Dining Out in Boston: A Culinary History

by James C. O'Connell

Over the years, Boston has been one of America's leading laboratories of urban culture, including restaurants, and Boston history provides valuable insights into American food ways. James C. O Connell, in this fascinating look at more than two centuries of culinary trends in Boston restaurants, presents a rich and hitherto unexplored side to the city's past. Dining Out in Boston shows that the city was a pioneer in elaborate hotel dining, oyster houses, French cuisine, student hangouts, ice cream parlors, the twentieth-century revival of traditional New England dishes, and contemporary locavore and trendy foodie culture. In these stories of the most-beloved Boston restaurants of yesterday and today—illustrated with an extensive collection of historic menus, postcards, and photos—O'Connell reveals a unique history sure to whet the intellectual and nostalgic appetite of Bostonians and restaurant-goers the world over.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Steven Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

For once, a book for which I am nearly the perfect audience. I am old, so I have lived through much of this history. I ate out frequently for years. And I have spent most of my life in the Boston/Cambridge area. I used to read Robert Nadeau's food reviews (to which the author repeatedly refers) weekly, and would often try places and dishes that Nadeau recommended.

I honestly have not come close to reading every word of this book, and probably never will. This is a hard book for me to read straight through. Every reference reminds me of some other reference that I want to check. Dini's Sea Grill was wonderful - but what about other seafood restaurants? Other restaurants near Park Street Station?

Ideally this would discuss every Boston area restaurant that ever existed, but couldn't it at least include the restaurants of my childhood? Ding Ho in Grove Hall, the Chinese restaurant of my youth. Am I the only one who remembers the wonderful New Deal restaurant on the Blackstone Block? (Wonderful because it was good, but also because it was so inexpensive.) The Pushcart, long my favorite Italian restaurant in the North End.

I can't be entirely objective about this book. I think that even all the material about places that were gone long before I was born is fascinating. I love Boston, I love eating, and I love this book.

[Cate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:
Good long sections on the Parker House and Jacob Wirth's
lots of vintage menus, details about early restaurants in general
great insight into "traditional New England" foods, role of seafood not always as strong as it is today
interesting sections of early ethnic restaurants
sluggish in the middle
Interesting note about the 1970s gourmet movement: strong influence from dining societies that put on fancy dinners. In this I see the basis of the slow flood movement, it worked before so it could work again.
Zagat claims Bostonians eat out 4.1 times per week! (2015)

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of dining in Boston

Learn things you never knew! Feel frustrated when you don't read more about the things you hoped to find! Consider writing that book yourself (Jewish delis of Boston?).

[Thomas Nevins · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting history of boston restaurants, the somewhat more recent info was more interesting as i could relate to some of it

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided an overview of dining out from revolutionary times to the 21st century. While Boston had its share of high end dining before WWII, the advent of tv and the automobile changed people’s habits, budgets, and preferences - going towards more casual dining, ethnic food, farm to table choices, it has never lost its attraction to New England cuisine with its boiled dinners and emphasis on fresh seafood. The majority of the restaurants and menus profiled in the book were short lived before the town moved on to the next new thing. Today, Bostonian’s still like good, basic food at moderate prices where the food is more important than the restaurant’s decor.