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In Appetite for America, Stephen Fried introduces a new generation to Fred Harvey, originator of American fine dining, chain restaurants and newsstands, and the man who arguably did more to tame the Wild West than all the sheriffs combined. Fried’s account is an engaging combination of family saga, historical narrative, entrepreneurial study, and culinary inspiration (famous Harvey recipes are included in an appendix). Fred Harvey brought fresh meat and vegetables to dusty towns where even brewed hot coffee was more than rail travelers could expect to find. Fried can give us those mouthwatering details because Harvey kept meticulous records while developing standardized operating procedures that paved the way for today’s chain operations. Harvey was obsessed with high standards and the finest quality; he was known to jump off a train before it stopped to do a quick inspection of his eateries before the other passengers arrived. His iconic "Harvey girl" waitresses became the first large-scale female work force in America. These single, white women were originally recruited from Kansas and brought gold-standard service, civility, and a pool of prospective wives to many a ruffian cowboy town, even inspiring a 1946 movie starring Judy Garland. The story is all the more captivating given Harvey’s humble start. Seventeen-year-old Fred sailed from England to New York in 1853 with nothing but fierce ambition and two pounds in his pocket. He took a job as a "pot walloper," or dishwasher, and worked his way up to busboy, waiter and line cook, imbibing many lessons about the restaurant business along the way. Later, he moved to Kansas and worked two jobs, railroad ticket agent and newspaper ad salesman. It was his extensive railway commuting experience eating "one ghastly meal after another" that inspired him to open trackside eateries serving affordable, quality food. The federal government tapped Fred Harvey's son Ford to head an advisory board on how to feed tropps and train passengers during World War I. Ford Harvey's experience managing the El Tovar hotel at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon made him a part of the national conversation that eventually led to the creation of the National Park Service. The Fred Harvey family, Western railroad routes and the Southwest all rose to prominence together and are more than loosely intertwined. There are interesting historical tidbits on almost every page, including cameo appearances by George Pullman, George Custer, Clarence Darrow, Clark Gable and many more. This is history as it should be told, with colorful characters and the interplay of personal decisions and happenstance, all set against a national backdrop of cultural changes and technological advances. (Bantam Books, 2010, 518 pps., $27.00) |
In 1905, without the benefit of modern refrigeration or bulk distribution methods, Harvey restaurants managed to serve up 6.48 million eggs and two million pounds of beef in recipes like "Beef Rissoles with Mashed Potatoes" and "French Pancakes Filled with Apricot Marmalade or Cottage Cheese."
