“Classism and greed are making insignificant all the other kinds of isms.” The Ohio-born actress/ civil rights activist Ruby Dee was wise enough to point out the above many years ago. Although it seems that American culture has certainly progressed nearly passed the point of classism, this is not the case. In fact, due to its insidious nature, classism has become so entrenched in American culture that we don’t even notice it in our day-to-day lives. Classism has taken root in institutions that we do not typically relate to class-discrimination in this day and age. A prime example of this can be found in restaurants.
Classism is loosely defined as the discrimination against a person or group of people based on their socio-economic status. It has been a part of American culture for all of the country’s (relatively) short history. In the past, classism and racism have often been entwined. It’s easiest to see this in examples from before and during the civil rights movement. The segregation of restaurants due to race is just as much a case of classism as of racism. The fact is that many white American’s assumed African-Americans to be of a lower class due solely to their race. Obviously, classism of this caliber is nowhere near as rampant as it used to be. However, when one examines classism just a little further, one finds that it is still very much present in restaurants today. If one looks for factors such as menu items, menu language/appearance, general restaurant atmosphere, and price of menu items, it is clear that there are at least the broad categories of “high-class,” “middle-class,” and “low-class” restaurants.
To begin with, I chose a menu from the swanky Italian restaurant Molinari’s. Located in a suburb of Cleveland, this is the kind of restaurant that comes to mind when you think of fancy rich people going out to dinner. The menu includes choices like: escargot in a box (snails served in a box of bread), Pasta Putenesca, and Pork Florentino, among others. Not that people lower on the socioeconomic ladder wouldn’t enjoy “plump French snails simmered in a garlic parsley cream served in a toasted bread box.” I just don’t know that having to order something foreign sounding is very appealing to “lower-class” citizens. The menu also advertises that the servers are happy to help you select the perfect wine to compliment your meal, which is an idea that may not occur to someone of a lower socioeconomic class.
In the same vein, the menu uses language that assumes a certain level of education. The description for the Cinigallio Ravioli is as follows: “braised wild boar and aromatic vegetables seeled in a black pepper pasta ravioli tossed in a tomato veal demi glaze with sautéed garlic spinach.” Even with half of my undergraduate studies behind me, I can’t really picture the dish I would get if I ordered this. I can really only assume it’s delicious based on words like “ravioli,” and “garlic.” The menu is clearly targeted at an audience who has enough “class” to understand cooking terms, and at least a basic knowledge of foreign languages. Visually, the menu is classy-looking as well. The font is fancy, and there are no pictures to aid in your selection.
Then general atmosphere of the restaurant is what you would expect from a high-end restaurant. Often one can find a live jazz ensemble playing unobtrusively in the background. The tables are covered with linen cloths, and the napkins are folded just so. There are candles on the tables, and always a ready server to refill your water glass as soon as you take a sip. There is a window into the kitchen area so that guests can watch their food being prepared. However, the glass in the window keeps the din of the cooking well away from the dignified diners. The guests are all dressed to the nines, so to speak, and the restaurant has an inviting, but very ritzy feel to it. After all, any place that has a coat check is bound to be pretty upscale.
With all the pomp and glamour comes a steep price. The average price of an entrée is $22. The steaks (not factored in to the entrée list) range from $30 to $35, and the appetizers are around $8 apiece. For two people to go out and order one appetizer, and two entrees would be around $52. Of course, that’s not including any beverages or desserts. Obviously this is a price that people in a lower socioeconomic position could not afford regularly, if ever.
In menu language, appearance, and selection, in atmosphere and required attire, and in the high prices, this restaurant is exemplifying a type of classism. While they would not turn away business from well dressed, paying customers regardless of the customers’ class, they have effectively made it very uncomfortable for any members of low-class to be there. By including difficult language, fancy clothes, and hefty prices, those unfamiliar with or unable to fill those requirements are naturally kept separate from that restaurant. Most often, it will be those from the low-class bracket that will feel unwelcome in this type of environment. Whether or not this exclusion of lower-class citizens is intentional is rather a moot point. The fact of the matter is that it’s happening.
