I recently completed my first LD round trip in coach from Martinez, CA to Pittsburgh, PA via Chicago on the California Zephyr and the Capitol Limited. What a fantastic journey it was! The train left the Martinez station on time on a Friday morning around 10:00 am and returned an hour early 11 days later. My wife and I typically have pizza on Friday or Saturday night, so I set out with the help of my Mission Impossible ground team to try and have hot fresh pizza delivered to the EB Zephyr in route to give me some semblance of a normal routine. Seeing that the schedule indicated we were to make a stop in Denver at 6:38 pm on Saturday evening for a 32 minute stop, I thought that was the best opportunity to try and have pizza delivered directly to the Zephyr.
My ground team were my brothers, one in California and one Pittsburgh. They worked on their computers and cell phones to map out a plan to make my desire to have fresh hot pizza for Saturday night dinner a reality. With my limited and intermittent cell phone reception they researched what pizza places were close to the Denver Amtrak station and which one would be willing to coordinate their delivery to the train platform/station based on the actual arrival time of the Zephyr.
Finally when the Zephyr cleared the continental divide and we could see Denver in the far off distance I had good cell reception and the ground crew was able to conference me into the conversation they were having with AJ, the manager on duty at Anthony's Pizza and Pasta a few blocks from the Denver Amtrak station. AJ assured me that he would coordinate the delivery of the pizza with the actual arrival of the Zephyr.
The operation planning occurred over the course of the day and it got other passengers interested in having pizza also, so by the time I was placing the order with AJ, my order for one pizza turned into an order for five pizzas and one chicken salad. We were all skeptical as to whether the pizza delivery would actually happen or not. Would AJ think it is just a prank call? Would our pizza actually be delivered before the train left the station?
As we pull into the Denver station everyone that ordered something is looking for the pizza delivery guy. Some of us get off the train and walk across the street to the temporary station to look for him. The minutes are ticking by and everyone is starting to get a little worried. I decided to call AJ and ask where the delivery guy was. AJ said that the pizza would be delivered in 10 or 15 minutes…..not to worry. I told AJ that in 10 minutes we would be headed to Omaha and that we need to have the pizza delivered NOW! Hearing that he agreed to bring it right over himself. Sure enough, 3 or 4 minutes later he pulls up behind the row of taxi cabs in front of the Amtrak station and we make the hand-off….. the pizzas and the salad in ours and the cash in his. He had transported the pizzas in a insulated bag so they were steaming hot, plus he had a bag with paper plates, containers of hot pepper and Parmesan cheese, salad dressing, forks and knives and napkins.
We get back on the train and the whistle blows a few minutes later and we are heated towards Omaha with everyone enjoying their pizza and salad. Many of the other passengers were wanting to know how and where we got the pizza. Not a piece went to waste as some of us shared with other hungry passengers. Everyone commented on how good it was!
I told AJ when I was ordering the pizzas, that I would post his name and phone number on this forum if he made the delivery happen and the pizza was good and was hot. He came through, so for any other travelers that might want hot freshly made pizza delivered to the EB Zephyr in Denver here is AJ's contact information. Anthony's Pizza and Pasta, phone number 303-623-0805. Give him a call when you clear the continental divide to place your order and tell him the trains expected arrival time. Then give him a call when the train is pulling into the station so the delivery can be coordinated.
TFR
Note: I have no affiliation in any way with AJ or Anthony's Pizza and Pasta. I just enjoyed their pizza and I thought others might want to try it also. I'm giving Anthony's Pizza & Pasta a 5 star review (five being the best!) for quality and service.
http://www.anthonyspizzaandpasta.com/
Anthony's Pizza & Pasta
1780 16th Street
Denver, CO 80202
Phone 303-623-0805
My ground team were my brothers, one in California and one Pittsburgh. They worked on their computers and cell phones to map out a plan to make my desire to have fresh hot pizza for Saturday night dinner a reality. With my limited and intermittent cell phone reception they researched what pizza places were close to the Denver Amtrak station and which one would be willing to coordinate their delivery to the train platform/station based on the actual arrival time of the Zephyr.
Finally when the Zephyr cleared the continental divide and we could see Denver in the far off distance I had good cell reception and the ground crew was able to conference me into the conversation they were having with AJ, the manager on duty at Anthony's Pizza and Pasta a few blocks from the Denver Amtrak station. AJ assured me that he would coordinate the delivery of the pizza with the actual arrival of the Zephyr.
The operation planning occurred over the course of the day and it got other passengers interested in having pizza also, so by the time I was placing the order with AJ, my order for one pizza turned into an order for five pizzas and one chicken salad. We were all skeptical as to whether the pizza delivery would actually happen or not. Would AJ think it is just a prank call? Would our pizza actually be delivered before the train left the station?
As we pull into the Denver station everyone that ordered something is looking for the pizza delivery guy. Some of us get off the train and walk across the street to the temporary station to look for him. The minutes are ticking by and everyone is starting to get a little worried. I decided to call AJ and ask where the delivery guy was. AJ said that the pizza would be delivered in 10 or 15 minutes…..not to worry. I told AJ that in 10 minutes we would be headed to Omaha and that we need to have the pizza delivered NOW! Hearing that he agreed to bring it right over himself. Sure enough, 3 or 4 minutes later he pulls up behind the row of taxi cabs in front of the Amtrak station and we make the hand-off….. the pizzas and the salad in ours and the cash in his. He had transported the pizzas in a insulated bag so they were steaming hot, plus he had a bag with paper plates, containers of hot pepper and Parmesan cheese, salad dressing, forks and knives and napkins.
We get back on the train and the whistle blows a few minutes later and we are heated towards Omaha with everyone enjoying their pizza and salad. Many of the other passengers were wanting to know how and where we got the pizza. Not a piece went to waste as some of us shared with other hungry passengers. Everyone commented on how good it was!
I told AJ when I was ordering the pizzas, that I would post his name and phone number on this forum if he made the delivery happen and the pizza was good and was hot. He came through, so for any other travelers that might want hot freshly made pizza delivered to the EB Zephyr in Denver here is AJ's contact information. Anthony's Pizza and Pasta, phone number 303-623-0805. Give him a call when you clear the continental divide to place your order and tell him the trains expected arrival time. Then give him a call when the train is pulling into the station so the delivery can be coordinated.
TFR
Note: I have no affiliation in any way with AJ or Anthony's Pizza and Pasta. I just enjoyed their pizza and I thought others might want to try it also. I'm giving Anthony's Pizza & Pasta a 5 star review (five being the best!) for quality and service.
http://www.anthonyspizzaandpasta.com/
Anthony's Pizza & Pasta
1780 16th Street
Denver, CO 80202
Phone 303-623-0805
