What an unusual and very quirky novel! I was really not so sure about whether I was going to like this book when I started reading it, as I do love action, twists, and a lot more drama.
Having said that, as we progressed into the book, there was a certain amount of drama, albeit of the very unusual kind! I did rather make me wonder whether I was reading a true account, or a novel, at times. The amount of detail and minutiae was excellent.
I thoroughly enjoyed most of the characters, and got quite sad when I realised I was nearing the end. The conclusion was excellently handled.

This is not the type of book I normally read, but it managed to hold my attention to the end, mainly because of the interesting characters and setting - the dining car itself. While I got a bit lost in the gastronomical discussions - the names of fancy foods, wines and spirits, for the most part, went right over my head - I enjoyed the story itself. I especially liked that the characters, particularly the narrator, Jack, grew and changed over the course of the novel. At first he seemed mostly self-absorbed and self-pitying, but he matured into a responsible and very likeable guy as the story progressed. Overall, a good read, and probably even more enjoyable for those with greater knowledge of fine dining and drinking than I have.

This could possibly make one funny movie! I loved the characters, well-written and interesting. The Pullman car setting was cool. The story itself is pretty humorous! Fun read for summer! I imagine it's one of those keeper books to read over again on a vacation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Huckleberry House for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read - fun, funny and fast read.

This is a terrific novel that is written in such a way that one feels as though one is reading a memoir.

Jack, a young man recently recovered from the accident that destroyed his football career, finds himself out of a job, after leaving a questionable "gentlmen's camp." By a quirk of good fortune, he meets an eccentric old man, Horace Button, who owns an antique Pullman railroad car, in which he lives and travels the United States, hitching his car to Amtrak trains that go somewhere he needs to or has to go. He hires Jack to be his bartender and steward, a role that eventually evolves to an integral part of the three person team that tends to Horace's needs.

The author has created unforgettable characters that you'd love to sit down with over a long meal and share stories. There is friction and there is love. The adventures are both touching and hysterical. Eric Peterson has written a wonderful, unique, story that should not be missed. I felt happy at the end.

The narrator of this novel is a once-famous college football star whose career ended after an accident. Once he recovers, he is employed as a bartender on an elaborate, old-fashioned railroad dining car owned by a rich, alcoholic, eccentric man. This character is modeled after legendary Lucius Morris Beebe (1902-1966). Beebe, as our protagonist, was an American author, gourmand, railroad historian, syndicated columnist and a notorious socialite. Reading about the absurdity of this sort of insanely rich life through the eyes of a regular Joe, our football player, will give the reader many a chuckle.

The Dining Car is a fun ride about a young man getting his life back together after a small tragedy. Jack is such a likable character and his interactions with his boss, Horace made for a compelling read. I loved all facets of the story and was especially glad to find that there were a few "I didn't see that coming!" moments. This would be a perfect book for a vacation, as chapters are short and manageable, and with he limited number of characters, I didn't have to go back and reread any part of the book.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Eric W. Peterson and Huckleberry House (Indie) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

This was a wonderful novel, based loosely on the life and times of Lucius Morris Bebbe. Peterson's protagonist Horace Button brings to my mind Nero Wolf as well as Bebbe, his romance with food and drink the guiding factor of his lifestyle. The 1932 pullman car, named by Button The Pioneer Mother, really caught my fancy and I was deeply touched by Jane. Dr. Rose, Wanda and Jack would make excellent friends. I hope for many more from this author.

It is a book which I have been reading on and off over a month or so on my phone over coffee or whilst having a G&T and so is one which can be picked up and followed without too much trouble, not one I would say is a 'I can't put it down' type of book. However as a relaxing read it does well for me - just a little long and perhaps could be cut down a little, but overall one which I am pleased to have read!

There has always been this allure and romance associated with passenger trains for me. I don’t know if it’s simply because of my love of old Victorian and Western stories. I love the sense of adventure that trains seem to hold, all these people with a place to go, or perhaps no place to go. It was with this mindset that I started “The Dining Car.” Though author Eric W. Peterson could easily have made it a average Joe versus the upper class sort of story, he thankfully held back from that trope. Instead we are treated to an almost lovingly described menu of food and drinks and the sheer debauchery of this once notable journalist. The narrator, a former-football player who rarely talks about football, gives a view into Horace Button’s, our journalist, life. In a refreshing viewpoint, instead of despising this lush of a man, the readers are instead lead to feel sorry and to pity this man who has outlived his time. In an ever advancing world, Button is being left behind by choice as he clings to the days of old. Instead of being annoyed at his chosen seclusion I couldn’t help but feel for a man who enjoys the pleasures of life, even as he becomes a relic. Our narrator on the other hand, didn’t leave me with any strong emotions. He simply seemed to be pointing the camera instead of taking real point in the story. I would recommend this book for people who enjoy train stories and want to take a look within a private Pullman Car.