The next menu I looked at came from a restaurant called Tommy’s. This restaurant is located in another suburb of Cleveland. I chose this restaurant as my middle-class restaurant because the atmosphere and the prices suggest it as such. The menu is quite a bit more varied than the menu from Molinari’s, and has a much greater selection of food. They have salads, soups, hummus, wraps, falafel, sandwiches, tofu, veggie burgers, meat burgers, meat pies, spinach pies, and pizza, in addition to milkshakes, malts, and ice cream.
The menu is straight forward, and easy to read with playful names like “Uncle Gay” (which is tuna, mushrooms, and cheese toasted on a pita). The only language that could be difficult is found when listing the types of food. I can imagine that not everyone is familiar with hummus and falafel. There are occasional pictures to help you in your decision making process, and the menu has a lot of color, without being garish.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is relaxed. There is no dress code required. You are able to watch your food being prepared, but no sound-proof glass protects diners from the inherently noisy production of cooking. There is often music being played through speakers. There are many windows, and plants everywhere, lending to a relaxed, earthy kind of atmosphere.
The items on the menu average around $7 dollars. This seems a little pricey if you get a salad, though the portions are large. However, when you get a sandwich (which are huge and come with fries), it seems pretty reasonable. For two people to go out and get two entrees, and dessert would be roughly $24. Add $4 for drinks, and you would total around $30 for a complete meal for two.
Although this is obviously quite a bit more accessible to a wide variety of people, it is still slightly exclusive. In this case, it is the price that keeps lower-class citizens away. $30 dollars is a little much, especially on a regular basis. If you can go out and get a full meal for two for $10 a person or less, you would, of course. And so it is with the third and final restaurant.
The last menu I reviewed came from Taco-Bell. I chose this restaurant because even though price and menu vary slightly from branch to branch, essentially it is an establishment aimed at people with very little money to spend. This would put the targeted customer in a low socioeconomic class.
The menu is full of Mexican-inspired food. There are hard tacos, soft tacos, nachos, burritos, chalupas, empanadas and more. You can often get combinations of these things in “combo-meals.”
The menu is easy to read and colorful, with lots of pictures to help you with your decision. The meals are numbered, which means that you could either order by number, or by using title. This makes it easier on those who perhaps lack in education, and have trouble reading, or those who feel uncomfortable pronouncing something foreign sounding.
The atmosphere inside of a Taco Bell is very relaxed. Often, the employees are high school students, which makes the ordering process very unintimidating. All the surfaces can be easily wiped, swept, or mopped. There is a table providing condiments in packets. The general feeling is that of efficiency and practicality. Clearly, dining is not meant to be an experience at Taco Bell, simply a necessity. The restaurant’s drive through (a feature conspicuously absent in the other two restaurants) stays open late into the night, to make getting food as convenient as possible.
The prices are well within the means of most Americans. Even for those citizens really struggling, there are options. The value menu has a delightful assortment of food priced at .99cents per item. A big bell box meal can easily feed two people for under $5.
The prices, selections, and atmosphere are very non-discriminatory. High-class or low-class can feel comfortable eating here. Those from high-class society may think it beneath them, but certainly would have no need to feel intimidated by the restaurant’s cuisine or prices.
It’s clear from just this limited study that classism is still firmly a part of American society, whether or not it is intentional. It’s good to see that classism is not nearly so interlaced with racism anymore; I think that’s a step in a positive direction. Classism is not necessarily an issue that the common person gives much thought to nowadays, and I was surprised at how easy it was to see the class distinction between restaurants once I looked for it. I feel very fortunate to have had the ability to experience all of the above-mentioned places, and it’s a shame that many people that I know might never get the opportunity to try that escargot in a box. It was really an eye-opener to realize just how deeply ingrained in the American culture classism has become.
