The Fat Boy Summer Road Trip 2014 - Day 2

Breakfast is the one meal with little chance for variety on board a train.  I started my morning just outside of Shelby, MT with pancakes and pork sausage.  The pancakes were cooked through and not undercooked as sometimes can be the case with quick prepared breakfasts, and the sausage while obviously coming from under a heat lamp was still juicy and flavorful.  

Service was quick and easy as you would expect in a small space with many passengers to feed quickly.  A good breakfast and great start to the day.

Today's Lunch Market special was a stir fry chicken but had way more sauce than I consider normal for a stir fry.

Very spicy, with big chunks of peppers and broccoli.  Served over a rice pilaf.  I should have gone with something else, as this was not a good meal.

Service was slow.  Painfully slow, and even more so given how quick it normally is.  A couple who was seated at my table after I had ordered my drink was finished with lunch and ordering dessert by the time my entree arrived.  Hopefully it was an anomaly and service will be up to par for the rest of the trip.

Dinner I decided on the Catch of the Day, which was catfish tonight.  It could have been seasoned better, and while others said it was great mine was a little muddy.  The seasoning is just personal preference and the muddiness is dumb luck with catfish.  I should have had the steak I guess.  Dinner was served with a rice pilaf and green beans, both of which were great.  In all a good but not great day dining aboard the Empire builder.  The service anomaly from lunch thankfully proved itself just that, and dinner was a great time once again meeting new people and harassing the staff.

For my whiskey selection tonight I opened the first of two interesting new whiskeys made from already brewed and DRINKABLE beer.  

Tonight's selection is Pine Barrens Single Malt, distilled from a single malted traditional barley wine by the folks at Long Island Spirits in Baiting Hollow, NY.  They start by brewing from scratch a traditional English Style Barley Wine Ale and then double pot distill the conditioned Ale.

The result is very aromatic, with hints of nutmeg and allspice on the nose.  The first taste gives Pine Barrens it's name, as the very floral note has a pine tar hint that quickly faded to cinnamon and nutmeg giving it a very smooth and sweet finish.  The sharp floral notes make this feel almost more like a cordial or digestif than a whiskey, but from ingredients to process a whiskey it is.  A very nice taste that goes perfect after a meal.

The Fat Boy Summer Road Trip 2014 - Day 1

Day one of the trip had me leaving Portland behind on the train via Amtrak's Empire Builder on route to Chicago where I will have a wait before changing trains.  I love train travel, and have since I discovered it in college.

Crossing the Columbia River Draw Bridge

The train leaving Portland crosses the Columbia river into Vancouver, WA before heading East up the Columbia River Gorge on the Washington side of the river.  There are some great views on this section of the trip, and the first afternoon and evening is one of the most scenic on Amtrak's route.

The Bistro Box served for dinner out of Portland was ok, but needed a little help.

Leaving Portland the Empire builder has a viewing car with a cafe downstairs but no dining car, so dinner the first night was a boxed affair.  The choices available were limited to shrimp or beef, so I selected the Burgandy Beef Tri-tip.  The beef was flavorful and tender, cooked a little farther towards well than I would prefer but when trying to serve a variety of people and keep under refrigeration that is often the case.  The fruit was fresh and tasty, not over ripe as sometimes can be the case with this type of meal, and the dessert was creamy and delightful.  The only thing that didn't really work for me was the veggie selection.  A mushroom and broccoli combination that might have been good warm was decidedly not when served cold and tossed in some type of vinaigrette.

After dinner I decided to open the bottle of Teeling Irish Whiskey the folks at Caskers sent me to review for a first tasting.  Made in Dublin since 1782 The Teeling hasn't been available in the United States since the revolution.  With whiskey making such a resurgence in the Americas they decided to begin export in January of this year.

This is a smooth whiskey for a type normally known as a shot not for sipping.  As a shot it was so smooth with great sweetness and depth on the finish that I decided to try it on the rocks as well.  Over ice it loses what little bite it had on the nose and leaves the sweet aromas derived from its rum cask finish.  The sweet malts hit the palate first, followed by a little spice before a slightly fruity finish.

 In all a very nice close to my first night aboard my favorite train.

Thrillist Strikes Again: Portland's 8 Best Whisky Bars

Thrillist today posted their choices for the eight best whiskey bars in Portland, and they took the easy way out in a town known for great food and drink by naming their favorites in eight categories instead of ranking the top eight.

From the article:  

PDX's 8 best whiskey bars

You can drink whiskey pretty much anywhere... except in your car, or at work, or in public, or at the library (unless it's Multnomah Whiskey Library!), but literally almost ANYWHERE else. Portland's best places though, are right here...

Thrillist Rate's Portland's Best Mac & Cheese options

Woke up today to find a great article in my inbox rating the best Mac & Cheese dishes in PDX.  Some great choices here, but my favorite Lobster Mac & Cheese from Ringside Fish House missed the cut.  You can see how your favorite ranked at the link below.

On the Road review: Morris' Fireside Grille

We are in Cannon Beach, Oregon this weekend for Carrie to participate in the recording sessions for this years Singing Christmas Tree.  We got checked into our motel in the old downtown area, and first step was to find lunch.

Right around the corner from our Motel we found Morris' Fireside Grille, and decided to give it a try.  I decided on fish and chips, because I love fresh fish.  The fish was lightly battered and crunchy on the outside, while staying perfectly flaky and moist inside.  Not an easy feat, but it made for a terrific lunch.  Morris' adds dill to the batter, giving it a nice zip even without tartar sauce.  The hand-cut "driftwood" fries were large and flavorful if a little soft.

Carrie and Andrew had the French Dip, and reported the meat tender and flavorful, with an Aus Jous so flavorful Andrew actually drank it from the cup after his sandwich was gone.  Hailey went with a chicken sandwich so big she could only eat half.  A large chicken breast with bacon and normal toppings of lettuce and tomato on a sturdy bread that stayed together made for a great meal for her.
In all I was very happy with the service and quality of food Morris' Fireside Grille delivered.  As with most seaside communities the price was a little high with lunch for four coming in at $65.00 plus tip, but for portions this large and food this good I was happy to pay the tab.

Hailey had a HUGE chicken sandwich.  It ended up being two meals for her.