Dining by Rail: The History and Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine

by James D. Porterfield

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312187114
• ISBN13: 9780312187118
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Dining By Rail.........WOW!

Great book! Wonderful back story of an era mostly gone. Recipes are particularly interesting and became the theme for a wonderful party. Research done by the author is staggering. Bravo!

Great Food from the Dining Car

Really a fun book to have for the railroader with someone who loves to cook. Tons of fine recipies from railroads all over the country. SOME EXPERIENCE REQUIRED! I tried my hand at a dish, but it didn't turn out right despite following directions to the letter. Recently, Mom and I were successful. Her years of cooking experience handed down from Grandma paid off, because she noticed a missing step. Some basic preparation steps are left out becuase by the time a cook was assigned to the diner, he didn't need to see everything on paper. Since then, Mom and I have enjoyed many more weekend cooking classes with the dining car cookbook. Although many projects have turned out well, I'll always recall our first as my personal favorite: Western Pacific Rice Cream Pie. Good times!

Nostaligia food at its best

The book "Dining by Rail" was purchased at the urging of a ten-year old son who is a rabid railfan. The book not only has a treasure trove of the most famous recipes from all the different rail lines, but it features a marvelous history of railroads from the point of view of the customer, the cooks, and others whose job it was to provide customer service. One also learns how the menus on the trains reflected the relations with the most important commercial customers of the railroad, an aspect nostalgic railfans don't always think about. The book is well written and carefully researched. The pictures are evocative, and the recipes very easy to follow and recreate. Altogether, this book is providing my son and me with a interesting and tasty railroad education!

The best history of railroad dining cars

To those who travel by plane today "food service" is the stuff of jokes. If you love food and travel pick up this book. The railroad dining car was the best place to eat in town - whatever town it happened to be in at that moment!You will find the recipes easy to use and interesting to explore. There are multiple recipes for French Toast - our family has come to use the Santa Fe recipe often.

Great slice of American history

Although my best friend called me a "weirdo" for reading this book, I'm glad I did. "Railroad dining" may sound like arcane history, but there is a lot of information about general railroad history, design and maintenance in addition to the fascinating history of passenger service. George Pullman is now one of my heroes. The recipes themselves are a fascinating look at what was "fancy" back in the early 1900's. Lots of game meat, fish, no vegetable or ethnic entrees. I'm not sure if I'll ever make anything out of this book, but some of them do look good.If you're a railfan or a foodie (or both, like me), get this book. Very well researched and written.