Dinner on the Napa Valley Wine Train

Dinner.  On a train.  Gourmet dinner that is.  On a train ... through wine country, Napa Valley.

Yup, it is a thing, and, due to the generous gift of a friend who knew I had a fascination for "real trains" and fine dining, a thing I was able to experience.

It really was a wonderfully unique adventure, and I highly recommend for something just, well, different.

A lovely dinner ... on a train!

"Yes, the Napa Valley Wine Train is a luxurious journey. A one-of-a-kind adventure. But it is first and foremost a restaurant. Yellowfin tuna tartare. Pan-seared Pacific halibut. Roasted tenderloin of beef. Fresh local produce. Napa-style, multiple course gourmet meals. We take pride in the decadent quality of our cuisine. And the fact that it’s created onboard a moving antique train.

Our four onboard kitchens allow our chefs to create culinary works of art from scratch, made to order. Whatever dish you choose, luxurious ambiance is always served."

I'll admit, I didn't quite believe the marketing when I read about it.  Sure, reviews were quite good, but I thought it was likely a bit of a gimmick, a captive audience with no other dining option, and swayed by copious wine.  And this "luxurious journey" does not come cheap, tickets start at $225 each, for the ride and meal.  Wine is additional.

But ... well, it far exceeded my expectations.

The Experience - Gourmet Express Train

"A decadent journey aboard our elegant vintage train through the Napa Valley and back to another time: the glamorous days of rail travel. Embrace a slower pace and dine in sophisticated comfort. Choose lunch or dinner, enjoyed in two different types of stylishly refurbished antique Pullman rail cars, a dining car and a lounge car."

We opted for the dinner train, which had the following schedule:

5:30 PM - Check in
5:35 PM - Welcome speech
6:00 PM - Board the Train
6:30 PM - Train departs
9:30 PM - Train returns

The lunch train is a similar lineup, departing at 11:30am, and with a slightly longer route.

Within each trip, you can pick to be in the first or second seating.  The first seating begins in the dining room once underway, and starts with an appetizer and main dish in the dining car.  From there, for the return trip, you transition to a lounge car for dessert.  The second seating starts in the lounge car, and has their appetizer course there, before moving to dining car for main and dessert on the way back.  We opted for the first seating.

The Train!

"Stylishly refurbished antique Pullman rail cars."

The train itself was fairly impressive, very well appointment, and it truly did feel like I was stepping back in time, or at least, back in time based on my knowledge from movies.

Map of Journey.

"Originally a rail line built in 1864 to take visitors north to the resort town of Calistoga, the Wine Train is a three-hour, 36-mile round-trip journey from Downtown Napa to St. Helena and back. After boarding the train at the McKinstry Street Station, guests travel through the old industrial section of Napa, crossing the Rural Urban Limit Line (RUL) about ten minutes into the journey. Then it’s nothing but the spectacular scenery of beautiful wine country, the famed agricultural preserve of Napa Valley, past some of the most expensive and famous farm real estate in the country, and through the charming towns of Oak Knoll, Yountville, Oakville, and Rutherford."

Our journey was about 1.5 hours out, and then we turned around to come back.  Other versions of the trip make stops at wineries along the way.

Scenic Tracks.

The main reason most people are on the train is not the food.  It may be the wine, but really, it is for the scenic views.  I'm not really one to care about looking at scenery, but I'll admit, it really was lovely at times.  

Kitchen Area: Grills.

"California gourmet meals are crafted by our expert culinary team in one of three onboard kitchens. Located immediately next to each dining area, guests are encouraged to explore the Train and visit the kitchen cars and see our chefs in action."

I saw the marketing materials that talked about multiple onboard kitchens, and what I imagined was basically a catering setup, or something like an airline galley.  We were reminded several times that we were welcome to explore the hallways and view the kitchen cars, and, I was blown away by what I saw (my tour was after my meal, and it explained sooo much!).

These were not little makeshift kitchens.  No, these were full blown, well equipped, kitchens.  Several of them.  The grills were a constant hub of activity.

Kitchen Area: Stoves.

As were the stovetops.  And, everywhere really  The cooks were extremely busy, cranking out dishes for a whole train worth of people at once.

Bathroom.

The bathroom, like most of the train, was quite elegant.  I was expecting something more like a porta-potty or RV bathroom, or maybe an airplane bathroom, but really, this was outfitted like any small bathroom on the ground.

