Is there an archive of old, original Roadfood?

Hi guys,

I've been a serious fan of your books for more than 20 years, ever since my wife and I took a driving trip through the American west with (I wanna say it was your very first edition of) Roadfood on the front seat between us.

I DO have one lingering memory of that vacation that I've never been able to quite satisfy, however. Driving south from Denver, down into New Mexico, we stopped for some great home-made mexican food on a tip from that book. But it was at a bakery that didn't advertise their lunch-plates at all - you had to KNOW they served food, and thanks to Roadfood, we did.

That first copy went with my wife (or into the trash) when we split up... and checking subsequent editions, I've never been able to find another reference to the place, or even a clue where it might have been. Any ideas?

If you've got one of those "oldie but goodie" editions on a bookshelf shelf somewhere, I'd sure love to know... And obviously if the place is still around, I'd love to know that, too. As the January chill deepens in Pennsylvania, I feel another wanderlust coming on.

Believe it or not, the local library may have an old copy. I found an old copy at mine going back to the early 1980's

Hi, Bridgeman;

You're right, it was in the very first edition of Roadfood (1978!): La Mexicana in Pueblo, right off I-25. The proprietor was Manuel Ramirez; and he made great burritos from shredded -- not ground -- beef. It's long out of business, I believe. I would cut and paste the review file here for old time's sake, but it was written when the only computer I'd ever heard of was a Univac!

Thanks to both of you. Now I can put this one to rest.

It's funny how food-memories can haunt, like few other things in life.

Michael, I often wonder about the sequence of the dining guide books. You and Jane have authored many titles, and I cannot necessarily tell from the titles which books are actual national dining guides. I have 4 recent dining guide books, dating from Roadfood (1992).

Could you sometime list the dining guides and publication dates in order, from the first to the most recent? I would greatly appreciate the help, as I hope to dig up the older guides.

Postscript: I knew you would answer Mr. Bridgeman's query and was looking forward to it.

I was wondering if one could purchase a 1978 edition of ROADFOOD and it is available for thirty bucks! Listen to the description;

Roadfood
Stern, Michael
PUBLISHED: 1978, number line: 6 8 9 7 5, Random House
Subjects: Travel
DESCRIPTION: ISBN 0-394-73508-0 Softcover, very good, 384 pages. This book is moderately worn, bumped at spine, edges, corners. The rear cover is torn at the spine. The front cover is bent. The corners are rolled

Mine has food stains and lots of notations so I am sure it is worth much more!

Ebay is a great resource for tracking down out out of print copies of the Stern's books. They are all listed from time to time. If you're looking for a particular title, you just have to be patient and diligent about watching for it to come up for auction.

Even better is half.com, which is affiliated with ebay but uses set prices. Right now, half.com has a copy of the 1978 Roadfood for 91 cents plus postage.

JimInKy, hope this helps:

Roadfood - 1977
Goodfood - 1983
Where To Eat In Connecticut - 1985 (collected reviews from their stint with a Hartford newspaper)
Roadfood and Goodfood - 1986 (the 2 earlier guides combined and significantly updated)
A Taste Of America - 1988 (collected syndicated columns with recipes)
Roadfood - 1992
Eat Your Way Across The U.S.A. - 1997
Eat Your Way Across The U.S.A. - 1999 (they ARE different)
Blue Plate Specials & Blue Ribbon Chefs - 2001 (includes a recipe for each restaurant)
Roadfood - 2002

There's also some good dining info on the American SW in Way Out West - 1993

Bruce and Sue, Thank you so much for taking time to provide this information. I imagine you're aware that the recent dining guides (the last 3 anyway) do not list Jane and Michael's published books. Which is unusual.

I've saved your emailed list and will run with it. Thank you again.

