Dinner Time!

[Brennus]

This may seem like a silly question (forgive me I don't know much about civillian Roman life) but did the Romans (or anyone else for that matter) have restaurants in the form that we would recognise?

At the moment I think the best place to live in terms of food would be southern Gaul, quite close to Massalia, you would have access to the northern "barbarian" hearty meals but also be able to purchase exotic luxuries to improve your dinner.

[Cute Wolf]

in ancient Roman cities, we can found some eating houses sold baked breads, wine, and meats... it was mentioned in EB I think

just like today's pizza stall, but without tomato

[Brennus]

in ancient Roman cities, we can found some eating houses sold baked breads, wine, and meats... it was mentioned in EB I think

just like today's pizza stall, but without tomato

Interesting. Thanks Cute Wolf!

[Cadwalader]

I read in an article(yes, I know how meaningless that makes my post) that Roman noblemen sometimes wrote travel logs, complete with tavern recommendations. Strabo recommended one inn for its food. I'll try to find this article.

[Os-Q]

Maybe a little bit out of the timeframe, but I have this paragraph from "The Totally Useless History of the World" (I couldn't find my copy of the "Horrible Histories: The Rotten Romans" which actually has some reciepes it it, but I'll keep a lookout for it)

"Sow's womb and Mackerel Guts - by the 1st century AD only one in ten people in Rome had access to a hearth where they could cook - so the purveyors of takeaway food did a roaring trade. For the wealthy who dined at home, popular items included roast dormouse, kale covered in saltpetre, and sow's womb (served with or without udders). Spattered over everything was a ubiquitous fish sauce called garum, made from slow cooked mackerel guts (production of the pungent, salty sauce within the city was prohibited on account of the stench). A disk for special occasions was the porcus troianus (Trojan pig), a whole roasted pig stuffed with fruit and sausages. Brought to the table standing on its legs, its belly was then cut open, letting spill the sausages as if they were the animal's entrails. By this time the earlier fashion of allowing one's fish to expire at table (preferably in a sauce) had gone out of favour."

From "The Totally Useless History of the World" by Ian Crofton

[Duguntz]

I read in an article(yes, I know how meaningless that makes my post)

And tell me why does it make your post meaningless? I read a lot, and though can quote my stuff, though, i've a serious memory problem with names, i can't never remember who wrote that... still, i don't consider my posts meaningless! All knowledge is good, all ignorance is bad!

[Cute Wolf]

I still wonder, can I have rice when I was in Roman, Carthaginian or Western Greek lands?

[Apázlinemjó]

I still wonder, can I have rice when I was in Roman, Carthaginian or Western Greek lands?

In EB timeframe, I don't think so. However in the late Roman Empire, I'm pretty sure you could get rice if you were enough rich to buy it.

[Cadwalader]

And tell me why does it make your post meaningless? I read a lot, and though can quote my stuff, though, i've a serious memory problem with names, i can't never remember who wrote that... still, i don't consider my posts meaningless! All knowledge is good, all ignorance is bad!

I expect people here to want some sourced is all. And I couldn't find this article or any other mention of travel guides.
I couldn't even find the article in my browser history, which is strange. It's like I dreamt it, only it seems beyond me to make up an article in my sleep.

[alexanderthegreater]

BOOZE!
If i were rich, I would go on a drinking yourney, drinking all 5 kinds of ancient Egyptian beer, all undiluted wines (apparantly the hellens dilute it the wusses), oh and has garum alcohol in it?
Anybody know what the strongest drink was they could serve in antiquity?

What would Romans eat at your average orgy anyway? It sure sounds like those people knew how to party