City Life: Restaurants, Menu and Cookery

Andrea Damunt

In the 18h and the 19^th Century, many things changed. One of these changes was when the word Menu started to be used. They described this word as a “limited, choicely selected meal”. That’s true, when we go to a restaurant we can only order what is in the Menu. By then, the paper was expensive so most of the public eating places wrote on a board what they were going to be serving that day. In the cheapest eating places the day’s offerings were recited verbally at the door, because some people could not read.

When we go out to eat we order what we like but at the same time we try to look at all prices and try not to choose an expensive dish. In the 19^th Century, they could eat a meal for only a nickel, the things listed in the Menu cost only 5 cents. Bread usually accompanied all of the meals. This tradition still in use now, when we go to a restaurant, without necessarily ordering bread, they bring it to the table to go with the meal.

Restaurants which were situated around colleges supplied not only food, but entertainment such as books and cards. Public eating places started to be a social place, where people went to hang out with friends while eating or drinking something. Women always had a male companion who ordered their dinner. Some restaurants did not even admit women without a male companion. All over the years became more acceptable for women to dine out without a man. Pubs and Bars were usually male social places, were they could hang out with others and drink. Women in the 19^th Century began dinning out for pleasure. Common places for women to meet were the tearooms, where they could talk and gossip while they were drinking a cup of tea.

People who suffered a disease such as celiac or diabetes did not usually eat out, because at that time restaurants were not prepared to attend all allergies. They could not eat package food neither because there were many ingredients in. They ate plain vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, eggs and rice. Now most restaurants are prepared to attend all allergies, they even have separated Menus for some of them.

They did not have the same facilities to cook, as we have now. They usually cooked in open fires and pick up water from wells. Some people had their own gardens and small farms which provided them food, if they did not have this choice, they had to go to the public markets were some stalls sold vegetables, meat, fish, and bread. The traditional American Thanksgiving Menu had the main things that most American families eat on those dates. Their Menu consisted in roasted stuffed turkey, some sides and pies. It was more less the same but without all casserole dishes and all sides that Americans have now.

The other main thing in cookery was the measurements. Liquids could be measured in tin cups. Cups could be in graduated sets or some of them had rings around them to designate the amount of liquid. Dry foods such as flour or sugar were measured in pounds rather than cups.

Many things have changed since then, we have more facilities. We have lots of new cooking machines which help us to make more complex recipes. Prices have increased, that’s why some families who cannot afford eating out at restaurants have to eat at home. Public eating places are still being a social place to go and hang out even if it’s just to drink refreshment.