Books for the Foodie in Your Life

Our American Palate collection celebrates timeless recipes and food history from America’s famous kitchens, much-loved local diners, and lost-but-not-forgotten restaurants. Sip a flight at famed local breweries, sample the food truck scene, or savor the flavor of famed culinary cities from Portland to Savannah. Serve your favorite foodie a delicious slice of regional culinary history.
4 products
Cover image for A History of Howard Johnson's, isbn: 9781609494285
A History of Howard Johnson's
Anthony M. Sammarco
$21.99
Cover image for Harvey Houses of New Mexico, isbn: 9781626198593
Harvey Houses of New Mexico
Rosa Walston Latimer
$21.99
Cover image for Better Made in Michigan, isbn: 9781626199859
Better Made in Michigan
Karen Dybis
$21.99
Cover image for Candyland in the Twin Cities, isbn: 9781626193635
Candyland in the Twin Cities
Susan M. Barbieri
$21.99
Anthony M. Sammarco

A History of Howard Johnson's

9781609494285

$21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%

Learn more about the Father of the Franchise Industry in this illuminating history about the Howard Johnson restaurant franchise and the man behind it all.


Howard Johnson created an orange-roofed empire of ice cream stands and restaurants that stretched from Maine to Florida, and all the way to the West Coast. With a reputation for good food at affordable prices, hungry customers would regularly return for more. The attractive white Colonial Revival restaurants, with eye-catching porcelain tile roofs, illuminated cupolas and sea blue shutters, were described in Reader's Digest in 1949 as the epitome of eating places that look like New England town meeting houses dressed up for Sunday. Highlighted in television shows such as Mad Men and films Netflix's 2019 The Irishman, it's obvious that Howard Johnson's occupies an indelible and pleasant place popular culture. Boston historian and author Anthony M. Sammarco recounts how Howard Johnson introduced twenty-eight flavors of ice cream, the Tendersweet clam strips, grilled frankforts and a menu of delicious and traditional foods that families eagerly enjoyed when they traveled.

Cover image for A History of Howard Johnson's, isbn: 9781609494285
Rosa Walston Latimer

Harvey Houses of New Mexico

9781626198593

$21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
The Santa Fe Line and the famous Fred Harvey restaurants forever changed New Mexico and the Southwest, bringing commerce, culture and opportunity to a desolate frontier. The first Harvey Girls ever hired staffed the Raton location. In a departure from the ubiquitous black and white uniform immortalized by Judy Garland in 1946's Harvey Girls, many of New Mexico's Harvey Girls wore colorful dresses reflective of local culture. In Albuquerque, the Harvey-managed Alvarado Hotel doubled as a museum for carefully curated native art. Join author Rosa Walston Latimer and discover New Mexico's unique history of hospitality the Fred Harvey way.
Cover image for Harvey Houses of New Mexico, isbn: 9781626198593
Karen Dybis

Better Made in Michigan

9781626199859

$21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
For many, Detroit is the crunch capital of the world. More than forty local chip companies once fed the Motor City's never-ending appetite for salty snacks, including New Era, Everkrisp, Krun-Chee, Mello Crisp, Wolverine and Vita-Boy. Only Better Made remains. From the start, the brand was known for light, crisp chips that were near to perfection. Discover how Better Made came to be, how its chips are made and how competition has shaped the industry into what it is today. Bite into the flavorful history of Michigan's most iconic chip as author Karen Dybis explores how Detroit chipreneurs rose from  garage-based businesses to become snack food royalty.
Cover image for Better Made in Michigan, isbn: 9781626199859
Susan M. Barbieri

Candyland in the Twin Cities

9781626193635

$21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
When Candyland opened its doors in downtown St. Paul in 1932, it was called Flavo Korn and sold mainly popcorn to office workers and the throngs that lined up outside the many sparkling downtown movie palaces. Streetcars plied the brick-paved streets before giving way to buses, and the corner of Wabasha and Seventh Streets was considered the heart of St. Paul and the city's own movie row. The movie theaters and streetcars are long gone, but over the years, Candyland has survived momentous social change and urban revitalization efforts to become a destination for generations of visitors lured by the store's signature popcorn blends and delectable homemade chocolates and fudge.
Cover image for Candyland in the Twin Cities, isbn: 9781626193635