The Genesis…..
The new AGR Executive level brings on a whole new challenge for those of us who have nothing better to do than dream up Amtrak rides and opportunities to acquire AGR Tier Qualifying Points (TQP). (For purposes of these “adventures”, I'll be known as JoeH and grounded flyboy will be JoeG). So, JoeG and I were talking about how to make 20,000 points without really trying. The idea of hopping on the train and riding endlessly didn't seem appealing, so we have decided to combine three activities we have in common... riding the train, eating good food, and the occasional beer! For our first destination we decided to go to Memphis for BBQ ribs.
And so it begins.......
I boarded the Pere Marquette and left Grand Rapids at 7:40am on 7 Jan. on the way to Chicago. JoeG and I exchange texts to confirm that the mission has started.
Upon arrival in Chicago, I check into the Metropolitan lounge and store my bags there with Steve. I make a layover “points run” on the Hiawatha to Glenview - have a "adult pop" at Grandpa's Place and then return to Chicago. Now hunger is beginning to set in so I head down Jackson Street to Luke's for a couple of Chicago Dogs. I still have time to kill, so I head to the Metro Deli for a couple more "pops" and chat with some of the regulars I've met there over the years.
I departed CHI at 8 pm Monday evening on time. JoeG catches the CONO in Carbondale at 01:30. Our roomettes are in different cars and it's the middle of the night so we decide to meet up in the morning (Tues) in the diner. The CONO arrives into Memphis and hour early so the diner reunion is out but the station isn't that big, so we run into each other on the porch shortly after arrival. We checked our bags in the station. The station attendant will hold your luggage all day for $4 per bag. Our plan was to arrive in Memphis at 6:30 in the morning and depart on the northbound CONO around 10:30 pm.
We are both in need of a cup of coffee and our first gastronomic “hit”. Right across the street from the station is The Arcade, an old fashioned cafe (open for breakfast and lunch only). Coffee was hot and the breakfast was very tasty. I had eggs, bacon, biscuits & gravy, and grits (we are in the south, after all) and JoeG tried the deep fried French toast (an excellent choice). We found out later that this is the cafe that Elvis used to come to every day for the peanut butter and banana sandwich that he later made famous.
Right out the front door of the Arcade are both the Main Street & Riverfront trolley lines. Rides are $1 per ride or you can buy an all day pass for $3.50. Of course, we bought an all day pass and rode all three routes that give very good coverage to the downtown area, the riverfront, and the major schools and hospitals. While riding the trolley we hear the Rendezvous (one of our planned stops for ribs) may still be on their annual vacation following Christmas. We hop off of the trolley near the Peabody Hotel and walk thru the alley to the Rendezvous. Sure enough, they will be closed until Thurs. No problem, we have all afternoon to ask the 'locals' for other good choices. We soon discover, like other things, everyone has a different one!
It's time for lunch! We try Central BBQ, a multiple winner of pitmaster and bbq competitions. The original restaurant is on Central Ave and not within walking distance of the trolley but they have opened another location just a couple of blocks from the trolley line (and the Amtrak station). This is a very popular and busy place for lunch and for good reason. The pulled pork is outstanding.
Next stop is O' Sullivan’s, an Irish bar, a short walk from the Beale Street trolley stop. They have a number of domestic and foreign beers on tap and an outstanding, spicy gumbo made with fresh crawfish every day. This Irish guy apparently made a side trip to Louisiana. But, the best reason to drop by this joint... live music starts at 2 pm... outstanding blues and NO cover charge!
We leave O’ Sullivan’s and decide to take another ride on the Riverfront line while we figure out where to dine. The trolley operator on that ride convinced us to try the Majestic Grill. The Majestic Grill is a very pleasant place to eat, they show movies (no sound) on a big screen and I’m guessing it is an old movie theater. We decide to split a Grilled Artichoke Flatbread (pizza!) for a starter. While waiting for our starter, we were also presented with a basket of savory bread. JoeG selected a very nice Merlot for us to have with our ribs (hey, we are in Memphis!) and flatbread. The ribs were served with some very nicely done Parmesan fries and coleslaw.
