The Historical Society of Watertown invites you to their March program:
Dining Out in Boston: A Culinary History
An Author’s Talk and Slide-show Lecture
Presented by James C. O’Connell
The event is on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 7 p.m at the Watertown Free Public Library’s Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room, 123 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472
The book Dining Out in Boston: A Culinary History (2016) is a comprehensive historical overview of the development of Boston’s restaurants. Boston has been one of America’s leading laboratories of urban culture, including restaurants, and its history provides valuable insights into American food ways. Dining Out in Boston explains how the city was a pioneer in elaborate hotel dining, oyster houses, French cuisine, ostentatious banquets, ice cream parlors, ethnic cooking, the colonial revival of traditional New England dishes, the “gourmet revolution,” student hangouts, and contemporary locavore and trendy foodie culture.
Mr. O’Connell will talk about the food served at some of the historic restaurants covered in the book, which includes Julien’s Restorator (the city’s first restaurant), the Parker House, Durgin-Park, Union Oyster House, Locke-Ober, Café Marliave, Jacob Wirth, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Anthony’s Pier 4, Dini’s Sea Grill, Maison Robert, Bailey’s Ice Cream Shop, Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, and many long-forgotten eateries.
Jim O’Connell is a planner for the Boston Regional Office of the National Park Service. He has a Ph.D. in Urban History from the University of Chicago. He has written six books and many articles on planning and New England history. Jim worked on planning and community development at the Cape Cod Commission and in Springfield, MA. He teaches in the City Planning-Urban Affairs Program at Boston University.
Books will be available for purchase.
For more information please contact Joyce at 781-899- 7239 or joycekel@aol.com All Historical Society programs are free and open to the public.