National Train Day
Welcome back to those of you who have been following these gastronomic adventures. We are at the half way point in our goal that began in Jan. 2013. For those of you who are just joining us I ask that our "faithful readers" indulge a quick review:
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! Others on the forum have passions also; I’ve seen posts that range from Major League Baseball stadiums to pawn shops. So whatever your passion is, hop on a train and go for it!
Our combined itinerary for Adventure #6 starts in Chicago with a ride on the Capitol Limited to Washington D C to enjoy the National Train Day festivities with several other AU members. Then an Acela run to New York and back before returning to Chicago. Then from Chicago on the Texas Eagle to St Louis and the Missouri River Runner out to Hermann to pick up some great smoked meats.
On the morning of 9 May I leave my home base of Grand Rapids on the Pere Marquette and meet up with JoeG who is arriving in Chicago on the Lincoln Service from Alton, IL. We meet at the Metro Deli and participate in the $9 sale on pitchers of beer as we discuss dining options. It is already after 2pm so we are between a late lunch, an early dinner or skipping eating (heaven forbid) until dinner in the diner about 7:30 or 8. We decide on the NYC Bagel Deli which is very convenient to the station. The address is 300 S Wacker but they are actually the first door on the right as you walk across the Jackson St Bridge. I guess the Wacker address refers to the large office building they are a part of.
The NYC Bagel Deli has a good variety of sandwiches (on bagels or bread of your choice) and salads. We both select the “Benny”, roast beef, melted horseradish cheddar cheese, red onion, cilantro, horseradish sauce, and giardinera on a rye bagel. I had a side of coleslaw and JoeG went with the potato salad. Add on a large iced tea and this is a very satisfying mid afternoon repast. In fact, once on the Capitol Limited, we decide to pass on dinner although we did enjoy a few adult pops with some really fun folks in the sightseer lounge before turning in early.
The beauty of the West Virginia mountains was outside the windows when we awoke the next morning. We pulled into Washington Union Station an hour or so late on Friday afternoon. The conductor didn't mention anything about charging us extra for the “bonus” riding time so we hopped off the train and took a two block walk to our hotel. It was a beautiful afternoon so we took a long walk around the National Mall and found Charlie Palmer's Steak House about suppertime. This place has a reputation of being a bit of a tourist trap but on this particular evening we had prior knowledge of the "Friday Night Flights". This is an offering of three flights of a featured wine (tonight it was the wines of the Russian River Valley) paired with three small plate delicacies for $15! First was a 2009 Ramey Chardonnay paired with a bowl of white gazpacho, with blue crab and avocado mousse. I told JoeG the soup was really, really good but they left it sit too long in the kitchen - it was cold. JoeG told me he may have brought me out of the backwoods of Michigan just a little too soon. The second flight was a 2009 Longboard Merlot (it was very good) and a plate of veal and ricotta meatball on fontina polenta. I really can't remember if this or the gazpacho was my favorite. And the last pairing was a 2009 Charlie Clay, Pinot Noir and a prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloin with cauliflower and preserved cherries - JoeG's favorite! Of course, the con is to get you to enjoy the flights and follow up with a nice (expensive) steak. We resisted that temptation and finished our evening with an appetizer; a Duo of Beef Tartare and Carpaccio with crisp shitake mushrooms, jalapenos, and soy-lime, with sesame crackers. We spent this pleasant evening on the restaurant's sidewalk patio viewing the Capitol Building. It was getting dark so we called it a night.
Saturday we made our way back to Union Station with text info to join some of the AU crowd in the line to view the “varnish”. The crowds were very large and we got to the line after the rest of the group was already out by the trains so we did our own thing. We got a good look at the revamped station plans and mockup. It will be aesthetically pleasing and pretty functional. We hooked up with the group in the Acela lounge. Some of the group was getting hungry and headed off to lunch so we caught up on checking out the “varnish”. It was a very good NTD and soon it was time to catch the Acela to New York. We had tickets into Penn Station but got off one stop early at Metropark, NJ to snag a hotel for a couple of hundred dollars less than the Manhattan offerings. We did let our tickets “ride” all the way to Penn Station to maintain the integrity of the station pair and collect the 750 TQP! I was very proud of my ability to eat a bowl of chili on the train and not leave a single splotch on one of my favorite shirts!