Since we had some more time to kill, we decided to stop in at a place called “Local”, a nice Gastro pub right on Main Street. This place is may seat 30 folks or so, and is a very pleasant place to relax and enjoy an adult beverage. If we had not just eaten, I may have been a sucker for the Short Rib Reuben (Oh, come on, it has firecracker slaw on it!).
All good things must come to an end, so we grab the Main Street trolley back to the Amtrak station to begin our trek north. We collect our bags and trot out to the platform to board the CONO. We are traveling in coach since it is only a 4 hour ride to Carbondale. OK, for those that don’t know I have sleep apnea and without my CPAP machine I do not sleep well and neither does anyone else, as I make more noise than a busted chainsaw. Every time I snorted myself awake the baby one seat over was crying, woken up by me I presume. I’m not sure who was happier about us detraining in Carbondale – them or me!
JoeG “pilots” us to his place so we can get some much needed rest; we both had been pretty much awake for about 23 hours, so sleep was pretty much instant.
Up, refreshed, we are ready to face humanity on Wednesday morning (well before noon (about 11:45) is still morning), so we head out to forage for food. We head for “Just One More” a place the JoeG knows about that serves a very nice club sandwich. We do have a great club sandwich with some very crisp fries to go along with it. After enjoying the sandwich, I felt something was missing; I was having a craving for a Wendy’s Frosty, so off we go! Armed with our Frosty’s we head out through a lot of Federal lands and wildlife preserves. In this part of Southern Illinois quite a few Vineyards and wineries have been established. We take the time to stop in at Blue Sky and taste a few of their red wines.
This area of Southern Illinois is pretty unique, very similar to Appalachia. Traveling on the narrow roads in the area is interesting, at the low points, the water flows over the road rather than under it! We spent most of the afternoon exploring the natural wonders of the area of the southernmost journey of the glaciers and the huge boulders they left behind.
OK, I ramble on, back to Amtrak, we head up to De Quoin for a quick points run up to Centralia tonight for dinner. Thirty minutes on the Illini and 100 points on a $5 (JoeG got $4.25 senior tickets)! Our first stop in Centralia is Tequila’s a Mexican restaurant that has reopened recently. We explored it a bit, looked at the menu, but decided to eat at our original destination of the Centralia House. It is a historic restaurant dating back to the days before dining cars. It was a lunch and dinner stop when the trains used to stop and wait for the travelers to get a bite to eat. The food at Centralia House is very nicely done, JoeG had the escargot and I had the shrimp providence – both served with plenty of French bread to soak up the sauce.
We took the train back to De Quoin and on to JoeG’s house to close out Wednesday’s adventures.
On Thursday, JoeG takes me to the station in Carbondale to start my journey northward home. JoeG and I parted company with a pledge to continue our gastronomic adventures.
The ride into Chicago on the Saluki was uneventful; we arrived pretty much on time. Once again, I checked into the Metropolitan Lounge and stored my bags with Steve. I know it’s hard to believe, I was hungry, so I decided to head over to Beggar’s to get a couple of slices before heading on out for the rest of the trip.
The ride on the Pere Marquette to Grand Rapids was uneventful; well we did have the Trainmaster riding with us on the trip, so go figure!
We will keep you posted on future gastronomic adventures. If we are going to be in your area, join us for a short ride or a bite to eat. Future adventures on the chalk board are: Kansas City to compare that BBQ to the Memphis BBQ; a Madison, WI Mac N Cheese run; a LSL run to the finger lakes and Buffalo to sample, what else, the buffalo wings; an east coast run to ride the Acela and the Silvers (looking for timed for us to be in WAS or PHI for the birthday celebration); a western trip to Santa Barbara to sample the pancakes at the original Sambo's; an August trip on the Adirondack to sample Montreal cuisine and make a stop at Saratoga Springs for the thoroughbred races (and corned beef sandwiches). Just like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives... we'll take suggestions!!
JoeG and I hope you all have enjoyed our little missive of trains, food, and spirits. Stay tuned for 2 Joe's Gastronomic Adventure #2.