Part One: Dinner Service

As I mentioned, dinner is served in two waves in the dining car.  We opted for the first seating, so we started in the dining car, and moved to the lounge car later for dessert.  The second group switched with us at the midway point, and started in the lounge car for appetizers instead. 

Menu.

Dinner is a three course affair, choice of soup or salad to start, choice of main beef/chicken/pork/seafood/pasta /entree salad, the later two of which are vegetarian, and choice of two desserts.  They asked for food allergy/restriction details in advance when you make your booking, but also were quite easily able to make changes/substitutions the day of.

It was impressive that they had multiple vegetarian items and were as flexible as they were.  Again, not the catering style experience I was expecting.

Dining Car.

The dining car is filled with tables, basically all tables that can seat 4, although most had just a pair.  Couples could choose if they wanted to sit across from each other, or side by side to just look out the windows.  Every table was a window seat.

Tables.

The tables were perfect for looking at both your dining companion(s) and out the window, although there were parts of the meal where the glare was intense.

Dinner Menu.

Dinner is a 3 course meal.  We had a choice for each course.

First

• CHEF’S DAILY SOUP INSPIRATION
• SONOMA MIXED GREENS / sky hill farms goat cheese, shaved fennel, summer strawberries, toasted almonds, champagne-dijon vinaigrette

Main

• SLICED TENDERLOIN OF BEEF / point reyes blue cheese potato purée, forest mushrooms, asparagus, ruby port reduction.
• LEMON-THYME ROASTED CHICKEN / creamed summer corn, arugula, crispy quinoa,
• warm bacon vinaigrette.
• CITRUS & BLACK PEPPER-CURED PORK TENDERLOIN / white cheddar anson mills grits, rainbow chard, grilled spring onion, roasted peach bbq
• CATCH OF THE DAY
• KALE & FARRO SALAD / heirloom tomato, country olives, pole beans, basil, sky hill farms feta, preserved lemon vinaigrette.
• GEMELLI PASTA / saffron & summer squash purée, jubilee tomatoes, ricotta cheese, aged parmesan, squash blossom pesto.

Sweet

• PASTRY CHEF DAILY CREATION

Each dish had a suggested wine pairing, for an additional charge.  Wine is not included in your $225 ticket.

For our journey, the "Chef's Daily Soup Inspiration" was tomato soup, the "Catch of the Day" was salmon (as I think it nearly always is), and the "Pastry Chef Daily Creation" was a choice of a caramel panna cotta or a vanilla ricotta strawberry tart.

Our orders for all three courses were taken as soon as we were read.  I was also quite surprised, and pleased, at how well they took requests for modifications.  I was not expecting that level of service and customization on the train.  

Welcome Wines: Red and White.

Included in the ticket price is your first glass of generic wine, red or white.  Since my dining companion doesn't drink alcohol, I got to try both.  I don't recall either being all that interesting.

Most people upgraded to paid wine options quickly.

Cranberry Ginger Mocktail.

My companion asked about getting a non-alcoholic drink, and they had one mocktail for him to pick from.  It was fruity cranberry, but very sweet, and not really what he wanted.

Bread & Butter.

Everyone was brought their own individual bread and butter to start.

Starter: Sonoma Mixed Greens.

"Sky hill farms goat cheese, shaved fennel, summer strawberries, toasted almonds, champagne-dijon vinaigrette."

To start, my dining companion opted for the salad.

***+.

Starter: Sonoma Mixed Greens (Sub ricotta for goat cheese).

I also opted for salad.  As I loathe goat cheese, I asked if they could sub something else, and ricotta is what I received instead.  They were happy to accommodate.

Otherwise, same salad.  It was fine, and I appreciated that it was fairly interesting, with frisee and radicchio along with basic mixed greens, shaved fennel, and juicy ripe strawberries.  The nuts added a bit of crunch.  Meh to vinaigrette, but, that is just how I feel about vinaigrette  (And no, herbed ricotta doesn't work all that well on a salad).

***+.

Main: Sliced Tenderloin of Beef
(Sub creamed summer corn for forest mushrooms and potato purée).

"Point reyes blue cheese potato purée, forest mushrooms, asparagus, ruby port reduction."

For the main, my dining companion opted for the beef tenderloin, which came as a portion of two slices, both cooked medium.  It came nicely presented, really, better than I expected on a train (which made more sense when I saw their kitchen!).  I tried it: decently tender, decent quality beef, properly seasoned.

