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.