Riding the Eurostar for the Food
"The menu fit in perfectly with my ideal of old-fashioned romantic trains."
You know how you’re supposed to book your ticket in advance when vacationing? Way in advance? To pay less? I have a terrible confession—I wait. Well, I wait, on purpose, when I am traveling from London to Paris.
[Other photographs: Kerry Saretsky]
I wait, just long enough, because I play a game with myself. At a certain point on the Eurostar, the lowest fare tickets will soar in price but the leisure class stays the same, quite low in fact—only a couple of pounds more than the economy. That’s when I buy. Because, truth be told, of the food.
I suppose being born in the 1980s somewhat damns you to wistfully imagine old movie versions of romantic train rides. The Orient Express, I tell myself, had fantastic food, romantically served by candlelight on white tablecloths to ladies with Marcel waves and a flourish of diamonds. OK, so that probably never happened, but I like to imagine it did, especially while eating on the Eurostar.
Organic baby leaf salad
Last time I rode the Eurostar, I was served a lunch of wild mushroom risotto, red pepper flan, pear frangipane tart, and a carafe of rosé. This time, I had, and I quote: “organic assorted baby leaf salad with steamed asparagus, seasonal tomatoes, and walnuts” with “spinach and ricotta cannelloni with tomato and basil sauce, cheddar, and grilled courgettes.”
They were served with a blueberry tartlet, rustic rosemary bread, sweet cream butter, an Earl Grey scented dark chocolate square that was a post-meal cleanse by fire with its bitter and bergamot aftertaste, and fresh, real mint tea. I ate it with real silverware, and washed it down with another carafe of rosé.
Blueberry tartlet
The other option on the menu? “Chicken fillet strips with a coconut cream sauce, summer vegetable tagliatelle and steamed broccoli.” The menu fit in perfectly with my ideal of old-fashioned romantic trains—except, sadly, I was traveling alone.
The cannelloni was decadent and fresh; it was hot and oozing but still verdant and light. The menu pays special attention to organic and fair-trade food products, but above all, it's delicious. I base my train journey around this meal—and I suggest you do too. Eating such a marvel while racing from one country to another, at unheard of speeds, is like simultaneously traveling back to black-and-white silent pictures. Maybe train romance and dining isn't dead after all.
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5 Comments:
This is a brilliant piece of news, and I thank you for it. As to marcelled hair, I'd add that I did have the chance to ride the Orient Express train from Singapore to Bangkok, and we dressed for dinner. We had the first seating, and during the second seating, the train stopped for a little while in Kuala Lumpur. Mr. Meatloaf and I stepped out on the platform for a little stroll. Like much of that part of the world, it was lit with fluorescents. As we walked by the dining car, there were the table lamps with beaded fringe giving off the warm, yellow incandescent light, the ladies in shiny cocktail dresses and the men all dressed up, some in black tie. It was like looking into a window to another time. If we turned 180 degrees, there was an immense floodlit mosque, and the back-and-forth sights between the two was stunning. (No marcel waves, alas.)
lemons at 12:26PM on 08/31/09
We took our honeymoon to Prague by train. We sipped champagne at the new terminal at St Pancras, then enjoyed lovely sandwiches on board on our way to Brussels. At Brussels, we had mussels and frites with lovely beer, picked up another bottle of champagne, and took an overnight train to Berlin. We booked a private cabin, complete with WC and shower, and were woken up with hot coffee, fresh rolls, and an array of various cold meats and cheese. The final leg took us through the former East Germany and followed the Elbe the whole way to Prague, with someone coming by every so often to offer us coffee or tea, and maybe a bit of cake.
Trains are the only way to go.
NotAmerican at 12:41PM on 08/31/09
The photos are mouth watering! Thanks for this post. The next time my husband is travelling in Europe, I'll recommend he try Eurostar rather than flying. He loves trains, so I'm kind of puzzled that he hasn't traveled on this before.
dhorst at 4:43PM on 08/31/09
My question is ... when exactly is that "certain point" that we should book? Hungry and wanderlusty (and cheap) bellies need to know!
jeninewsbite at 4:47PM on 08/31/09
Aha! That takes vigilance. Sometimes, you do risk missing the window. It's a matter of availability and not of timing. But you want to look for when the price between economy and leisure is within about 30 dollars.
Kerry Saretsky at 5:29PM on 08/31/09