American restaurants

These are Mario's.

Also on this trip we ate: sandwiches from a deli in Decorah, pasta at Mario's in Dubuque, and fried food at a tavern-ish place in Lansing.  The Italian restaurant was recommend by the B&B owner as a place where the "locals" eat.  He informed us that Mario is really from Italy and returns there regularly.  He also advised us to sit in the booths behind the bar rather than in the restaurant.

The Windmill

The decor got us thinking about what constitutes an American restaurant, even if (or perhaps because) this one is owned by an immigrant and is known for its Italian food.  Of course there is no one definitive answer.  Even asking the question is as much a fool's errand as asking what is genuinely American food.

Nonetheless, without excluding other possibilities, the knotty pine paneling, the red upholstered booths, the television screen tuned to a basketball game, the trophies won by teams sponsored by Mario's, the photos on the wall, the potted plants in the window sill, the plastic-encased menus, and the iceberg lettuce in the ante-pasta plate reminded us of other similar places we've eaten near Northfield (The Ranchero), in eastern Montana (something with a number in its name on the main street in Miles City), close to Fergus Falls, Minnesota (The Peak), and in Wenatchee, Washington (The Windmill).  Perhaps "supper club" is the big category, though there are some that are more like cafes and open for breakfast and lunch rather than an evening meal.  Certainly there are other restaurants that are American and some of those serve other sorts of food, but I have never encountered or eaten in a restaurant like these any other country.  I suspect that if I ever did, the place would be identified as American.