Tray Chic: Celebrating Indiana's Cafeteria Culture [Paperback]

Sam Stall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Sam Stall lovingly tells the stories of Indiana's cafeteria culture, its culinary and cultural history, dotes on beloved house specialties, like fried chicken, cream pies and other delectable Hoosier comfort food, and collects photos and memorabilia that recall a time gone by. It's time to eat!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Author Sam Stall has created a loving and informative look at the cafeteria culture of Indiana, packed with photos, memorabilia, and recipes that hearken back to days gone by.

From the Author

"Indiana cafeterias are simply different—and superior to—what most people grew up with. They aren’t innocuous chains or plebian, bottom-of-the-barrel feeding troughs. They’re culinary landmarks."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Clerisy Press, Emmis Books (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578601363
• ISBN-13: 978-1578601363
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,126,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun, fascinating read, November 6, 2009

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tray Chic: Celebrating Indiana's Cafeteria Culture (Paperback)

Cafeterias.

"They're about as state-of-the-art as a brontosaurus. And almost as rare. Unless you live in Indiana." (p. 6)

Indiana, with its love of tradition (or is it fear of change?) has somehow kept the traditional cafeterias open and thriving, especially in central Indiana.

Sam Stall explores the history of cafeterias in general and then explores the particular restaurants that have survived from those days of the dinosaur until today, including the recently closed "Laughner's"(the granddaddy of them all), MCL (the biggest chain), Gray Brothers (probably the best), Poe's (located just a stone's throw from Gray's - it gets a lot of their overflow business) and Jonathan Byrd's (with the biggest cafeteria line in the world). Add to that a cafeteria in Oolitic and Shapiro's, a cafeteria that disguises itself as a deli, throw in a discussion concerning the differences between a cafeteria and a buffet, add lots of humor and great interviews with these successful business owners and you have the recipe for a fun, breezy read about a bit of Hoosier culture.

A must for that proud devotee of Hoosier culture.