On Sat, 27 Dec 2014 12:26:34 -0500, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>On 2014-12-26 7:35 PM, sf wrote:
>> Watching Ming Tsai on Create TV and I'm blown away by the train food.
>> This is real cooking! I've been wanting to take the train across
>> Canada and this episode is pushing me to do it.
>> https://www.ming.com/simply-ming/epi...-in-canada.htm
>> The salmon and lamb recipes looked outstanding.
>>
>
>
>I hope things have improved since we took the trip from Calgary to
>Vancouver about 30 years ago. The train was an hour late leaving
>Calgary. We had lunch about the time we went through Banff. The daily
>special was a hamburger with pea soup and potato chips. The pea soup
>was just canned Habitant pea soup and it was watered down. There were
>no chips with it so I asked.... they were out of chips.... first meal
>after sitting in the station for two hours in the biggest city that
>train had been through in two days.
>
>The porter came by at 4 pm asking if we wanted a reservation for the
>fifth and final seating at 10 pm. We had a 6 year old with us so that
>was out of the question. We went to the vending machines and had stale
>sandwiches.
>
>We went for breakfast at 6 am. My son wanted the continental breakfast,
>orange juice, tea and a muffin. The waiter came by and slide a couple of
>pieces of toast in front of him and kept going. Later on I asked what
>happened with the muffin and was told in a snarky tone "We're out of
>muffins. I gave him toast."
>
>
>That was 30 years ago and there is a chance that they may have improved
>the dining on the train in that time. However, the scenery is amazing.
> Someone told us that we missed some of the most scenic sights because
>it would have been dark at the time were were there, but I can't imagine
>it being any better. It is interesting to see the different mountain
>ranges and individual characteristics.

The scenery is just one reason it's far better to drive across Canada,
you miss 90% going by rail, half the time it's too dark to see and the
train actually takes the *least* scenic route... the choice of eaterys
in the larger cities is fabulous... can dine in the Peg for a month
and never tire of the chow, Toronto is no slouch in the viands
department either... and if one motors all the way up into the
Canadian Rockies the food is to die for. Motoring is the way to go...
taking the train is a total waste of ones time, then it's far better
off to fly across. I took the train, once... the dining experience is
only a baby step up from airplane food... I rented a car and drove
back. It's a long drive across Canada coast to coast but that's the
only way to experience and appreciate the vastness of Canada. If one
just has to see what it's like by rail there are many videos on line
that actually show what you'll miss going by rail.
http://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our...ouver-canadian
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0o6thZoowI
http://www.train-canada.net/