Dining Out in 1976

The other day, digging thru our collection of cookbooks and writings on food, from Len Deighton's "Action Cookbook" to Barbara-Jo McIntosh's "Tin Fish Gourmet," we came across a 1976 copy of Nathan Divinsky's Dining Guide.

Nathan Divinsky--"Tuzie" to his chess- and bridge-playing buddies--was a professor of mathematics at the University of British Columbia, but among his avocations were dining, and writing about his restaurant experiences. He published at least four editions of "Divinsky's Guide to Dining," and they still make entertaining reading.

What stands out in the 1976 guide is his note on restaurant prices, based on the cost of a three-course meal. "Inexpensive" meant less than five dollars; "moderate" was five to ten dollars; "expensive" was ten dollars or more.

I can hear Professor Divinsky now--"What, you spent twelve dollars on dinner? Are you out of your mind?"