This is a Vintage episode from 2010.

This show was recorded in 2010 and discusses a high fructose corn syrup study in rats. The current human evidence does not support the Princeton rat-study implication that high fructose corn syrup is uniquely more fattening than sucrose, but excess added sugar in our food supply, as well as obesity, are still of concern today.

Why This Episode Matters

Fred Harvey built one of America’s first national hospitality systems, proving that restaurants could scale without abandoning quality, standards, or service.
The Harvey organization changed railroad dining from a punchline into a disciplined operation built on fresh ingredients, trained staff, speed, and consistency.
Stephen Fried’s story connects restaurants to railroads, tourism, the Grand Canyon, Native American art markets, and the development of the American West.
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott draw clear connections between Harvey’s 19th-century service systems and the invisible cues still used in fine dining today.

Banter

Mark and Francis begin with a discussion of a then-new Princeton study on high fructose corn syrup and weight gain. Francis uses the study to talk about how new food ingredients enter the American marketplace, while Mark argues that the rise of high fructose corn syrup seems difficult to separate from broader changes in the American diet and health.

The Conversation

Stephen Fried joins The Restaurant Guys to discuss Appetite for America, his book about Fred Harvey and the railroad hospitality empire that helped shape dining in the American West. After years of eating terrible food while working around the railroads, Harvey began building trackside restaurants along the Santa Fe Railway. What started as a practical solution for hungry passengers became a national hospitality organization built on fresh ingredients, systems, and service.

Stephen explains how Harvey’s restaurants served high-quality meals during short train stops, using railroad logistics and refrigerator cars to bring fresh fish, steaks, imported ingredients, and regional specialties to places where good dining was rare.

The conversation also explores the Harvey Girls, the trained female workforce that became central to the company’s identity and service model. Their precision, speed, and hospitality helped define the Fred Harvey standard.

Stephen also discusses the company’s role in building American tourism, especially at the Grand Canyon and throughout the Southwest, and addresses its complex relationship with Native American art and culture.

After the interview, Mark and Francis reflect on the “magic” of restaurant service: the invisible signals, staff communication, and hospitality systems that make guests feel known without exposing the machinery behind the experience.

Guest Bio

Stephen Fried is an award-winning investigative journalist, essayist, author, and adjunct professor at Columbia University. His book Appetite for America tells the story of Fred Harvey, the entrepreneur whose restaurants, hotels, dining rooms, retail operations, and tourism ventures helped define American hospitality along the Santa Fe Railway and across the West.

Timestamps

00:00 Mark and Francis discuss a Princeton study on high fructose corn syrup.

08:00 Stephen Fried joins the show to talk about Appetite for America and Fred Harvey’s railroad hospitality empire.

13:00 Fresh ingredients, regional cooking, refrigerator cars, and the surprising sophistication of Harvey’s menus.

17:00 How the company expanded into hotels, retail, dining cars, the Grand Canyon, and American tourism.

21:00 Fred Harvey’s relationship with Native American art, commerce, and Southwestern tourism.

25:00 The hidden difficulty of running hospitality businesses and the systems Harvey used to maintain standards.

33:00 The Harvey Girls, women in hospitality,

37:00 The “cup code,” table signals, fresh coffee, fast service, and the invisible systems behind great hospitality.

46:00 Why the Harvey empire failed to become the next Howard Johnson or Hilton.

50:00 Mark and Francis reflect on restaurant tells, hospitality magic, and America’s contribution to restaurant service.

Info

Stephen’s book

Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West

Princeton HFCS study & article

https://www.princeton.edu/news/2010/03/22/sweet-problem-princeton-researchers-find-high-fructose-corn-syrup-prompts

https://paw.princeton.edu/article/study-high-fructose-corn-syrup-stirs-critics

Oprah sued

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/why-us-beef-industry-once-213000339.html

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The First Great American Hospitality Empire | Stephen Fried

The Restaurant Guys

The First Great American Hospitality Empire | Stephen Fried