Modernity Natural/Social Sciences Starke 1 Beriss and Sutton / The Restaurants Book: Ethnographies of Where We Eat

David Beriss and David Sutton The Restaurants Book: Ethnographies of Where We Eat
Date published: 2007 Synopsis: This ethnographic collection on the anthropology of restaurants explores the multiplex ways that they can be situated in and accounted for exchanges and relationships that play out at different times and places in our contemporary world. Important Points: The book is organized thematically into sections that suggest the progression of a meal: Starter, Small Plates, Mains, Dessert and Digestif. Starter: o Beriss and Sutton explore the role of restaurants in reflecting our contemporary society both socially and culturally. They examine the tensions between home and away, and between hospitality and commerce, as they consider the restaurant as a symbol of or even a replacement for home, for both customers and staff. They express their awareness of restaurants having been accused of the homogenization of culture, and assert that the restaurant is a major cultural force which encourages socialization while conveying the individual histories, traditions and values of a particular group or place.

They contend that restaurants constitute ideal total social phenomena for our postmodern world (1) as they are highly sensory environments in which identities are formed and maintained. Beriss provides an example of post-Katrina New Orleans, where restaurants became more than business operations through their embodiment of sociopolitical issues.

Small Plates: o In this section, the contributing authors offer ethnographic vignettes into the embodied practices, kinship networks, and regional identifications that take place in restaurants, often left unnoticed by diners. o Erickson looks at the social space of a Tex-Mex restaurant through the perspective of a sociologist, examining the sorts of relationships and exchanges that are possible, encouraged or dissuaded by the staging of bodies (17) within. Hernandez is an anthropologist who focuses on the social processes of constructing and maintaining extended family identities (25) within Carmens China House, dispelling the idea that food and family have become divorced from each other.

Beriss, D., & Sutton, D. (2007). The restaurants book: ethnographies of where we eat. Oxford: Berg.

Modernity Natural/Social Sciences Starke 2 Beriss and Sutton / The Restaurants Book: Ethnographies of Where We Eat
o Trubek argues against the perception that modernization will cause regional American cuisine to become elitist or populist.

Mains: o This section explores the social and historical contexts of restaurants, touching on ideas of nostalgia, authenticity, memory, tradition, and ethnic identity. o o o Yano writes about Japanese-American food stalls, known as okazuya, in Hawaii. Pardue examines the corporate goals of neighborhood chain restaurants that offer a casual dining experience. Hubbert points out the ironic contradictions that are present in the phenomenon of Cultural Revolution-themed restaurants in China. Such establishments make literally palatable the troublesome nature of the past (82). Ray explores the ethnically segmented nature of the restaurant labor force, which he labels ethnic sentimentalism, challenging the common perception that a particular ethnic group has a special affinity for hospitality. Jochnowitz writes about culinary tourism in the context of RussianJewish restaurants in New York City. Lem addresses the question of the reasons behind the dynamics of growth in Chinese restaurants as an example of immigrant entrepreneurship (134). Beriss writes about the influence of tourism on the restaurants of New Orleans and their consequent portrayal of the citys culture and traditions. Mars writes about a northern Italian familys restaurant.

o o

Dessert: o In this section, Sutton explores the functions of tipping, which is neither a universal practice, nor central to the meal or the organizing principles of the institution of the restaurant itself. Digestif: o Finally, Herzfeld presents a final assessment of the preceding text as a whole, calling attention to the under-theorization of the physical space of the restaurant and its implications for both kitchen and dining room performances.

Notes: With the traditional practice of family meals within the privacy of ones home replaced with dining out at restaurants, a slew of social, cultural and political implications become apparent. o Egocentrism o Class discrimination o Loss of tradition
Beriss, D., & Sutton, D. (2007). The restaurants book: ethnographies of where we eat. Oxford: Berg.

Modernity Natural/Social Sciences Starke 3 Beriss and Sutton / The Restaurants Book: Ethnographies of Where We Eat o Malnutrition
Is it possible that the convenient and explorative nature of eating out may have instilled in us the supposition that more is more, and that in order to gain social commendation in any arena of societal existence, we are expected to put on a faade of abundance and superfluity, as well as of cosmopolitan cultivation?

Beriss, D., & Sutton, D. (2007). The restaurants book: ethnographies of where we eat. Oxford: Berg.