Today for throw back Thursday, we are looking at the restaurant scene in the 1920s. This was, most importantly, the era of prohibition in the USA. As restaurants lost their liquor margins, they turned to cheap, casual fast food alternatives - giving rise to the modern fast casual dining scene of today.
Ice cream salons and soda shops were also immensely popular. Without bars (at least legal ones!) to social in, the ice cream shop became a meet and greet spot for those looking to socialize, date, and mingle. Sample dishes could contain chocolate ice cream, butterscotch, nuts, peaches, and whipped cream. Decadent and sugar filled, the dessert spots reigned supreme until prohibition finally ended.
People were also dining out very frequently in the '20s. The emphasis on "American made" and "quick and clean" simple food without "European frivolousness" was all the rage. A fast economy, combined with cheap prices, meant that dining out at least 25% percent of the time was the norm for city dwellers. Women, with spare time to socialize, dined out more than men.
Another super popular 1920 restaurant trend: the diner. The diner combined many of the elements of unpretentious, no alchohol, fast and convenient simple American foods that were the rage in the day. With sleek, ultramodern metallic finishes, fast and friendly service, and a range of simple crowd pleasing foods (including, of course, pie!) diners flourished in the 20s and sprang up all over the country.
