Applebee's, Class, and American Dining Habits: A Review

Introduction

Tracie McMillan's essay "Who Eats at Applebee's — And Why?", excerpted from her book The American Way of Eating, illustrates numerous points about the history of dining in the United States. It details the history of the first "formal" restaurant, the rise of McDonald's, and the dining experience pioneered on trains. However, the predominant thesis of the essay is that Applebee's is a middle-class establishment, and that the privilege of eating out as a family at family-oriented restaurants is something the middle class holds dear. McMillan's essay achieves its argumentative purpose by examining the impact that economics has on the dining habits of Americans — though she pursues this goal by way of considerable meandering and digression, which may nonetheless satisfy the expectations of a book aimed at a popular audience.

Economics and American Dining Habits

The essay focuses on economics as a means of establishing an intrinsic relationship between economic realities and the eating experiences of Americans. One of the most interesting aspects of McMillan's methodology is her comparison of the eating habits of middle-class Americans in the 1950s to those in contemporary times. During the postwar period, the American economy — driven largely by the country's manufacturing strength as a global power — was prosperous. It was during this era that, as McMillan writes, "eating out came within reach of far more Americans. First and foremost, we had more money. From 1947 to 1974, our real incomes nearly doubled" (McMillan).

This prosperity is contrasted with its notable absence in contemporary times. The American middle class has shrunk significantly, as wealth has increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. Against this backdrop, it becomes a genuine achievement for families to hold on to what McMillan calls "the twentieth century American dream, when owning your own home and going out for a nice meal were within easy reach" (McMillan) — a dream now symbolized, for many, by a trip to Applebee's.

Applebee's as a Symbol of Middle-Class Culture

McMillan uses her own experience working at Applebee's as a case study for the effect that economics has on American dining habits. She notes that the majority of patrons at her location are middle-class, and she supports this observation by calculating the average amount a family is likely to spend — even with coupons — and estimating how frequently such families can afford to eat there (McMillan). She traces the chain's history from its founding in 1980, framing it as a fixture of middle-class American life. The following passage captures this argument effectively:

"Eating at these places became a hallmark of American prosperity, a celebration of mainstream, middle-class success. When Applebee's opened a restaurant in the heart of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in 2006, neighborhood leaders and city officials alike considered it a coup — a sign that the tide was turning for one of America's most infamous ghettoes" (McMillan).

In this way, McMillan demonstrates that dining at Applebee's has become synonymous with middle-class culture in the United States. The relationship between economic conditions and patronizing this establishment is made clear: it is economic stability that enables middle-class Americans to eat there, and economic precarity that makes doing so feel like an achievement worth protecting.

Conclusion

Overall, McMillan adequately supports her premise that Applebee's is a middle-class institution, and that dining at such restaurants is something middle-class Americans consider genuinely meaningful. She makes this case effectively through economic analysis and her direct observations as a worker within the system she describes. However, she spends too much time cataloguing arcane historical facts about the broader history of American dining. Her essay would have been more focused without such digressions. That said, since the piece is excerpted from a popular nonfiction book about American eating habits, the digressions are consistent with genre expectations. Readers of the full book are likely satisfied with her approach; readers of the excerpt alone may find the surfeit of historical detail unnecessary and distracting.

Works Cited

McMillan, Tracie. "Who Eats at Applebee's — And Why?" Slate, 2012. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2012/02/tracie_mcmillan_s_the_american_way_of_eating_a_brief_history_of_applebee_s.single.html