Freedman Presents His Top Ten

Yale Professor Paul Freedman will discuss his new book at a talk in Scarsdale, Mar. 30

Yale Professor Paul Freedman's "day job" is his role as professor of medieval history.  At Yale, where he has taught for 20 years, he has also served as chair of the history department and director of undergraduate studies in history.

His special interest or favorite passion is the history of cuisine and trends in eating out.  Last year after exhaustive review, the New York native and current Pelham resident set out to identify the 10 most influential restaurants in American history, restaurants that set standards or trends and changed eating habits outside the home. 

The outcome?  He finished a new book, Ten Restaurants That Changed America, published by Liveright/Norton this past fall and much discussed and talked about, if not debated.

Freedman will speak to Yale alumni and guests in Scarsdale at the Scarsdale Public Library Thursday, Mar. 30 at 7 pm.  He will explain why some restaurants made the list and why some didn't. Copies of the new book will be available for sale. Many of the restaurants are no longer in existence, but that doesn't diminish their importance in the history of Americans eating out.

Freedman's talk is part of the YWAA lecture series that brings Yale professors to Westchester to discuss their subjects, current projects or latest work.  In recent years, the series has featured professors in astrophysics, history and law. 

Readers of his book don't have to churn hundreds of pages to find out his Top Ten.  The list appears on the cover (and below).

In New Haven, an increasingly important hub for interesting, diverse cuisine (and everybody's hot spot for the best in pizza), Freedman told the New York Times that his favorite pizza place there is Zuppardi's Apizza (actually located in West Haven).

Delmonico's, New York
Antoine's, New Orleans
Schrafft's
Mamma Leone's, New York
Howard Johnson's
Le Pavillon, New York
Sylvia's, New York
The Four Seasons, New York
The Mandarin, San Francisco
Chez Panisse, Berkeley, Calif.