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Article: Culinary history - France's other revolution.(Review)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- August 5, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE INVENTION OF THE RESTAURANT: PARIS AND MODERN GASTRONOMIC CULTURE. By Rebecca L. Spang. Harvard University Press; 336 pages; $35 and Pounds23.50
ALONG with your guides to where to eat in France this summer, you might think of taking this illuminating new book. The idea that the restaurant had to be invented, just like the printing press, the steam engine and the transistor, may sound odd. But invented it was, as Rebecca Spang reveals in this excursion into culinary history. Gastronomic innovations such as printed menus allowing diners to make individual choices, private rather than communal tables and the abolition of fixed meal times can all be traced back ...