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Gourmet On A Train: Ditch Cooking For A Napa Wine Dinner

November 6, 2009 at 3:40 PM | by | Comments (0)

There is a certain romantic allure to train travel—just ask fictional sweethearts Jesse and Céline of Before Sunrise. But Stateside, unfortunately, the mode of transport isn't as common as it is in other parts of the world. While you continue to dream about hopping aboard a Darjeeling Railway car, we're happy to report that a smaller-scale train trek can be had in California, even if it is less grand than journeying across exotic international ground.

The Napa Valley Wine Train is a refined alternative to unofficial "drunk buses" tourists often book to stay safe while sipping wine flights throughout the day. Equally drinker-friendly, and much more respectable, the train is holding a special Thanksgiving dinner aboard its Gourmet and Vista Dome cars for $104 and $139, respectively. Sadly, lunch tickets have already sold out.

The difference between the two price tiers have to do with the seating options and level of privacy you'll have. The extra money you pay for a place in Vista Dome's Pullman includes "observation style dining," while the Gourmet car has rotated and slightly less intimate seating.

Purchasing a ticket of course means that the onus of cooking for family and friends will be lifted off your shoulders. It also means that you'll have to eat on an early bird's time schedule: the train starts boarding at 4:30 and returns by 8:30, so the tryptophan slumber will kick in before 10:00, we're guessing. Since Napa usually attracts an older crowd anyway, these are probably optimal circumstances.

Some of the menu options prepared by Chef Kelly Macdonald include Roasted Pumpkin and Butternut Squash soup with cider cream and chives, Roasted Beef Tenderloin, a Diestel Turkey (of course) with pear sage stuffing and cranberry chutney, and Pumpkin Pie or Creme Brûlée for dessert.

More information about the Thanksgiving Wine Dinner can be found here. We wish they could promise us a Jason Schwartzman sighting with the purchase of dinner. Doesn't Uncle Francis own a vineyard nearby?

Related Stories
· Napa Valley Wine Train [Official Site]
· TSA Approves Pies In The Sky [Official Site]
· Thanksgiving coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Willscrlt]

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