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James D. Porterfield

Dining By Rail: The History and Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine Paperback – May 15, 1998

by James D. Porterfield (Author)

107 ratings

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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.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

St. Martin's Griffin
Publication date

May 15, 1998
Dimensions

6.94 x 1.06 x 8.95 inches
ISBN-10

0312187114
ISBN-13

978-0312187118
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“...mouthwatering...A sumptuous social history, complete with recipes.” ―Entertainment Weekly

“A wonderful book of interesting information and great food.” ―Merle Ellis, Host of "Cookin' USA," The Nashville Network

“Readers...may find this book fulfilling their wildest dreams...invaluable...For authentic American [cuisine] presented without campiness or apology, this is the source.” ―Publishers Weekly

“[A] loving look at dining cars, first-class meals, and the vanished romance of rail travel.” ―Beverly Bundy, Staff Writer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“...unique, practical and highly informative...Besides 150 priceless photographs, the book contains...simple and easy-to-follow recipes.” ―The Virginia Quarterly Review

“...an entertaining and scholarly book...eloquent.” ―John P. Hankey, Chief Curator, B&O Railroad Museum

“...fascinating...If you're a rail enthusiast who loves to cook, you'll be delighted.” ―The Milwaukee Journal

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.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin; Illustrated edition (May 15, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312187114
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312187118
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.67 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.94 x 1.06 x 8.95 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #562,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #175 in Professional High Quantity Cooking
- #199 in History of Railroads
- #894 in Gastronomy History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
107 ratings

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Anschel V.

Great Gift for Locomotive Lovers

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020

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This was a gift for a friend who is fascinated by older trains and who traveled on them a lot with her family. She is also a wonderful chef. She loved it.Usually it takes her months to finish a book, as she is very busy with her job; but she finished this in a record three weeks, and said she just enjoyed it so much, she didn't want to put it down.

One person found this helpful

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C. M. Stahl

Great historical information

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2013

Verified Purchase

I like American history, railroads, cooking and eating so Porterfield's book piqued several things for me.

His systematic analysis of several of the "units" that worked together to make railroad dining possible while consistently unprofitable. It did employ a lot of people in the railroad industry. As one of the first (perhaps the first) big industries to partially integrate the work force poses a sociological conundrum. Integration brought races together in sort of a tiered fashion but it brought them together.

Also his story about Fred Harvey and his many restaurants designed for rail travelers as well as his "Harvey Girls" described America's first fast food chain pretty well.

The recipes and many illustrative graphics really enhanced the presentation.

My only complaint is pretty minor but it is that Porterfield often used way too many examples to represent points that he was making. It makes me wonder if Porterfield is an academic rather than an avid hobbyist.

All told it was a very refreshing book to read.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

A Fascinating Book for Train and/or Food Enthusiasts

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2013

Verified Purchase

"Dining by Rail" should appeal to at least two types of curious readers; 1) railroad buffs, and 2) foodies. I'm not a real railfan, per se, although I do have a moderate interest in the history and technology of railroads. Even though my wife and I have taken several chartered steam train trips in Argentina, Ecuador and Peru, no one could ever accuse us of being "foamers." Food is another matter entirely--we ARE bona fide, enthusiastic foodies. Our cookbook library contains more than 400 volumes of recipes from all over the world. We spend many hours in the kitchen every weekend making exotic ethnic meals from these books. We've chosen many of our foreign trips at least partially on the basis of the cuisines of the places we planned to visit. And we NEVER eat fast food, but always opt for small, charming, local restaurants if at all possible.

With all that said, I found James D. Porterfield's "Dining by Rail" to be a fascinating book. The 150-or-so-page Section I, "From Soot to Soufflé: Eating on the Train," relates, in great detail and in a highly readable style, the history of dining on trains. The tale starts with trackside food shacks and entrepreneurial purveyors of comestibles who roamed the aisles of passenger cars with fruits, sandwiches, snacks and drinks, all of questionable provenance, in the 1830s. The tale pretty much ends with the glory days of railroad culinary excellence over 100 years later, in the "Golden Age" of the 1930s, when specially equipped and staffed dining cars catered to every appetite of rail travelers, offering fine foods and superb service rivaling that of the finest hotels. Mr. Porterfield tells the whole story of how railroad dining concepts, cuisines, equipment and crews evolved in the years between. He enlivens his authoritative, comprehensive and informative text by including many outstanding vintage black-and-white photos and drawings.

Section II, running well over 200 pages and entitled "The Railroads and their Cuisines," contains more than 300 recipes from dining car menus of America's major railroads, organized by the company that served the item and in some cases featuring historical anecdotes about the recipe. Many of the recipes, such as Canadian Pacific Yellow Pea Soup and Great Northern Chicken Pie, were signature dishes that garnered as much interest among the traveling public as did a railroad's schedule and rolling stock. The thing that surprised me about the recipes is how simple most of them are, and how few ingredients they require. Being used to cooking ethnic meals with, often, literally a dozen spices added, I marveled at recipes with only three or four ingredients that still end up tasting great. But the second section is more than just recipes. It also features several fascinating sidebars on various aspects of railroad dining, such as "Variations: French Toast as Served on Five Railroads" and "Creating the Menu." These bear reading even if you're tempted to skip Section II until you're looking for a recipe.

"Dining by Rail" is a really neat book. I enjoyed it immensely. As a historical study, a railroad travelogue and a cookbook of classic American food at its best, it's a hard-to-beat combination. I recommend it very highly if you have the slightest interest in the subject.

9 people found this helpful

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Elisse

Excellent cookbook with great recipes and the stories behind them!

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2014

Verified Purchase

I love both of James Porterfield's railroad cookbooks (the other one is "From the Dining Car"), as the recipes are interesting and excellent (they all work- my husband is a chef, and he uses the recipes in both books constantly), and the stories are great- well researched and wonderfully written- they make me want to get back on a train and sit in the dining car again SO badly! Not only a book for people who like cook, but for people (like me) who like to READ cookbooks! :-) This is the softcover one we keep in the kitchen!

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Book Reader

Great recipes!

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

Interesting history (although honestly got a bit boring at times), but tons of great recipes that you can easily recreate.

Helpful

j-r

Outstanding history of railroad dining cars

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

Historical information on how the railroad dining car developed w/ photos and menus

Helpful

Lou

Great Information

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2013

Verified Purchase

The first half of this book contains a wealth of information on the golden age of rail in the United States with the concentration on the history and background of the dining services and cars on the US Railroads. This is followed by a selection of recipes and menus that are arranged by railroad in the latter part of the book. This section still continues to provide some historical insight to some of these recipes. All in all this was an enjoyable trip down memory lane for me and a great reference tool.

One person found this helpful

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T. J.

Good eating

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book is about the development of food for passengers, all the way from people selling sandwiches out of baskets when the train stopped,to the development of the restuarants at regular stops for the trains,right up to the development of food prepared right there on the train itself. In addition to all this story, you will get all the fantastic recipies the cooks developed for all kinds of different food.Please enjoy the read and the cooking..

2 people found this helpful

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ROBERT Ramsay

An excellent resource

Reviewed in Canada on July 4, 2017

Verified Purchase

An excellent resource for those who want to learn what it's like to chef on the high iron - and you can try out some of the recipes - don't forget to lay the table with a white cloth, a vase with flowers, and get a bud to crouch beneath it, rocking it up and down and sideways and every which way while you try to eat.

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