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Bilmes & Sue Boyle

JimInKy, hope this helps:

Roadfood - 1977
Goodfood - 1983
Where To Eat In Connecticut - 1985 (collected reviews from their stint with a Hartford newspaper)
Roadfood and Goodfood - 1986 (the 2 earlier guides combined and significantly updated)
A Taste Of America - 1988 (collected syndicated columns with recipes)
Roadfood - 1992
Eat Your Way Across The U.S.A. - 1997
Eat Your Way Across The U.S.A. - 1999 (they ARE different)
Blue Plate Specials & Blue Ribbon Chefs - 2001 (includes a recipe for each restaurant)
Roadfood - 2002

There's also some good dining info on the American SW in Way Out West - 1993

That's it! Here's the complete list, including non dining guides:

AMBULANCE GIRL (Crown Publishers) 2003, by Jane Stern
CARBONE'S COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2003
HARRY CARAY'S RESTAURANT COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2003
LOUIE’S BACK YARD COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2003
THE DURGIN-PARK COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2002
THE EL CHARRO COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2002
THE BLUE WILLOW INN COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2002
ROADFOOD (Broadway Books) 2002
BLUE PLATE SPECIALS & BLUE RIBBON CHEFS – THE HEART AND SOUL OF AMERICA’S GREAT ROADSIDE CAFES (Lebhar-Friedman) 2001
[PERFECTION SALAD by Laura Shapiro; introduction by Michael Stern (Modern Library) 2001]
SQUARE MEALS (Lebhar-Friedman) 2000 [revised and updated]
CHILI NATION (Broadway Books) 1999
TWO PUPPIES (Scribner) 1998
EAT YOUR WAY ACROSS THE USA (Broadway Books) 1997, 1999
DOG EAT DOG: A Very Human Book about Dogs and Dog Shows (Scribner) 1997
HAPPY TRAILS: Our Life Story (Simon & Schuster) with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, 1994
WAY OUT WEST (HarperCollins) 1993
JANE & MICHAEL STERN'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POP CULTURE (HarperCollins) 1992
ROADFOOD (new edition) (HarperCollins) 1992
AMERICAN GOURMET (HarperCollins) 1991
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BAD TASTE (HarperCollins) 1990
SIXTIES PEOPLE (Knopf) 1990
A TASTE OF AMERICA (Andrews & McMeel) 1988
ELVIS WORLD (Knopf) 1987
REAL AMERICAN FOOD (Knopf) 1986
ROADFOOD & GOODFOOD (Knopf) 1986
WHERE TO EAT IN CONNECTICUT (Globe-Pequot)
SQUARE MEALS (Knopf) 1984
GOODFOOD (Knopf) 1983
HORROR HOLIDAY (Dutton) 1981
FRIENDLY RELATIONS (Random House) 1979
DOUGLAS SIRK (G.K. Hall)
AUTO ADS (Random House) 1978
ROADFOOD (Random House) 1978, 1980
AMAZING AMERICA (Random House) 1978
TRUCKER: A PORTRAIT OF THE LAST AMERICAN COWBOY (McGraw-Hill) 1976

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

I was wondering if one could purchase a 1978 edition of ROADFOOD and it is available for thirty bucks! Listen to the description;

Roadfood

Stern, Michael
PUBLISHED: 1978, number line: 6 8 9 7 5, Random House
Subjects: Travel
DESCRIPTION: ISBN 0-394-73508-0 Softcover, very good, 384 pages. This book is moderately worn, bumped at spine, edges, corners. The rear cover is torn at the spine. The front cover is bent. The corners are rolled

Mine has food stains and lots of notations so I am sure it is worth much more!

Ouch! How painful! Michael, I hope your bumped spine, bent front cover and torn rear cover feel better real soon!

Thank you for publishing the full list, Michael. There are a few more titles than I was aware of. Incidentally, I'm on a reserve list for Jane's, Ambulance Girl and am including The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook in my next Amazon order.

I like to give books as gifts, and have noted the dining guides are gifts people really enjoy receiving. To date, I've given two of them as gifts.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Stern

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Bilmes & Sue Boyle

JimInKy, hope this helps:

Roadfood - 1977
Goodfood - 1983
Where To Eat In Connecticut - 1985 (collected reviews from their stint with a Hartford newspaper)
Roadfood and Goodfood - 1986 (the 2 earlier guides combined and significantly updated)
A Taste Of America - 1988 (collected syndicated columns with recipes)
Roadfood - 1992
Eat Your Way Across The U.S.A. - 1997
Eat Your Way Across The U.S.A. - 1999 (they ARE different)
Blue Plate Specials & Blue Ribbon Chefs - 2001 (includes a recipe for each restaurant)
Roadfood - 2002

There's also some good dining info on the American SW in Way Out West - 1993

That's it! Here's the complete list, including non dining guides:

