Book Review: PLATES + DISHES

"Plates & Dishes: The Food And Faces Of The Roadside Diner" (Stephan Schacher)

A trip across America is the dream of many Europeans. At the tender age of nineteen, photographer Stephan Schacher undertook a typical sightseeing tour of the United States, from coast to coast on the Kerouac trail, visiting the cities and monuments, both natural and man-made, along the legendary Route 66. Almost 20 years later, Schacher decided to take a second trip across North America. This time, however, things would be done a little differently: Driving from upstate New York to Northern Alaska, almost 11,000 kilometers across Canada and the United States, Schacher decided photograph every meal along the way, as well as every waitress who served it.

What may sound like a goofy, drunken college idea dreamed up at three o'clock in the morning became a serious undertaking for Schacher. Eating exclusively in roadside diners, the author blazes a low-brow culinary trail across the continent, braving greasy hamburgers and questionable seafood platters. The book itself is handsomely crafted. After turning page after page of greasy diner cuisine, one begins to wonder just how many t-bone steaks and onion rings a man can eat before his heart explodes.

Using specialty paper, muted colors, and creative typography, it sits well on the nightstand or coffee table for the casual reading session. Making meticulous records of his mileage, food expenditures, and the times of arrival and departure, Schacher is able to painstakingly recreate his entire journey in facts and figures to complement the irresistibly personal experience of the solitary roadside meal.