Dining By Rail: The History and Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine - Softcover

Porterfield, James D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312187114 ISBN 13: 9780312187118

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 1998

Synopsis

Dining by Rail is James D. Porterfield's book of history and recipes from America's golden age of railroad cuisine. Porterfield is a devotee of railroad history and a gourmet cook, and while preparing this book he sorted through 7,500 railroad recipes. Full of authentic menus and classic recipes like Lobster Newburg, deviled eggs and blanc mange, Dining by Rail is the book for anyone who has ever dreamed of returning to the days of glamorous travel.

About this title

About the Author:

James D. Porterfield is a devotee of railroad history and a gourmet cook. He sorted through 7,500 authentic railroad recipes while preparing Dining By Rail. He lives and teaches in State College, Pennsylvania.

From Publishers Weekly:

Readers who sigh at the names "Super Chief" and "Zephyr," and who remember the meal Cary Grant ate on the train in North by Northwest , may find this book fulfilling their wildest dreams. In an attempt to "preserve a record of one of the ways we used to eat," rail fan and Penn State professor Porterfield presents a detailed history of train dining. Beginning as an alternative to railroad station eateries, train dining reached its peak in 1930, when 1732 railroad dining cars were registered with the Interstate Commerce Commission, and all but ended in 1971 with telegrams like the May 1 order to Union Pacific to shut its passenger lines and make way for Amtrak. Model railroaders and social historians will find the 150 photographs and illustrations invaluable: a photo spread with dimensions of the pantry of the New York Central's Twentieth Century Limited, a sample 1920s dinner menu from the Milwaukee Railroad's Pioneer Limited, descriptions of staff sleeping quarters. The second half of the book offers 250 recipes from 48 railroad lines, featuring early-20th-century fare like Lobster Newburg New York Central, Poinsettia Salad-Merchant's Limited and Baked Potato Pennsylvania. For authentic American versions of lamb fricassee, deviled eggs and blanc mange presented without campiness or apology, this is the source.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0312187114
• ISBN 13: 9780312187118
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 408