Most prominently, white Americans perpetuated the myth that Chinese restaurants served such delicacies as “cat cutlet, griddled rats, dog soup, roast dog, and dog pie” as portrayed in an 1854 fictional menu published by the Boston Investigator. Most white Bostonians at the time refused to visit Chinese restaurants, viewing the food as a degraded product of an “ inferior race.” In an 1885 article published in the Boston Globe, Chinese writer and activist, Wong Chin Foo noted that “the average American when he first approaches the Chinese table does so in fear and trembling.” Racial animus strongly influenced American attitudes toward immigrant cultures, and decades of virulent anti-Chinese racism gave rise to negative stereotypes and outlandish claims about Chinese food and those who prepared it. For this reason, there are no Chinese restaurants that appear on our 1895 map. Such restaurants were unknown to most white Bostonians and did not appear in the city business directory until 1896. ![]() ![]() Meals included lots of rice and fresh vegetables, fish, chicken or pork, along with fried noodles and oolong tea. They served the Chinese population in Boston, mainly immigrant working men from Guangdong province in southern China. Usually located on the second or third floors, these eateries featured adjacent areas for lodging and gambling. It appears that the first Chinese restaurants in Boston opened in the early-to-mid 1880s on Harrison Avenue. Ultimately, though, by offering tasty food and diversifying the cuisine to accommodate American tastes, Chinese restaurant owners succeeded in building prosperous and influential businesses in Chinatown and beyond.Įarly Views of Chinese Restaurants in Bostonīoston’s Chinatown dates back to the mid 1870s when Chinese migrants from western states settled along Harrison Avenue between Essex and Beach streets. But they were also subject to white racism, harassment, and violence that harmed their business and made it more dangerous. “We want to save it, want to keep it going,” Harriman tells the Salem News.Chinese restaurants in Boston were strikingly successful in the late 19th and early 20th centuries-especially given the city’s small Chinese population at the time. Rodgers and Harriman say that with the new version, it is important to them to “try to honor the culture and the cuisine” of the restaurant, its fandom, and the work that the Yee family put into the place for decades. Scores of people lined up for one last chop suey sandwich from the takeout window before it permanently closed its doors. Salem Lowe first opened in 1912, and for the last 50 years, it had been run by David Yee and his family until they decided to shut the restaurant down last summer. The pair also own Spitfire Tacos, a taco shop with locations in Salem and Marblehead that the two launched during the pandemic. Salem Lowe’s history, and how connected customers felt to the restaurant, was a major factor in Rodgers and Harriman’s decision to revive the place, according to the report. The restaurant’s popular pepper steak sandwich is also making a return. Most importantly, the chop suey sandwich - an iconic regional food that consists of bean sprouts and pieces of chicken cooked in a thick sauce and dolloped onto a hamburger bun - will still be on the menu at the new Salem Lowe. The Salem News reports that the duo are also upgrading equipment in the kitchen and tweaking some recipes, like making the noodles in-house and cooking chicken in a pressure fryer. ![]() Notably, the restaurant will no longer be open seasonally, but rather operate year-round at the Salem Willows Park in Salem, Massachusetts. The new owners, Kathleen Rodgers and Ryan Harriman, plan to implement a few changes under their stewardship. The Salem News reports that a pair of local restaurateurs have bought the shuttered spot and plan to reopen it in April. ![]() Salem Lowe, the former North Shore restaurant known as a destination for chop suey sandwiches, is reopening under new ownership.
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