*This eBook was provided by NetGalley and Huckleberry House in exchange for honest feedback**

Food Network is one of my favorite channels on television. Food competitions and food history shows are very entertaining for me. So, in the last couple of months, I've been reading more food related books, whether they are recipe books, restaurant recommendation guides, or fictional books about bartenders aboard trains, pouring drinks for an esteemed food writer, as it the case in The Dining Car.

The great thing about this book was the way the author talked about the liquor and the food. He was very descriptive, but not in a way that made it feel like I was reading a catalog. It was easy to see the bar in the opening scenes at Biscuit Shooters/Mount Hollow and the spreads that Jack, the main character and bartender, witnessed aboard Horace's train, the Pioneer Mother. Wanda, the chef on the train and creator of all the delicious food Horace consumed, was an amazing source of knowledge that Jack did not possess upon taking up this job. She knew everything from the proper place setting to all of Horace's personal idiosyncrasies and handled them with more grace than I can imagine in such small quarters.

These scenes were the best part, but the connecting passages were somewhat duller and made the book drag rather more than I would have liked. It made reading it an unenjoyable challenge. Some of the characters alleviated this somewhat, particularly Wanda. My first impression of her was a no-nonsense woman who is used to an unorthodox work environment and the insanity that goes along with it. Horace, while an eccentric grandfather type, came across as annoying in his magazine articles. Peppered throughout the book, they were filled with excessively long and complicated words, as though he (or the author of this book) used a thesaurus while writing them. Jack, the main character, was alright, but I never really felt anything for him beyond seeing him as a vehicle to meet all these other people and witness all these other events.

On the plus side, I think that readers will see an elegant side of dining and, at times, humorous moments, such as when Horace punches a Senator or some of his other comments and drunken escapades. On the negative, you'll have to wade through some rather dry passages, which I'd like to chewing on a tough steak that Wanda would never have let get to her table in the first place, all while Jack let's your wine glass sit empty.

The love of trains, fine dining, larger than life characters and a book that made me feel as if I were reading a biography rather than fiction. A journey I will take again. All I have to do is turn to page one and savor the adventure.

Pub. Date: Nov. 1, 2016
Publisher: The Independent Book Publisher Association

The narrator of this novel is a once-famous college football star whose career ended after an accident. Once he recovers, he is employed as a bartender on an elaborate, old-fashioned railroad dining car owned by a rich, alcoholic, eccentric man. This character is modeled after legendary Lucius Morris Beebe (1902-1966). Beebe, as our protagonist, was an American author, gourmand, railroad historian, syndicated columnist and a notorious socialite. Reading about the absurdity of this sort of insanely rich life through the eyes of a regular Joe, our football player, will give the reader many a chuckle.

The book is called “The Dining Car” because our gourmand, the protagonist, refuses to ride on an airplane. He writes that airports treat people like cattle, touching them in ways that one should be able to sue over. (I laughed many times over his opinionated statements he makes in his column). So instead he buys an old Pullman railroad car and travels solely on his vintage private luxury dining car which is straight out of the 1930s. He has his own personal top-tier chef and his own bartender who is always decked out in a white jacket. Both are at his beck and call twenty-four hours a day. Our quirky gourmand always starts his day with some kind of decadent breakfast that would clog anyone’s arteries. Of course, breakfast is served with a Bloody Mary. The food and alcohol continues until the end of the day, when he finally drops off in a stupor. He surrounds himself with the rich and famous who are beyond wealthy, as well as beyond obnoxious. We really should dislike them. Yet the writer somehow makes them into endearing characters to chuckle over. We also should dislike the protagonist because he is such a self-absorbed narcissist. But despite all his flaws, the reader will come to love him because his wit and charisma are as big as his appetites.

The farcical situations he accidentally finds himself in are so ridiculous one cannot help but laugh out loud with him rather than at him. When meeting his 11-year old niece for the first time, his magazine’s Board suggests he give her a teddy bear. They do not suggest this because it will be a kind gesture, but because it will be a good photo-op. First they buy a talking Smokey the Bear doll by mistake. Then they try to feminize the bear with a hat and dress. When he hands the bear over to the child (of course, he is as drunk as a skunk), the hat is no longer on the bear’s head. Then the bear’s voice mechanism jams and he begins laughing uncontrollably. So what observers witness is a man laughing at Smokey in a dress. This is how he inadvertently manages to get himself in trouble with the LGBT community who think he is poking fun at transgender people. The scene reads like an updated “I Love Lucy” episode where everything goes wrong and is misinterpreted creating simply silly slapstick humor.

