The Harvey House Cookbook: Memories of Dining Along the Santa Fe Railroad

by George H. Foster, Peter C. Weiglin

In the 1870s, people traveling west of the Mississippi were still venturing into the wild. Loud, smoke-belching trains might have cut across the rough terrain, but harsh weather, rigid seats, and short breaks for bad food in the middle of nowhere showed the West was by no means won. Entrepreneur Fred Harvey had an eye for such problems and a nerve for the impossible. In 1876, he began establishing high-quality dining rooms along the Santa Fe Railroad, and his Harvey Houses helped change the entire picture of the American West.
Recapture the spirit of the first western railway excursions with The Harvey House Cookbook. Its 200-plus vintage recipes, numerous period photos, and fascinating stories will take readers back to one of America's legendary experiences in the Old West.

Genres: Cookbooks, History, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

Reviews

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is deceiving because it is not only a cookbook. It is a history book as well. "Memories of Dining along the Santa Fe Railroad". It is all about Fred Harvey wanting to establish quality dining rooms along the Santa Fe Railroad, his Harvey Houses, and the "Harvey Girls".
It was a great read for history lovers, and the period photographs say a lot. Not only that but there are over 200 vintage recipes, many of which I am going to try myself.

[Sondra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the very short snippets which laid out the historical context for the railroad. I also truly enjoyed the recipes and I loved seeing how many things can be made from the same simple ingredients. Also it was great to see a glimpse into the past to see how people ate similarly and differently from how we do today.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit of a vanity project - the author is a fan - so it's more of a fun read than a deep dive. Still, as a fellow fan I really enjoyed the history and reading through the recipes.

The history is interspersed with many black and white photographs, and then a section of recipes. Fred Harvey was a self-made man in the mode of many in the railroad era and Gilded Age. As the railroads grew, so did his business model. Each historical section takes on a different theme or time-frame or aspect of Fred's business. His own life and beginnings, the need for his model, its earliest days, the diverse elements of the company at the peak of fame (at one time comprising trackside service, resort hotels at tourist destinations, dining and club cars on trains themselves, newsstands in train stations, and even airplane dining service), and then the precipitous decline as air travel allowed people to skip over the many stations that Harvey served. There isn't a lot on any one element, but just enough to appreciate something about it.

Some of the most interesting information was Fred Harvey's influence - through a woman designer and architect, Mary Colter - on bringing Native American design to tourists and travelers to the American West. She's one of two very famous women architects who worked in the west (the other was Julia Morgan, who famously worked on the Hearst Castle, and designed hundreds of other California buildings).

The recipes are fun - yes, you could cook some of them (maybe many of them depending on your taste) today. By and large, people ate a LOT more sauced meats and fish than they do now, and some of the recipes have been long superseded by less Americanized or fussy versions. But reading them brings back a bygone era, when east coast Americans were first learning about and tasting any version of Mexican or Asian (often Polynesian) food.

This made me want to do a themed dinner (maybe good for a fundraiser) either at a train museum that has several dining cars or by building something that feels like a few of them and serving this food in that setting. If that sounds fun to you, then I highly recommend this book!

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes esoteric cookbooks, railroad or southwest history, the railroad or Gilded Age, or the hospitality business.

[Stacey Wittig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would love to have this book in my personal library. Good story telling introduces each chapter of Fred Harvey recipes.

[Xyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book! It includes a history of the Harvey Houses that lined the railroads of our country as well as recipes made in the houses and later in the dining cars.

One of our favorite recipes is in this book. I go back to it again and again...Beef Stroganoff. Why is this recipe so special? I can get any number of stroganoff recipes easily in any cookbook. That is quite true. However, if you have someone in your family who either does not like mushrooms or is allergic to them - this recipe is perfect. It does not include mushrooms, but is still super creamy and yummy.

Lots of great recipes and information here. If you have seen the movie The Harvey Girls with Judy Garland this gives added depth to the life the Harvey employees' history.

I've read the book cover to cover 2 times and many more time for just the recipes.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This combines two of my favourite things: cooking and history. This is an amazing rags to riches story. The best part about it is that it's a true story. It also contains some amazing recipes. I can't wait to try them for myself!

[Cathy Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

great insight into a phase of the settling of the West that I knew nothing about. The Harvey girls impact on the civilizing of the American West picked up a few good recipes too