Sunday morning we got a NJ Transit ticket for $10 and zipped into NY Penn. We had enough time to walk around the neighborhood for an hour or so and found Bagel Mania on 7th Ave. We had a wonderful bagel with a scallion schemer - no place does it quite like New York. Then we did the Acela return trip to Washington. We ordered a mimosa and then enjoyed another one. Then the attendant told us they were out of mimosas. It was Mother's Day and a group of moms at the other end of the car were enjoying the same drink. Sure can't complain about that, more power to them, they've earned it!! We both ordered the lunch special pork tenderloin with bulgur wheat and creamed spinach. It was very good but it lost the “special” appeal when it was the exact same menu item in the diner on the Capitol Limited later this same day. On the Capitol Limited we had our first brush with the new cheese cake which is served in a bowl inside plastic wrap with the topping served on the side in a little solo cup – stay classy Amtrak.
Our trip on the Cap Limited back to Chicago was uneventful although special mention to the wonderful ride along the meandering river into the sunset during the first few hours at this time of year. Approaching Chicago all was well for us to make a very tight connection (40 minutes) to Lincoln Service down to St Louis. And then the dreaded 45 minute delay for crossing traffic near South Bend. We missed the connection by a few minutes but the Texas Eagle makes the same trip a couple of hours later. The good folks at the ticket counter at Chicago made the necessary changes and who would have guessed - the Metro Deli had the same $9 pitcher special on this Monday to help us kill the time. Do they do this every day, or do they just see us coming??
We enjoyed a four hour ride on the Eagle down to Alton, IL. JoeG had his car prepositioned here so it was an easy ride to our favorite hotel in Kirkwood, Mo. (same place we stayed during the Feb snow storm). Having a car gave us some latitude to explore Kirkwood and we pulled in to PJ's Grill and Bar about supper time. This place is noted for its burgers. JoeG had a cheeseburger and some of the best fries we have found on our adventures; double fried to make them super crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside. I went with the spinach and artichoke dip and it was really more of a creation than just a dip. It was a blend of spinach, artichoke, cheese, red onion, diced tomato, minced garlic, and heavy cream. It was served with freshly fried tortilla chips. I wasn't a big fan of the chips, I like them thinner but I'm sure the thicker ones make for easier dipping. What we figured out was to smother a few of the great french fries with the spinach and artichoke dip, wow it doesn't get much better than that!!
On Tuesday morning we caught the Missouri River Runner out of Kirkwood Station at 9:44. It is a quick one hour ride to Hermann, Mo. to hit the Hermann Wurst Haus. We arrived with our ice chests to buy some of the best smoked meats in this area and maybe most anywhere else. We loaded up on a variety of brats, sausages, snack sticks, etc. We walked out with a couple of hundred dollars worth of goodies that will last for weeks. I just finished sampling the braunschweiger for lunch. You could lick this stuff off of your trailer hitch and still claim it was the best thing you ever ate!! The return trip to Kirkwood was right on time. We get in JoeG's car and head for his house in Illinois. Along the way I have an attack/craving for Mexican food. JoeG had the cure, we head to Chevies Cantina. They use nothing but fresh ingredients and their motto is they make the salsa that has launched 10 thousand imitations. JoeG got a very good looking plate of nachos and I had a smothered burrito (We call ‘em Wet Burritos up here in Grand Rapids where they were invented at the Beltline Bar). We are once again fortified and finish our trip to southern Illinois.
On Wednesday JoeG delivers me to Carbondale to begin my trip home via the Saluki to Chicago and the Pere Marquette to Grand Rapids. While in Chicago, I couldn't pass up the chance to make sure the $9 pitcher sale was still in progress in the Metro Deli and I managed to sample another sandwich at the NYC Bagel Deli. This trip was a lot of fun and very lucrative, resulting in 3600 TQP.
Edited: Dang Typos!
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Another Episode of the Never Ending tour of Joints on Trains! 
