What Amtrak Tastes Like

Emboldened by my new fascination with rail dining, I recently enlisted a group of close friends for my bachelor party on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight, riding down the coast from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. In nod to Fred Harvey, I had a bottle of Benedictine and one of rye in my luggage, a few illicit nips of which fuelled our poker playing as the countryside and ocean rushed past.
 

Traveling by train is a joy. I kept my shoes on when I boarded, didn’t have to squeeze uncomfortably past strangers to find the lavatory, and breathed air from outside for the whole voyage. It was all incredibly civilized. But were the vestiges of Fred’s legacy all gone? Throughout our journey, we made repeated trips from the observation level down to the snack bar, but clearly, his hospitable spirit had long since abandoned this place. A grimy dive bar on wheels, the only offerings were canned beer, microwaveable long-life burgers and various chemical renditions of high fructose corn syrup.

On the return trip, however, we opted to make a reservation for the dining car. In the late evening, the sun began to dip below the horizon and amber California farmland clackety-clacked by the windows. Our group of seven was summoned and ushered into the dining car where we were seated. Each four-diner booth was dressed with a tablecloth, actual metal cutlery, and a tiny flower vase. Plates were ceramic, and glasses were – shock of shocks – actually made of glass. My smile grew as the courses were served – a soft dinner roll with butter, a simple green salad, then grilled salmon with an herb butter sauce and a lovely rice pilaf.  Accompanied by a couple of glasses of pleasingly inoffensive white wine and some chitcat with the waitstaff, this meal was surprisingly enjoyable.

 

Salad, somewhere near Salinas

 

Not too shabby

Let's get something straight though - Amtrak is not and does not purport to be the Orient Express; it the food here wouldn't quite compare to the heyday of the Santa Fe Super Chief. And I wouldn’t be writing about the same meal if it were served in a stationary restaurant. But the big news to me here is that Amtrak is making a genuine effort to serve real food on their trains, and that I can appreciate. Maybe, with a little time and some increased ridership, the future of rail travel can aspire to get even closer to the standards of the past.