A Brief History of Restaurant Menus

The menu is a restaurant staple nowadays, but they haven't always been a part of dining out. From the Song dynasty in China to the first inns and taverns of France, the path toward the humble menu is a long and winding journey. Let's get into it.

Food History is a show all about... well, the history of food. Join host Justin Dodd as he brings you the stories of how your favorite meals ended up on your plate.

[CheapSquierBassPlayer]

Me: I see no pieces of squirrel in this at all!

Waiter: Surprise!

[movingforwarddespiteeverything]

Prune whip pie was my late mom’s favorite dessert and is included in the personalized family cookbooks she created & gave to my siblings & me.

[mojosbigsticks]

The history of why Americans use the word entree for the main dish.

[yeoldesam]

Could there be an episode about the history of the chef?

My former executive chef once told me that the original chefs were the shamans of their tribes and they would cook for their community because they knew the most about their people and also the healing properties of different foods. I’ve never been able to verify any of that, but the story was what inspired me to go to a holistic nutrition culinary school. I thought it would be nice to watch your take on the subject and apropos as a follow-up to the history of restaurant menus.

[TheStonedPhilosopher]

Food history of bread would be interesting I think

[pscheidt]

Prune Whip tastes great! Been over five decades since I had it.

[jonathandevries]

Hi Justin, I work for Outback Corporate. i'm pleased to inform you that bethany has been terminated by the T1000. Here is a voucher for a free bloomin' onion (with purchase of any meal at regular menu price).

[jonathandevries]

Mental floss is my favorite yt channel, the hosts are soo cute

[wezul]

"the Cheesecake Factory excluded" - I LOLed. <3

[tjg]

Love the overalls, J-Dog. Would love to see some food history from other cultures. Persian food, for example, is amazing and hardly any Americans know about it.

[jamie.smith]

As a starbucks barista I just want to say thank you for not saying that we have a secret menu. There have been many times where customers will ask for an *insert random word here* frappuccino then get angry when I don't know the recipe from tik tok. Like wtf.

[danielwynn]

Food history of high end reataurants would be dope!

[aaronpederson]

You should visit the "Samoan Cook House" in California near Eureka. It's an old logging place and there isn't a menu. You get what they cook that day but I can honestly say I've never had a bad meal there. It's also all you can eat 😋

[KillerSpud]

@justin, are you related to Tim over on Every Day Astronaut?

[Laurpud]

Mental Floss is my favorite YouTube channel, the hosts are so cute

[musicalintentions]

Love the pink overalls - not joking. Also, nice tattoos!

[craigcox]

Comments Menu! 😂♥️ YES!
(And I really DO love the overalls….. J-dog.)

[Dawnstar]

Hi Justin, I work for Outback corporate. I'm pleased to inform you that Bethany has been fired and we are sending you a voucher for free "Bloomin' Onion".

[jonathandevries]

Wow what a great and informative video, subbed!

[Apophis]

Why not make a food history episode on Squirrel Surprise? You made me curious! :3
(And that may not be broad enough to have a full episode dedicated to it, so why not to weird food in general?)