For some a restaurant is a diner, a deli, a pizza place, a fast food chain, a coffee shop, an ethnic eatery in a shopping mall, a cafeteria or any number of theme establishments where a customer can expect to receive food that is clean, safe, fast and cheap. These are essentially the same criteria we demand from indoor plumbing ... They are tried and true concepts, most of which will last well into the future because they provide their customers with the kind of food they want to eat at a price they are willing to pay.

Most ideas for new restaurants spring from the fertile mind of an entrepreneur who glimpses a missing niche in the marketplace and boldly steps up to the plate. Howard Johnson, Friendly's and Boston Market are among those who saw widening opportunities to create family-style restaurants. Others hit on the idea of offering take-out food.

Starbucks occupies another niche that was aching to be filled. It offers a foaming cup of coffee and makes us feel we are in the right place. For that assurance we are eager to part with the extra pennies that are jingling in the pockets of our jeans. The success of Starbucks and similar places was achieved in an atmosphere of optimism stimulated by a strong economy.

Like synchronous swimmers, many restaurateurs imitate rather than innovate -- but they all recognize the need to cater to those who are too busy, or too tired, or too immediately hungry to cook for themselves. They survive because they always remain the same. There are no surprises.

Upscale restaurants thrive for the opposite reason. Their continued success is built on their ability to surprise -- and delight. They understand that our expectations are constantly changing and make appropriate changes in the style of the food that is served and in its service. The design of the restaurant also undergoes continual face-lifts.

On the Town When did people first feel the need to leave their homes and dine out? Did Wilma Flinstone put her teeny little foot down and demand to be taken out for dino-ribs? Or are restaurants a more modern invention? Find out with our Restaurant Timeline.

The rapid rise of white-tablecloth restaurants can be traced back to the growth of the wine industry and expertise of America's wine makers. Throughout the western world there has never been a great cuisine without a great wine culture.

During the past several years, American-trained chefs have invented a uniquely American way to dine that can be described as casual-chic. Though creative chefs had been running fast along the same track, it was Danny Meyer and Tom Colicchio who purposefully set out to reinvent the AMERICAN four-star restaurant.

When Gramercy Tavern opened its doors in 1994, they demonstrated that success can be achieved by using local ingredients when it made sense to do so, and by borrowing and adapting cooking techniques from around the world to create a new style of dining that explodes with excitement and sophistication. The carefully chosen and moderately priced wine list is an essential component of this dining experience. Theirs set the standard for a restaurant that is elegant without being intimidating and service that is friendly without being intrusive. The food has big flavors, servings are generous and the atmosphere is similar to being welcomed into a big, happy party.

This is a far cry from the formal restaurants of the past. Today all the rules have changed. The days are gone when we supped on Pig's Knuckles, calf's heads, frog's legs, cod's cheeks, Chicken Feet. Now we are into little necks and angel hair -- and the future will undoubtedly be composed of many other parts. But we can be confident that future restaurateurs will have plenty of the right stuff at their fingertips -- and up their sleeves -- to satisfy all our senses, and historians will need only study what we ate, and how and when we ate it, to get a pretty good fix on the fabric of our society.

For more from Irena, feast on subjects that have been On the Table.