Join us for a historical overview of the development of Boston’s restaurants by historian Jim O'Connell. This presentation draws upon Jim's book Dining Out in Boston: A Culinary History. He will explain how Boston 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. He uses an extensive array of historic menus and photos to reveal the rich story of both Boston’s lost and contemporary restaurants.  As written on the back cover of his book, “O’Connell reveals a unique history sure to whet the intellectual and nostalgic appetite of Bostonians and restaurant-goers the world over.”