Just found this “review” on a blog called Whiskey Rebel’s Diary from San Marcos, TX. Pretty hilarious, over-the-top and occasionally too true.

08/25/10
I just finished off “Appetite for America” by an author named Stephen Fried. It’s just the sort of social history book I always scoop up at the library. It covers the rise and fall approximately 90 years later of the Fred Harvey food empire that pre-dated Whitecastle, A&W, Howard Johnson’s and other early chain outlets. The founder Fred started his business after enduring a lot of piss poor meals on trains he experienced as a frequent traveling salesman. He hired a workforce of single girls to serve the chow at his depot restaurants in the waning days of the wild west and eventually expanded building hotels, bookstores and serving food on trains. His family continued expanding after his death eventually developing the grand canyon for tourism. Conveniently, Route 66 ran adjacent to the main railroad he service, the Sante Fe, which meant that Fred Harvey was in on the tourist trade that eminated from the “Mother road”. As if this wasn’t enough, the author discusses the huge influence Fred Harvey had on Walt Disney.

Harvey had some interesting ways of doing business that are well explored. He demanded his staffs make fresh coffee every couple hours, a novelty in the late 1800’s. He served superb food cooked often by imported chefs, featuring fresh local goods alongside stuff shipped in, which is the system in vogue with leading chefs of today like Gordon Ramsey and food network superstars. An appendix includes many actual recipes. Fred Harvey himself was known for pulling surprise visits. If he found a sloppy restaurant, he’d get the staffs attention by yanking the linen tablecloth off of a table, sending place settings flying about the room. He had a strict uniform policy for his “Harvey girls” and dormitories they lived in (chaperoned heavily). They worked 6 month shifts and often in spite of what by todays standards seem like tough rules, stayed with the company for many years.

Harvey made a practice of never turning away folks of any race away. He did require that men in his formal dining rooms wear a jacket; if you didn’t want to, you could eat in a less formal lunchroom. The restaurant policy was that if a customer couldn’t afford to eat, they’d be served anyway and treated as well as other guests. During the dustbowl years a lot of Okies were fed when they were obviously broke flatter than a pissant. This sort of generosity led to many people really loving the company.

Hey, I don’t think chains could get away with that sort of program today. They don’t even try to make you love ’em though. I’ve been pissing and moaning around here about the chicken chains all requiring you to buy their crappy string beans, stale rolls and other sides to qualify for the privilege of buying their chicken.

Harvey didn’t serve the slop we know as “fast food.” He served quality food as quickly as possible designed for travelers who had 30 minute stops to eat and shit.

I wish there was an avenging angel of Taco Hell who would pop in and check to see if they were back to serving 1/3rd to 1/2 full taco shells rather than what they advertise.

Colonel Sanders sold chicken; KFC sells sides and discourages you from eating just chicken since the markup is so much higher on their fountain drinks and sides.

I like to think Harvey would have horsewhipped employees with such selfish, greedy perspectives.

and quite a handsome young man, too.

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