If you’d preordered a copy of my new book, you already know: The Route 66 Cookbook: The Best Recipes From Every Stop Along the Way has arrived!
And it’s likely made its way to your mailbox by now (or will be there soon), as I’ve gotten a bunch of messages from people who’ve seen my book “in the wild” this past week!
Here’s one in Yukon, Oklahoma, where Green Chile Kitchen (one of the restaurants featured in my book) created a Route 66 Centennial display. Their posole (family recipe is in the book!) was one of the best meals I had on my road trip last summer.
That was just one stop on a road trip that took me to hundreds of restaurants along a historic highway spanning thousands of miles across eight states (if you don’t include all the other states we crossed to get back home). There was lots of eating to be had… and lots of sightseeing, swimming, and summer vacationing.
So how did this dreamy project even happen?
Early in 2024, I signed on to write a cookbook that honors the iconic eateries, culinary history, and hidden gems of America’s legendary highway.
It’s so legendary that it inspired a literary classic (The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck), an enduring Pixar movie (Cars), and a song (“Get Your Kicks on Route 66”) that’s since been covered nearly 300 times by Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, and more.
And now it’s inspired my new book!
Just dropped
The Route 66 Cookbook
See a list of all the recipes and chapters, read the early press reviews, and take a look inside my new book.
With the Mother Road celebrating 100 years in 2026, there were many, many stories to be told and recipes to be shared, and it was both humbling and thrilling to take on this kind of project.
Exploring the entirety of Route 66 is the adventure of a lifetime that’s rich in history, folklore, and nostalgia. It’s often called the “Main Street of America,” as it’s a cultural journey through the heartland filled with offbeat attractions, neon-lit relics, and small-town hospitality.
This is a road trip that turns forgotten towns into mythic destinations where the vibe of Route 66 is still very much alive today.
Did you know…
Route 66 was established as a federal highway in 1926, connecting Chicago to Los Angeles through a network of existing local and state roads. Long before interstate highways were a thing, Route 66—often narrow, winding, and unpaved—was the only link between the west coast and the rest of the country.
This marked the beginning of modern American transportation and the car culture unique to our country. Over its official lifespan, Route 66 served as an east-west escape route during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, a major artery for military traffic during World War I, and a leisure highway during its heyday in the 1950s when the great American road trip was very much about the journey.
Today, it’s a 2,400-mile adventure that draws travelers from all over the world by car, motorcycle, bicycle, and even on foot!
Fun fact
While many Americans I know feel indifferent toward Route 66, it’s a bucket-list trip for European and Japanese tourists because it symbolizes a bygone era of freedom and opportunity.
Last summer, my husband Will Taylor (whose name you might recognize on the book cover as photographer extraordinaire) and I packed up the kids and took off in our trusty RV “Wanda” for 10 weeks, driving from Bend (our home) to Santa Monica (the western endpoint) and all across the midwest to Chicago (the eastern endpoint).
Nearly 7,000 miles later, we made it back to Bend with fun memories and full bellies. (Turns out, Oregon is pretty far from either end of Route 66, ha!)
Along the way, we met hundreds of people; drove, biked, and Onewheeled on original Route 66 pavement; and explored roadside attractions from the really quirky (world’s second largest rocking chair!) to the really fascinating (a 200-million-year-old petrified forest).
What pulled all of these experiences together were the places we ate at every stop: from kitschy drive-ins to historic Harvey Houses, and from the old Hollywood haunt where Bugsy Siegel kept a floor safe to the infamous Chicago hotel where backroom deals were brokered, giving rise to the “smoke-filled room” in political parlance.
For The Route 66 Cookbook, restaurateurs and chefs shared their signature recipes and customer favorites with me—66 of them, of course!
You can find all of these “secret recipes” in the book, along with original photography and intriguing tales from the last century of motor courts, lunch counters, soda fountains, family restaurants, and fine dining that dotted the highway.
I hope you love the book as much as I loved creating it.
Disclosure: If you shop from my article or make a purchase through one of my links, I may receive commissions on some of the products I recommend.
Where to buy
The Route 66 Cookbook is available worldwide from your local independent bookstore and anywhere books are sold. Please support a small business if you see my book there!
