The History Of Fast Food Goes Back Way Farther Than We Expected

When one thinks of fast food, good old-fashioned American industry usually pops to mind. After all, the land of Uncle Sam has been flipping burgers since the first White Castle opened in 1921. However, humans have been drawn to culinary convenience since ancient times. In fact, the thermopolia discovered at Pompeii provide compelling evidence of fast food culture thriving in the late Roman empire.

A thermopolium was an open-faced shop with countertops facing the street. Embedded on these counters were terracotta jars called dolia, which typically contained hot food such as stews, soups, porridges, and meats (sort of like an ancient buffet). The point of thermopolia was to serve takeout to travelers and citizens who lacked either the time or the means to cook a warm meal at home.

Just like fast food restaurants of today, these thermopolia proliferated throughout ancient Rome. In Pompeii alone, over 80 locations have been found. The thermopolium of the Regio V neighborhood, exhumed in 2020, invites further comparison to modern times. Elaborate frescoes adorned its walls and countertops to convey not only branding, but even ancient to-go menus.

Although the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius occurred in 79 AD, Pompeii provides a snapshot of a town typical of the late Roman empire in which fast food was entrenched as a fact of daily life. As such, these thermopolia are probably not the very first fast food restaurants in history. Indeed, many of the customs of the Roman thermopolium were present in the ancient Greek kapeleion, which vended food and wine outside of strictly ceremonial contexts as far back as 475 BCE. Nevertheless, the Pompeiian thermopolia show that humanity's love of fast food runs deep.

The Latin roots "thermo-" and "-polium" literally mean "hot shop" or "place where hot things are sold". As such, ancient fast food centered around economical and portable meals.

Hot stews and soups were a mainstay of the thermopolium, making use of less-than-choice cuts of meat, fish, oysters, and even snails to create nutritious meals that were affordable to the masses. Indeed, most Roman apartments lacked a kitchen, and so it was mostly the middle- and lower-classes that made up a thermopolium's clientele. Common crops such as brassicas, alliums, and legumes added bulk without greatly inflating cost.

However, Roman thermopolia were monolithic neither in their menus nor their clientele. More expensive meat meals catered to the tastes of wealthier patrons and travelers, including chicken, duck, pork, veal, and beef. Meat was often served with bread, especially sausages, since such meals were easily portable. The ancient Romans even had a sort of proto-hamburger called isicia omentata, which was essentially lean meat, fish sauce known as Garum, and wine morphed into a ball or patty, then cooked and served on bread. Other finger foods included plums, olives, figs, dates, walnuts, almonds, and cheeses. Ancient Rome even served their own versions of hand pastries.

The thermopolium was also the place to grab a jug of old-school Roman wine, served either hot or cold. It served a similar function to pubs and bars, where locals and travelers alike could meet and mingle. Some enterprising owners (such as the thermopolium of Asellina) even employed female servants from distant lands to make foreign patrons more comfortable in the company of their kinsfolk in the heart of Rome.