restaurants That Changed America reveals how the history of our restaurants reflects nothing less than the history of America itself. Whether charting the rise of our love affair with Chinese food through San Francisco’s fabled The Mandarin, evoking the richness of Italian food through Mamma Leone’s, or chronicling the rise and fall of French haute cuisine through Henri Soulé’s Le Pavillon, food historian Paul Freedman uses each restaurant to tell a wider story of race and class, immigration and assimilation.
Review: Ten Restaurants was a big book, 560 pages. I do wish I had a hard copy so I could look at the pictures and the menus. The audio was good, and I enjoyed listening to the history of restaurants in the US and the evolution of how we eat out. This book will not be for everyone, it is a slog in some places. Others might find the history dry. The Howard Johnsons chapter was definitely my favorite. I remember going to HoJos and there were a few around where I grew up in CT. My rating 4⭐️.
Book 20: Ten Restaurants That Changed America by Paul Freedman
Another book I found searching for nonfiction last November. I also love foodie books. Read this on audio.
Synopsis: Combining a historian’s rigor with a foodie’s palate, Ten Restaurants That Changed America reveals how the history of our restaurants reflects nothing less than the history of America itself. Whether charting the rise of our love affair with Chinese food through San Francisco’s fabled The Mandarin, evoking the richness of Italian food through Mamma Leone’s, or chronicling the rise and fall of French haute cuisine through Henri Soulé’s Le Pavillon, food historian Paul Freedman uses each restaurant to tell a wider story of race and class, immigration and assimilation.
Review: Ten Restaurants was a big book, 560 pages. I do wish I had a hard copy so I could look at the pictures and the menus. The audio was good, and I enjoyed listening to the history of restaurants in the US and the evolution of how we eat out. This book will not be for everyone, it is a slog in some places. Others might find the history dry. The Howard Johnsons chapter was definitely my favorite. I remember going to HoJos and there were a few around where I grew up in CT. My rating 4⭐️.
brontherun's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. It combines a take on U.S. history through a prism of the rise and fall of restaurants and cuisines. I found it nostalgic both for certain restaurant types, and for my college days. The structure and content of Freedman's book puts me in mind of what could easily be an entire semester course in the American Studies department at a liberal arts college of the late 1980s or early 1990s.
The research and source material seems solid throughout, and although unfamiliar with some of the example restaurants, they were described with enough detail and narrative to give the needed historical and gastronomical context. However, I struggled with the dryness of the work overall. I gave thought to abandoning several times, but the remaining restaurants/topics were still of interest.
The research and source material seems solid throughout, and although unfamiliar with some of the example restaurants, they were described with enough detail and narrative to give the needed historical and gastronomical context. However, I struggled with the dryness of the work overall. I gave thought to abandoning several times, but the remaining restaurants/topics were still of interest.
ericadeb's review against another edition
3.0
Here's the thing. I was listening to it on audio, and it was full of amazing information and I was excited to learn all about food history, because it is a topic that I LOVE. But the audio book is over 17 hours long. By the time I got to the Mandarin and Sylvia's it just wasn't holding my attention anymore. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to learn about how Chinese restaurants became popular take out joints and how Southern food and African American food have a blurry line between them, but my hoopla borrow was up and I can't bring myself to borrow it again. Too many words.
katrina_daquin's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty fascinating read about restaurants that changed America. The author states upfront it’s not about the best restaurants, but rather about those that have changed the tastes and habits of the country. I really enjoyed it, and learned quite a bit about the history of restaurants.