Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley

by Mollie Cox Bryan

A collection of beloved comfort food recipes from the legendary Shenandoah Valley restaurant, Mrs. Rowe's.

In 1947, single mother Mildred Rowe started a small restaurant in the foothills of Appalachia. Today, her restaurant serves half a million locals and visitors a year, making it the most popular reason to stop over in Staunton, Virginia. MRS. ROWE'S RESTAURANT COOKBOOK tells the story of this Shenandoah Valley institution and collects the best of Mrs. Rowe's cherished home-style recipes--timeless American comfort food like spoon bread, fried chicken, and cherry pie. Illustrated with beautiful vintage photographs, this nostalgic tribute is guaranteed to fill hearts and bellies with a hankering for a real home-cooked meal.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2006

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally read cook books cover to cover like this, but I couldn't help it here. This was such a fantastic book. Mollie Bryan stuck in stories, anecdotes and quotes about Mrs. Rowe throughout the cookbook, and in doing so completely brought this amazing woman to life. Reading the stories, I felt like I knew her, like she was sitting right next to me, but at the same time there was a piece of sadness that I never met her while she was living. And, as silly as this sounds, I felt like I needed to do my part in carrying on her work in my own little corner of the universe. If everyone possessed just half the spirit and kindness Mrs. Rowe did . . . wow, what an amazing world this would be.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful recipes for food I grew up with and love. Parts of the life story of restaurant creator Mildred Rowe are interwoven with her recipes. Her food from them is still served in Staunton, VA. by her family at Mrs. Rowe's Family Restaurant and Bakery. I have eaten there and it is divine. You cannot read this book without becoming immediately hungry. It includes my favorite Virginia [not Southern] dish, spoon bread! I make spoon bread, as I like it from a Washington box mix, but that is probably not available many places outside Virginia.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just received this book in the past week and have read it cover to cover. So far, I've made three recipes from this book, the strawberry jam, chocolate cream pie, and baked stuffed pork chops, and let me assure you, each recipe is a keeper! I am thrilled with the results. With such tasty, homemade recipes like this, it's no wonder to me why and how Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant is so well known. Will be buying her pies book next!

[Minna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The historical portions about Mildred Rowe were far more interesting than the bulk of the recipes, which were mostly nothing very unique.
I did mark two sauce recipes to try out, but for everything else, I pretty much already have a keeper recipe that I'm not looking to supplant.
The historical parts WERE fascinating, though. That Mildred is a tough cookie!