AMBULANCE GIRL (Crown Publishers) 2003, by Jane Stern
CARBONE'S COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2003
HARRY CARAY'S RESTAURANT COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2003
LOUIE’S BACK YARD COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2003
THE DURGIN-PARK COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2002
THE EL CHARRO COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2002
THE BLUE WILLOW INN COOKBOOK (Rutledge Hill Press) 2002
ROADFOOD (Broadway Books) 2002
BLUE PLATE SPECIALS & BLUE RIBBON CHEFS – THE HEART AND SOUL OF AMERICA’S GREAT ROADSIDE CAFES (Lebhar-Friedman) 2001
[PERFECTION SALAD by Laura Shapiro; introduction by Michael Stern (Modern Library) 2001]
SQUARE MEALS (Lebhar-Friedman) 2000 [revised and updated]
CHILI NATION (Broadway Books) 1999
TWO PUPPIES (Scribner) 1998
EAT YOUR WAY ACROSS THE USA (Broadway Books) 1997, 1999
DOG EAT DOG: A Very Human Book about Dogs and Dog Shows (Scribner) 1997
HAPPY TRAILS: Our Life Story (Simon & Schuster) with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, 1994
WAY OUT WEST (HarperCollins) 1993
JANE & MICHAEL STERN'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POP CULTURE (HarperCollins) 1992
ROADFOOD (new edition) (HarperCollins) 1992
AMERICAN GOURMET (HarperCollins) 1991
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BAD TASTE (HarperCollins) 1990
SIXTIES PEOPLE (Knopf) 1990
A TASTE OF AMERICA (Andrews & McMeel) 1988
ELVIS WORLD (Knopf) 1987
REAL AMERICAN FOOD (Knopf) 1986
ROADFOOD & GOODFOOD (Knopf) 1986
WHERE TO EAT IN CONNECTICUT (Globe-Pequot)
SQUARE MEALS (Knopf) 1984
GOODFOOD (Knopf) 1983
HORROR HOLIDAY (Dutton) 1981
FRIENDLY RELATIONS (Random House) 1979
DOUGLAS SIRK (G.K. Hall)
AUTO ADS (Random House) 1978
ROADFOOD (Random House) 1978, 1980
AMAZING AMERICA (Random House) 1978
TRUCKER: A PORTRAIT OF THE LAST AMERICAN COWBOY (McGraw-Hill) 1976

Holy Toledo! I think this qualifies Jane and Michael for the titles of "Will and Ariel Durant of Food Writing"

quote:

Originally posted by EliseT

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

I was wondering if one could purchase a 1978 edition of ROADFOOD and it is available for thirty bucks! Listen to the description;

Roadfood

Stern, Michael
PUBLISHED: 1978, number line: 6 8 9 7 5, Random House
Subjects: Travel
DESCRIPTION: ISBN 0-394-73508-0 Softcover, very good, 384 pages. This book is moderately worn, bumped at spine, edges, corners. The rear cover is torn at the spine. The front cover is bent. The corners are rolled

Mine has food stains and lots of notations so I am sure it is worth much more!

Ouch! How painful! Michael, I hope your bumped spine, bent front cover and torn rear cover feel better real soon!

Yeah. And the 384 pages. That's about two-dozen less than former Senator Bob Packwood (R-OR). But keep trying!

We still carry the '92 edition of "Roadfood" and the '99 "Eat your way across the USA" in the seatback pouch for quick reference as we travel, and surf this site for planning when we have some idea about where we will probably be when it is time to eat. I am not a cooker, just an eater, so the cookbooks don't interest me. I sure wish that the "Streets and Trips" maps would work in my navigation system (or that the roadfood flags could somehow be included in the Alpine icon group) so we could be alerted to sites as we travel.

Isn't there a new Jane & Michael book coming out mid April?

quote:

Originally posted by carlton pierre

Isn't there a new Jane & Michael book coming out mid April?

Thanks for asking. The new edition of Roadfood will be shipping to bookstores any day now. And there's a Loveless Cafe cookbook due out soon, too.

(And, while horn-tooting, I may as well mention that production has started on the movie of Jane's book Ambulance Girl. Kathy Bates plays Jane [and is directing it]. It is is a Lifetime TV movie, planned to air in the fall.)