Far more than simply a discussion of food, chefs and recipes, in Ten Restaurants That Changed America Paul Freedman creates a social history, examining how restaurants came to reflect class, gender, assimilation, mass consumption and culture in America.

Ranging from the 1830s and the New York Steak House Delmonico's-which Freedman identifies as the first real American restaurant-to the current flowering of avant-garde cuisine, each chapter looks at fashions for different types of food from turtle soup to Caesar Salad. Ten Restaurants That Changed America is a must read for serious foodies.