Experts believe that there are more than 8 million restaurants in the world today. So it might surprise you to learn that restaurants, as we know them, have only existed for a few centuries. Before 1765, there were no restaurants. That is, there were no places that provided the restaurant experience. There was nowhere in which a waiter brought you food and drink that you picked from a menu. In fact, there were no menus anywhere.

    There were eating places travellers could go to centuries before that. The countryside was full of inns that would serve food. And there were taverns where one could get drinks. The rich could also eat special meals prepared by private cooks. But none of them could be called a “restaurant”.

A man called Boulanger changed that. In 1765, he opened a place in Paris that sold soups(汤). On his sign he used the word "restaurant" to describe what he was selling. At that time, soups were considered something that could help "restore"(恢复)your health- in French the word "restore" is “restaurer”— so he called the soups "restaurants". Soon, people started buying Boulanger's soups even when they were not ill. And over time, people began to use the word "restaurant" to refer to a place selling soup rather than the soup itself. More "restaurants" opened in France, and people began to buy soups more often.

    Later, restaurants in Paris began to serve other food besides soup. In the 1790s, menus started to appear. By the mid-1800s, there were many types of restaurants throughout the world. The United States offered coffee shops. Tea houses became popular throughout China. Paris created beautiful restaurants for the rich. The British began to copy the French, and the restaurant idea spread throughout the British Empire.

    Today cities are filled with all types of restaurants. Diners have millions of options from which to choose.

    Quince, a restaurant in San Francisco, is serving a dish called "A Dog in Search of Gold" on an Apple iPad that's playing a video of a dog hunting for truffles (松露). If you're wondering about the connection, the dish is composed of white truffle croquettes (油炸丸子).And in case you're not into truffles, Quince also serves frog legs on top of iPads playing videos of frogs in a pond.

    "The idea is simply about taking the guest on a voyage," Michael Tusk, who runs the restaurant, told Inside Scoop SF. "Living in San Francisco for over twenty years, I have seen the technological development, and I want to combine (结合) food industry with technology and a Me bit of education." Local chef Richie Nakano attracted the attention of social media after showing a photo of the UA Dog in Search of Gold" that a friend had ordered. Some people complained about the high price of the dish, but most wondered whether it was healthy.

    Tusk said, "We asked local wood worker Luke Bartels to create a housing (防护外壳) for the iPad — a glass cover that protects the screen. The food does not directly sit on top of the iPad. The cover is washed after every use."

    Interestingly, Quince is reportedly the first U.S. restaurant to use iPads as plates, but definitely not the first in the world. The Daily Mail reports that restaurants in the UK have been using them for the last two years.