Sabika Alshammari

English113B
Professor Lawson
May 11th,2016
Field Work Report Rough Draft
974
The Pacific Dining Car
There is undoubtedly no dispute in the dissertation of modern-day humanities about the
semiotic, meaningful nature and space and place. Likewise there can be no uncertainty about the
place or space. Space and place can be called substrates of culture. Places and spaces are created
for amusement, for management, commercial spaces, mostly have a significant importance, and
depict the culture and heritage of that particular place. Culture plays an important role in
differentiating the uniqueness of a person or a place, the perfect blend of history behind the place
and the deep connections it holds towards a particular culture olds great value.
They serve as reflection of their ancestral traditions which brings them back to the roots
of their culture. A monument that shares the significance of their belonging to their place.
Every place holds a story to tell ,the struggle ,the blood, sweat and toil that took into
building and sustaining the place, the reason why it is thriving business for generations to come,
it can be a recipe a special ingredient, the ambience, or just the people who run the place. Every
aspect holds great significance to the people around them

The Pacific Dining Car is one such space that has caught my attention in this beautiful
city of California. This place has been thriving from the ninetys and serves amazing food; the
little restaurant became one of the most sought after place in the area in no time. This little
restaurant is unique in its own way; be it the history, the food and the infrastructure, its
definitely a delight to all your senses.
The Pacific Dining Car was born in a railways train car parked on rented lot in downtown
Los Angeles. The owners Grace and Fred started this lovely restaurant in 1921, as a very young
couple. As I was trying to get more information about his place, I got to know that Fred and
Grace left the East Coast to Southern California after Fred realized that his dream of becoming
an opera singer was just too hard to reach, considering his voice. Before departing the Eastern
Shore, Fred and Grace ate at restaurant which was a model of a railway car, which inspired them
to start a restaurant of their own. Later on 7th St and Westlake the couple built their own
restaurant dinning car. They made the car more spacious and a little larger than the authentic one,
so the dining experience would be not as much of confined and more enjoyable.
From the start, business was off the charts. People enjoyed Freds sure hand and Graces
ambrosial pies which no one could duplicate. She made the most unbelievable pies said
Virginia also said It is sad that it isnt a hereditary feature she got from her mother
It was an art form, which escaped her. Because of Land speculation it shifted to 6th and Wilmer,
where it stands today.
The little restaurant soon became one of the most popular dining spots in the area. Its
menu featured good, affordable fare for its time. Seven days a week, long before the 4 pm
opening, savoury aromas floated from the orderly kitchen. Sturdy vegetable soup, a tangy steak

sauce of their own inventions, pies with crust so flaky; they literally melted in the mouth and an
specifically popular apple filling, all briskly became city preferences.
Four years after its move, a rancher taught Fred to pick, age and hang meat. So Fred
began cooking the best steaks, which went well with customers and eventually became a
restaurant staple. Business was booming for the Pacific Dining Car in the 1920s, but like most
businesses times got bumpy for the Dining car during the Great Depression. Yet the Cooks still
offered a kind hand. People came to the restaurant pleading for food and Grace would tell them
to come back after dark to sit and eat with their co-workers. At the end of the day anything left
over would be taken to the nearby mission. In 1947, the death of Fred Cook left Grace in-charge
of the car up and until her 8os, when her frail took over her; the restaurant was managed by her
daughter Virginia.
After Virginias death, her husband and son; Wes and Wes Jr, remodelled the restaurant to
include air-conditioning, new carpets and new furniture. Wes Jr after his travels to a few
European countries, he introduced wine to the Dinning Cars Menu. Currently Wes Idle the third
owns the place. He tries to create a quiet ambience in the Dining cars, letting social interaction
drive the eating place. Theres no music pumping throughout the restaurant. When you enter, a
doorbell rings like youre about to enter a persons home. The Pacific Dining Car welcomes a
variety of customers and is the most down to earth humble places I have been too.
Hot muggy dog days in Los Angeles offered a little opportunity for relief in the 20s, and
dining out of a closed out at a closed-in restaurant wasnt the most popular past time. So the
Pacific Dining Car opened seven times a day, nine months of the year. During the hottest
weather, the summer sign went up, and everyone went on a three-month vacation. The language

on the sign was very brave; it made newspapers as far as east as Chicago and New York
trumpeted: Too D. hot in L.A. gone fishing. Why the H. dont you go, too? -Fred and Grace.
This restaurant thrived from the ninetys not only serving out good food, but helping
ones in need during times of war and depression. It not only holds of cultural importance but has
certain amount of history related to it as well. The cars go out to a 90 year family, with just one
difference; the ability to cook a very tasty steak.