The new AGR Executive level brings on a whole new challenge for those of us who have nothing better to do than dream up Amtrak rides and opportunities to acquire AGR Tier Qualifying Points (TQP). (For purposes of these “adventures”, I'll be known as JoeH and grounded flyboy will be JoeG). So, JoeG and I were talking about how to make 20,000 points without really trying. The idea of hopping on the train and riding endlessly didn't seem appealing, so we have decided to combine three activities we have in common... riding the train, eating good food, and the occasional beer! For our first destination we decided to go to Memphis for BBQ ribs.
And so it begins.......
I boarded the Pere Marquette and left Grand Rapids at 7:40am on 7 Jan. on the way to Chicago. JoeG and I exchange texts to confirm that the mission has started.
Upon arrival in Chicago, I check into the Metropolitan lounge and store my bags there with Steve. I make a layover “points run” on the Hiawatha to Glenview - have a "adult pop" at Grandpa's Place and then return to Chicago. Now hunger is beginning to set in so I head down Jackson Street to Luke's for a couple of Chicago Dogs. I still have time to kill, so I head to the Metro Deli for a couple more "pops" and chat with some of the regulars I've met there over the years.
I departed CHI at 8 pm Monday evening on time. JoeG catches the CONO in Carbondale at 01:30. Our roomettes are in different cars and it's the middle of the night so we decide to meet up in the morning (Tues) in the diner. The CONO arrives into Memphis and hour early so the diner reunion is out but the station isn't that big, so we run into each other on the porch shortly after arrival. We checked our bags in the station. The station attendant will hold your luggage all day for $4 per bag. Our plan was to arrive in Memphis at 6:30 in the morning and depart on the northbound CONO around 10:30 pm.
We are both in need of a cup of coffee and our first gastronomic “hit”. Right across the street from the station is The Arcade, an old fashioned cafe (open for breakfast and lunch only). Coffee was hot and the breakfast was very tasty. I had eggs, bacon, biscuits & gravy, and grits (we are in the south, after all) and JoeG tried the deep fried French toast (an excellent choice). We found out later that this is the cafe that Elvis used to come to every day for the peanut butter and banana sandwich that he later made famous.
Right out the front door of the Arcade are both the Main Street & Riverfront trolley lines. Rides are $1 per ride or you can buy an all day pass for $3.50. Of course, we bought an all day pass and rode all three routes that give very good coverage to the downtown area, the riverfront, and the major schools and hospitals. While riding the trolley we hear the Rendezvous (one of our planned stops for ribs) may still be on their annual vacation following Christmas. We hop off of the trolley near the Peabody Hotel and walk thru the alley to the Rendezvous. Sure enough, they will be closed until Thurs. No problem, we have all afternoon to ask the 'locals' for other good choices. We soon discover, like other things, everyone has a different one!
It's time for lunch! We try Central BBQ, a multiple winner of pitmaster and bbq competitions. The original restaurant is on Central Ave and not within walking distance of the trolley but they have opened another location just a couple of blocks from the trolley line (and the Amtrak station). This is a very popular and busy place for lunch and for good reason. The pulled pork is outstanding.
Next stop is O' Sullivan’s, an Irish bar, a short walk from the Beale Street trolley stop. They have a number of domestic and foreign beers on tap and an outstanding, spicy gumbo made with fresh crawfish every day. This Irish guy apparently made a side trip to Louisiana. But, the best reason to drop by this joint... live music starts at 2 pm... outstanding blues and NO cover charge!
We leave O’ Sullivan’s and decide to take another ride on the Riverfront line while we figure out where to dine. The trolley operator on that ride convinced us to try the Majestic Grill. The Majestic Grill is a very pleasant place to eat, they show movies (no sound) on a big screen and I’m guessing it is an old movie theater. We decide to split a Grilled Artichoke Flatbread (pizza!) for a starter. While waiting for our starter, we were also presented with a basket of savory bread. JoeG selected a very nice Merlot for us to have with our ribs (hey, we are in Memphis!) and flatbread. The ribs were served with some very nicely done Parmesan fries and coleslaw.
