[Publib] "Supper club" (research in applied linguistics)

[Donna Jo Atwood]

I know it is well past Friday, but I'm just getting to my mail.
Being from Iowa originally and loooong ago, I can tell you that the Supper
Clubs in my area of central Iowa during the days of no liquor by the drink
(and if you want ANY booze including beer you go to the state liquor store
with your ration book) were usually places that were just outside the city
limits and had slightly questionable reputations.  Usually the food was
good, and you'd bring your own liquor to add to the drinks.  By the time I
got to college the state legislature passed new state liquor laws and the
rest is probably history. I don't know how true any of this is of other
areas, though.

Donna Jo Atwood
Reference Librarian 
Olathe (KS) Public Library

John Richmond, communicating with me off list, noted that the term "supper
club" seems to be a phenomenon of the Upper Midwest, even more specifically
of the Upper Mississippi Valley.

: What is it that makes it a "supper club"?  My impression is hearty fare
(steak, pork, catfish), "fanciness" (table linens and possibly a dress code
though not too stringent a one), and the possibility of live entertainment,
along with the availability of alcohol, of course.