The dish normally came served over a point reyes blue cheese potato purée, and with sides of asparagus and mushrooms, but he asked to have the mushrooms replaced with creamed summer corn (from the chicken dish), because he doesn't eat mushrooms, and, uh, because I really wanted to try the creamed corn.

The kitchen unfortunately replaced both the potato purée and the mushrooms, which I'm sure made more sense from a plating perspective, but wasn't quite what he intended.  The result?  I got a full portion of creamed corn, and he missed out on his potatoes.  Oops.

The creamed corn was delicious, the highlight of the meal actually.  Creamy, slightly cheesy, nice texture from some chopped bits.  I was glad he basically let me have all of it.  I dragged it through the port reduction, which was fine but not interesting.

The asparagus was kinda eh, not particularly good, slightly undercooked.

Overall though, a nice looking plate, higher quality than you'd get a wedding reception.

***+.

Main: Catch of the Day ( BBQ Salmon)
(Sub white cheddar anson mills grits for roasted potatoes).

I went for the seafood choice, the catch of the day, which was salmon, and I think always is.  It was smothered in bbq sauce, which I didn't really care for with the salmon.  It was cooked nicely though.

It normally comes with roasted potatoes, but I asked for the grits from the pork tenderloin dish, and just like the other modifications we asked for, it was no problem.

The grits turned out to be a cake, not creamy grits as I was hoping for.  The vegetables of the day was a hearts of palm/tomato/caper salad and spinach, both pretty boring.

The beef was definitely a better dish.

***.

Part Two: Dessert

For dessert, our group moved to the Lounge car, to make way for the second dinner seating.  Those folks had previously been in the lounge car enjoying an appetizer round.

Lounge Car Entrance.

Each car is named after a grape, we were in the Cabernet Sauvignon car.

Lounge Car Chairs.

The lounge car was, well, very lounge-y, with comfortable padded chairs, mostly arranged so you could look out the windows.  It had an old school, elegant, vibe.

Dessert Lounge Seating.

Rather than full size, or even cocktail, tables, windows had a bar ledge where you could put drinks and food, again, mostly just to take full advantage of why you were on the train: the view.

Dessert Course.

My dining companion was full and didn't want dessert, so I got both options.  I was kinda excited, as I do love pudding, and panna cotta was one of the options.

To go with the dessert, I splurged and ordered a nicer wine from the wine list, for an additional fee.  It was actually really good, and completed my meal nicely.

Caramel Panna Cotta.

The panna cotta normally comes with chocolate ganache, but we asked to have it left off since both myself and my companion avoid caffeine at night.  Just as with our dinner modifications, this was no problem.  It also came with cocoa dusted almonds that weren't listed on the menu so we didn't know to ask for them left off (but, they were very tasty, and I totally broke my own rules to enjoy!), and deliciously boozy soaked cherries.

The panna cotta was fine, rather generic, but sweet from the caramel.  Well set.  I think the chocolate ganache would possibly help offset the sweet nature, but really, it called out for some whipped cream to me.  The aforementioned nuts were delicious but a bit out of place on here too.

The nuts on the side, and add some whip, and it could have been ****, but as is, ***.

Vanilla Ricotta Strawberry Tart.

The other option I also got, even though I wasn't really that excited about a tart, because my companion didn't want either, and I wanted to hedge my bets.  It was a shortbread tart crust, which was rather mediocre, as was the ricotta mousse.  The roasted strawberries were good, but there were only a few, and the vanilla sauce was way too minimal to be tasted.

Like the panna cotta, it also called out for whipped cream.  When I combined it with the panna cotta, it actually made for a decent dessert, full of complimentary textures and flavors, but, again, as served, ***.

Other

This was not part of my journey exactly, but, the train station where you check in has a little cafe, with wine by the glass, coffee, and a few baked goods.  Most of the baked goods were just packaged products, but they also had their home made coffee cake muffins.  The longer full day winery trips feature these as part of the breakfast spread served to begin those journeys.  Everyone *raves* about the amazing smoothie, frittata, and, in particular, coffee cake muffin they are served.   I recognized them immediately from all my research.

Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffin. $3.75,

I asked the cafe if the coffee cakes were good, and the person taking my order perked right up.  "Oh, they are amazing. We bake them here, they are very, very, very good."

I was sold.  Since my hotel was literally next door, I went back the next morning for one.

And indeed, everyone was right.  This was amazing coffee cake.  Or, cake really.  It was far too sweet and buttery to be a "breakfast" item, but it was a fantastic item.

****+.