Nowadays, whether it’s for a sandwich or a 10-course tasting
menu, many people don’t think twice about getting a bite to eat
at a restaurant. In fact, nearly every street corner presents a
new opportunity to enjoy a meal without the hassle of messing up
our own kitchens. Of course, it wasn’t always this way, and our
ancestors survived quite well for millennia long before the
birth of taco Tuesdays. But the restaurant as we know it is
nearly unrecognizable from the earliest eateries of ancient Rome
and China—and even a far cry from the first dining
establishments in Paris and New York. When Romans didn’t feel
like cooking, they could stop by their local thermopolium, a
precursor to today’s fast food joints. There, deep stone bowls
inlaid in L-shaped counters are believed to have held such
delicacies as cheese baked with honey and herbs, savory lentil
dishes and mulled wine. The ruins of Pompeii feature many well-
preserved examples of thermopolia, and experts think much of the
population regularly patronized th