In a Paris bar, what is a "zinc"?
In "Le Ventre de Paris" ("The Belly of Paris", 1873), the third novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series "Les Rougon-Macquart", the author refers to "le zinc" and describes it simply as a counter for serving customers in bars and cafés. As one might expect, it acquired its name from the galvanized steel countertop on which the drinks were served.
Later the term came to characterise the type of cafés and bar that would feature a "zinc" typically serving coffee, wine, beer and snacks.
Many of these bars were stripped of their metal during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. However, many survived; and today many new bars are also incorporating the classic style of "le zinc".
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