Yale's Freedman in Scarsdale, Mar. 30

As part of YWAA's lecture series, Yale professor Paul Freedman, author of a new book on the history of impactful restaurants, will speak at the Scarsdale Library, Thursday, Mar. 30.  Delmonico's (above) made the Top Ten list.

The YWAA lecture series resumes Thursday, Mar. 30, in Scarsdale, when Yale history professor Paul Freeman will discuss his new book, Ten Restaurants That Changed America.

Yale alumni, guests, and those interested in Freedman's explanations for why certain restaurants made or didn't make special list are invited to attend. There is no admission fee. The Scarsdale Library will host the event (which starts at 7 pm). Copies of the book will also be on sale.

Freedman is the Chester E. Tripp Professor of History at Yale and the Chair of the History of Science and Medicine Program. Event guests won't need to wait until Mar. 30 to learn what restaurants earned a spot on his well-researched list. (See below)

The book, published earlier this year, has been praised by book reviewers and food critics around the country:

"(This) is a book as much about the contradictions and contrasts in this country, as it is about its places to eat," wrote Jane Kramer in the New Yorker.

Joe Yonan of the Washington Post said, "(Freedman) effectively makes the case that the story of America's restaurants is one of changing immigration patterns, race relations, gender and family roles, work obligations, and leisure habits."

"(Freedman) suggests that it's not ultimately restaurants that change America. It's the people in the kitchen," Victorini Matus at the Wall Street Journal wrote.

"Culinary historians, those besotted with food culture, and curious general readers will all find something of value in this well-researched, entertaining social and cultural history," Kirkus Reviews summarized.

Fabio Parasecoli, Director of Food Studies at the New School, said, "Freedman's engrossing and well-researched exploration of the restaurant as an American institution presents us with a gallery of unforgettable characters, iconic dishes, and unique place."

Author Fredrick Kaufman called Freedman "one of the world's most learned food writers."  Harvard professor Joyce Chaplin said the book is "exactly what the very best American food has always been." Food writer Molly O'Neill said Freedman's book is "the most important and entertaining book on the subject of food...in years."

Rich Fabbro '76, YWAA board member, who leads the lecture series, organized the event.

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.