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Tray Chic: Celebrating Indiana's Cafeteria Culture
Sam Stall lovingly tells the stories of Indiana's cafeteria culture, its culinary and cultural history, dotes on beloved house specialties, like fried chicken, cream pies and other delectable Hoosier comfort food, and collects photos and memorabilia that recall a time gone by. It's time to eat!
128 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 11, 2014
A fun, fascinating read
Cafeterias.
"They're about as state-of-the-art as a brontosaurus. And almost as rare. Unless you live in Indiana." (p. 6)
Indiana, with its love of tradition (or is it fear of change?) has somehow kept the traditional cafeterias open and thriving, especially in central Indiana.
In Tray Chic: Celebrating Indiana's Cafeteria Culture , Sam Stall explores the history of cafeterias in general and then explores the particular restaurants that have survived from those days of the dinosaur until today, including the recently closed "Laughner's"(the granddaddy of them all), MCL (the biggest chain), Gray Brothers (probably the best), Poe's (located just a stone's throw from Gray's - it gets a lot of their overflow business) and Jonathan Byrd's (with the biggest cafeteria line in the world). Add to that a cafeteria in Oolitic and Shapiro's, a cafeteria that disguises itself as a deli, throw in a discussion concerning the differences between a cafeteria and a buffet, add lots of humor and great interviews with these successful business owners and you have the recipe for a fun, breezy read about a bit of Hoosier culture.
A must for that proud devotee of that Hoosier culture.
See all of my reviews of books about Indiana here: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/searc...
Cafeterias.
"They're about as state-of-the-art as a brontosaurus. And almost as rare. Unless you live in Indiana." (p. 6)
Indiana, with its love of tradition (or is it fear of change?) has somehow kept the traditional cafeterias open and thriving, especially in central Indiana.
In Tray Chic: Celebrating Indiana's Cafeteria Culture , Sam Stall explores the history of cafeterias in general and then explores the particular restaurants that have survived from those days of the dinosaur until today, including the recently closed "Laughner's"(the granddaddy of them all), MCL (the biggest chain), Gray Brothers (probably the best), Poe's (located just a stone's throw from Gray's - it gets a lot of their overflow business) and Jonathan Byrd's (with the biggest cafeteria line in the world). Add to that a cafeteria in Oolitic and Shapiro's, a cafeteria that disguises itself as a deli, throw in a discussion concerning the differences between a cafeteria and a buffet, add lots of humor and great interviews with these successful business owners and you have the recipe for a fun, breezy read about a bit of Hoosier culture.
A must for that proud devotee of that Hoosier culture.
See all of my reviews of books about Indiana here: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/searc...
November 18, 2007
This book is a slim, paperback pictorial that looks at about a half-dozen cafeteria (not buffet!) restaurants in the Hoosier state - from the venerable Laughner's (in business for almost 100 years, unfortunately closing in 2000) & still-successful MCL to tiny Maxine's (?) in Oolitic, IN.
Definitely of regional interest, but a pleasant peek into a pop culture nugget.
Definitely of regional interest, but a pleasant peek into a pop culture nugget.
April 14, 2008
Great book for Hoosiers everywhere!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews