Green tahini, chickpeas, mint, parsley, red onion That said, our flat-iron steaks were excellent and cooked rare as we requested, and Haagen-Dazs ice cream is, for me, hard to beat even when served in a Dixie cup.įor Amtrak reservations: (800) 872-7245, Sleeping-car space is expensive, with price varying by demand, and can be scarce depending on the season.Ĭrawford Hotel, (720) 460-3700,, mussels, cuttlefish, fregula sarda, baby brassicas, heirloom apples, colorado pumpkin, fennel pollen vinaigrette Coffee now may be served in a cardboard cup. The following day would bring the Sierra Nevadas and Donner Pass, with the end of the line in Emeryville, Calif.ĭining-car meals, included in sleeping-car fares, are, for me, a highlight of rail travel, though Amtrak has been reducing selections, offering the same menu countrywide (regional specialties are now gone) and slipping in flimsier plastic plates. Then would come 235 wondrous miles along the Colorado River, curving through canyon after spectacular canyon, each different: Byers, Gore, Red, Glenwood, Debeque, Ruby. The train would make a looping ascent of the Rockies’ Front Range before plunging into the Moffat Tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide. Because we disembarked in Denver we would miss the great scenery that lay ahead. There’s also a “family bedroom” with multiple berths of assorted lengths and an accessible bedroom.Īfter the Zephyr’s Chicago departure my wife and I spent much of the afternoon in the lounge, renewing our acquaintance with the farms, small cities and towns of rural Illinois and Iowa-a succession of pleasant but unspectacular sights. The “roomette,” with facing seats by day and upper and lower berths at night(and no private toilet), can accommodate two but is ideal for a single traveler. At night the sofa makes into an oversized berth, and a smaller upper folds out of the wall. ![]() The bedroom is the premier sleeping accommodation for two, with a sofa and small table and chair. The California Zephyr, like all of Amtrak’s Western overnight trains, is equipped with double-deck Superliner cars: coaches, sleepers, a dining car and a Sightseer Lounge with oversized windows and skylights. Vincent Millay wrote many years ago, “no matter where it’s going.” That’s still our mantra, though we also enjoyed the smart Union Station and spacious luxury of the Crawford’s Pullman-style room. “There isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,” poet Edna St. Saved for next time: the highly rated, open-kitchen Mercantile Dining & Provision and a half-dozen more casual places. Then came dinner at curiously named Stoic & Genuine, with seafood flown in daily: shrimp and grits for Laurel, oysters for me, first on the half shell and then fried.Īt lunch the next day at the Terminal Bar, we had our choice of 32 microbrews, all Colorado products. At the next table was Dana Crawford, the doyenne of historic preservation in downtown Denver who lent her name to the hotel. We had a cocktail in the stylish Cooper Lounge, on a balcony overlooking the Great Hall. ![]() So many places to eat and drink and so little time. Some rooms have queen beds tucked into nooks, reminiscent of berths on the old trains. Built in previously empty mezzanine space, they feature wood accents recalling old-fashioned Pullman cars and framed memorabilia. ![]() Other options include Loft, funky, creative suites in what had been an unused attic, and Classic, high-ceilinged rooms with expansive windows and Victorian furnishings in what once were offices.Īppropriately, the Pullman rooms overlook the tracks. was once the preeminent operator of sleeping cars. We had booked a Pullman-style guest room, an appropriate transition from our Amtrak sleeper because the Pullman Co. The hotel has 112 guest rooms, all different in configuration or décor. The Great Hall is also the Crawford’s lobby, so we checked in and left our luggage, because we assumed (accurately) that our room wouldn’t be ready for hours. I had the house-made corned-beef hash with caramelized poblanos and onion and Laurel sweet-potato buttermilk pancakes with homemade caramel syrup, candied pecans and ginger butter - both house specialties. We ordered cappuccinos and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
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