I could have happily read about the fictional Beebe’s overindulgent lifestyle and his hilarious antics throughout the whole book. But the author adds romance, chef spying, a sister in politics, murder, and an orphaned niece into the plot. By adding in these other characters, I felt that the author is trying to write a bestselling book, not realizing that he already had one. For me, these characters with their subplots felt like filler. One sees the author putting his plot-driven fingerprints all over a delightful character-driven novel. Nevertheless, I recommend that you treat yourself to a delicious book with course after course of scrumptious meals served with signature cocktails that will leave you hungry for more travels on “The Dining Car.”

I highly recommend this read for a multitude of reasons: it's fun, exciting, and full of delightful characters. The author gave me the feeling that I was right in the action all the time. From the very wild camp to the dining rooms of wonderful old hotels, and oh, that Pullman dining car! Wow, a chef and a full time bartender just for the pleasure of a columnist deluxe! Read and enjoy this fine ride.

A poignant and humorous novel about a social critic living in his own world and a portrait of the magazine publishing business as well as political ramifications regarding his life and family. The novel is well paced and the characters are endearing, though rather quirky. I was surprised to learn that this novel was loosely based on a real person , who indeed owned his personal railroad car.

Food, politics, travel and engaging characters - what more could you want? This is a truly delightful read that will keep you enthralled from beginning to end, especially if you are a foodie! Jack was a great protagonist and I learned a lot about the world of magazine publishing. I look forward to more by Eric Peterson.

Fine dining, politics, rail travel like it used to be, and characters you wish were coming over to dinner. And booze, lots and lots of booze. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Annoying characters and a very thin plot sadly makes this a bit of a waste of a great concept and setting.

This has virtually nothing to do with luxury rail travel or fine dining - it's about an old, rich drunk journalist who writes a food column which is supposed to have a huge fan base although the extracts from it are nauseating.

There is some cliche-filled tension between the celebrity chef and the "proper" chef. And a half-hearted attempt to add depth through politics and murder. Bizarrely the nearly 12-year old orphan is presented like a 6 year old (e.g. feeding her teddy bear).

I easily put this book down for several weeks however mild curiosity on the ending got me and I finished it.

At the center of this unusual, thoroughly enjoyable novel is a thirties private Pullman car in which Horace Button, part of dwindling publishing empire, travels about and writes his columns about high end dining for the wealthy gourmand and taste-makers.

Our narrator is, Jack, ex-football player. We find out why "ex" along the way, with--thank goodness--very little about football. Now he's a bar-tender, and not too far into the beginning, he has to make another job change to majordomo for Horace Button on board the Pullman. Here, he is crewing with the prickly Wanda, a superb chef with very little trust and less communication.

Horace reminds me of my encounters through many early Twentieth Century letters, memoirs, reviews, and the like of Alexander Woollcott. He's irascible, sarcastic, unrepentantly snobbish, and begins drinking at an early hour. Peterson doesn't make drunkenness attractive, but neither does he permit the narrative voice to shake a scolding finger.

One of the many aspects I enjoyed about the novel is the author's handling of deeply damaged people, with money or without, with anger issues and without. As Jack gets into his job, we encounter high profile people from publishing and from Washington. Temptation to jump the train occurs roughly the same time as a tragedy, and how everything plays out kept me riveted until the (deeply satisfying) end.

I am always a sucker for certain tropes--such as the made family. Being very fond of train travel, I loved Peterson's vivid behind-the-scenes glimpses of trains I know well. And I've always wanted to travel on one of those private cars, occasionally glimpsed.

Altogether a vivid, enjoyable read, with a cast of unusual characters and some lavish descriptions of delicious meals. This novel deserves a lot more attention than it's gotten.

I loved this book. It takes place. mostly on a private railroad car that is occupied by a noted bon vivant and gourmand. The narrator, Jack, is rescued by the car's owner, Horace Button, after Jack is fired from his job as a bartender at a private men's camp.

Jack is one of two employees on the car, the other being the chef, Wanda. The two share the work and the close living quarters. Initially hired temporarily through a Denver food and wine festival, Jack plies the boss and his colleagues with drink.

His trip and his adventures get extended to a cross-country trip when tragedy strikes.

It's a book full of memorable characters, wonderful writing about food, and great sarcastic send-ups of the celebrity-driven world of food as well as the world of politics in DC and publishing.