Since we had some more time to kill, we decided to stop in at a place called “Local”, a nice Gastro pub right on Main Street. This place is may seat 30 folks or so, and is a very pleasant place to relax and enjoy an adult beverage. If we had not just eaten, I may have been a sucker for the Short Rib Reuben (Oh, come on, it has firecracker slaw on it!).
All good things must come to an end, so we grab the Main Street trolley back to the Amtrak station to begin our trek north. We collect our bags and trot out to the platform to board the CONO. We are traveling in coach since it is only a 4 hour ride to Carbondale. OK, for those that don’t know I have sleep apnea and without my CPAP machine I do not sleep well and neither does anyone else, as I make more noise than a busted chainsaw. Every time I snorted myself awake the baby one seat over was crying, woken up by me I presume. I’m not sure who was happier about us detraining in Carbondale – them or me!
JoeG “pilots” us to his place so we can get some much needed rest; we both had been pretty much awake for about 23 hours, so sleep was pretty much instant.
Up, refreshed, we are ready to face humanity on Wednesday morning (well before noon (about 11:45) is still morning), so we head out to forage for food. We head for “Just One More” a place the JoeG knows about that serves a very nice club sandwich. We do have a great club sandwich with some very crisp fries to go along with it. After enjoying the sandwich, I felt something was missing; I was having a craving for a Wendy’s Frosty, so off we go! Armed with our Frosty’s we head out through a lot of Federal lands and wildlife preserves. In this part of Southern Illinois quite a few Vineyards and wineries have been established. We take the time to stop in at Blue Sky and taste a few of their red wines.
This area of Southern Illinois is pretty unique, very similar to Appalachia. Traveling on the narrow roads in the area is interesting, at the low points, the water flows over the road rather than under it! We spent most of the afternoon exploring the natural wonders of the area of the southernmost journey of the glaciers and the huge boulders they left behind.
OK, I ramble on, back to Amtrak, we head up to De Quoin for a quick points run up to Centralia tonight for dinner. Thirty minutes on the Illini and 100 points on a $5 (JoeG got $4.25 senior tickets)! Our first stop in Centralia is Tequila’s a Mexican restaurant that has reopened recently. We explored it a bit, looked at the menu, but decided to eat at our original destination of the Centralia House. It is a historic restaurant dating back to the days before dining cars. It was a lunch and dinner stop when the trains used to stop and wait for the travelers to get a bite to eat. The food at Centralia House is very nicely done, JoeG had the escargot and I had the shrimp providence – both served with plenty of French bread to soak up the sauce.
We took the train back to De Quoin and on to JoeG’s house to close out Wednesday’s adventures.
On Thursday, JoeG takes me to the station in Carbondale to start my journey northward home. JoeG and I parted company with a pledge to continue our gastronomic adventures.
The ride into Chicago on the Saluki was uneventful; we arrived pretty much on time. Once again, I checked into the Metropolitan Lounge and stored my bags with Steve. I know it’s hard to believe, I was hungry, so I decided to head over to Beggar’s to get a couple of slices before heading on out for the rest of the trip.
The ride on the Pere Marquette to Grand Rapids was uneventful; well we did have the Trainmaster riding with us on the trip, so go figure!
We will keep you posted on future gastronomic adventures. If we are going to be in your area, join us for a short ride or a bite to eat. Future adventures on the chalk board are: Kansas City to compare that BBQ to the Memphis BBQ; a Madison, WI Mac N Cheese run; a LSL run to the finger lakes and Buffalo to sample, what else, the buffalo wings; an east coast run to ride the Acela and the Silvers (looking for timed for us to be in WAS or PHI for the birthday celebration); a western trip to Santa Barbara to sample the pancakes at the original Sambo's; an August trip on the Adirondack to sample Montreal cuisine and make a stop at Saratoga Springs for the thoroughbred races (and corned beef sandwiches). Just like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives... we'll take suggestions!!
JoeG and I hope you all have enjoyed our little missive of trains, food, and spirits. Stay tuned for 2 Joe's Gastronomic Adventure #2.
