Grand Canyon eats with a View via Amtrak Southwest Chief

 This is the first half or our Spring 2016 trip, It involves a overnight ride on the Amtrak Southwest Chief from LA to Williams AZ then on to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

I was unsure about our food options on the train and I have heard good things about Philippe The Original on the Food channel and other places.

The sandwich was very good and juicy (we opted for the single dip Beef) the potato salad was nice also and I was surprised to like the cole slaw which I normally don't like. It was sweeter than most.

Basic early 1900's interior

This is the LAX Union Station in LA

Fancy large room that does not seem to be in use at Union Station.

one benefit on booking a sleeper car in the lounge at the Depot

Ready to Ride

We are on our way just before sunset

Here is the Amtrak Diner car

The food was included with our sleeper car also and it was good, here is the Herb Roasted Chicken

I had a nice steak

We stayed for Dessert Greek yogurt cheesecake and  chocolate cream tart

After switching to the Grand Canyon railway and arriving at the Grand Canyon, our first meal was at the Arizona room in the Bright Angel Lodge. This place seems to have a view from every table

We got the Agave Citrus Marinated Chicken and opted to hold the Green sauce (I think it was tomatillo) on the side and it is a good thing because I did not care for it but the Chicken was ok. The Market Salad was nice though.

This Peach Blackberry Streusel pie was the star of the meal, can I have more please?

This is the big resort called El Tovar, we had dinner in the bar and breakfast in the restaurant.

This is the Brat and a bowl of chili, the brat was very good and the chili warmed us up on a cold night along with the "Barn Burner Drink (cinnamon schnapps and Hot Chocolate)

Next morning time for a stellar Breakfast at El Tovar.

I enjoyed some banana bread french toast with some prickly pear syrup that the waiter recommended.

we also had some Oatmeal

Next up its Lunch at the Bright Angel lodge

Ponderosa Chicken Club with Sweet Potato fries, it was all good

we also had the Supai Spinach and substituted chicken for the Smoked Rainbow Trout

My birthday was this week so I got a nice Brownie Sundae dessert to finish the meal, this might have been the best meal we had here although the breakfast was top notch too.

The Grand Canyon railway back, we enjoyed some fruit and pastries and drinks.

While waiting in Williams AZ for the Amtrak we had the option of a buffet at the hotel but we opted to walk across the street to the Pine Country restaurant.

Free bread yay

Roast beef dinner was filling, we did not have room for dessert after snacking on the train.

Pine Country pie rack

just a quick pic of the breakfast on the Amtrak train back.

Eating my way through Universal Studios Florida

On a recent trip to Universal I recorded some of the current food offerings. here is the breakdown, first stop Finnegan's Bar and Grill

the Soda bread is free but a little on the dry side for me.

My happy family, Me with the Shepherd's pie which was the second time I have ordered it because its that good. My wife found a salad and son had a burger and thought it was OK.

Some pastries at the entrance to Island of Adventure

Just around the corner is my next stop is Confisco Grille

very nice theming

The Spinach dip was a nice way to start.

My choice was the Pad tie that this place is famous for and it did not disappoint.

My sons nachos i think he held off all the good stuff.

nice fresh pizza

The club sandwich

Next stop the Leaky cauldron for some snacks

My daughter and son-in-law celebrating a anniversary with a Butterbeer

Chocolate Potted Cream, no you can't keep the cup.

off we go to the Three Broomsticks

We got the Great Feast which feed all 5 of us and then some, it was very tasty for a counter service place. checkout the menu here 

https://touringplans.com/islands-of-adventure/dining/three-broomsticks/menus/lunch-and-dinner-menu

one last stop was a booth selling potatoes that were very tasty to me, this is a shepherds pie Jacket Potato from the London Taxi Hut, menu here 

https://touringplans.com/universal-studios-florida/dining/london-taxi-hut/menus/all-day-menu

Not pictured was the ButterBeer ice cream that I had and it is one of my favorites now.

Also while waiting for a Halloween HHN event to start we tried some tasty tacos at 

Bumblebee Man's Tacos

menu here 

https://touringplans.com/universal-studios-florida/dining/bumblebee-mans-tacos/menus/all-day-menu

The tacos were a nice quick meal. 

Thanks for reading.

Owensboro KY Riverfront Another Broken Egg Cafe

I had a chance to use some IHG rewards points to stay at the new Holiday Inn Owensboro which is also home to the Another Broken Egg Cafe.

This is a great riverfront walk for a city of this size.

We were lucky enough to get a room overlooking the river.

I did not try this dish but was told it was good.

This was my Bananas Foster French toast that was soooo good I was tempted to eat it all but I stopped on the last piece just so I could still get up.

Fruit topped oatmeal that was good

A nice touch with the coffee cups. This is a chain but being in the hotel I have to say its the best hotel food I have had,

Paula Dean's Pigeon Forge Restaurant

The new Paula Dean restaurant in Pigeon forge, TN finally opened after some delays and I finally made it there to eat. If you go, be ready for some buttery goodness.

A walk through the gift shop revealed many buttery items like this Butter infused Olive Oil.

This is the Dinner menu. The Lunch menu is the same but you only choose 2 meats instead of 3.

This cornbread and mexican cheesebread comes before the meal and was tasty and I tried to save some room.

This is the family style food spread. I didn't think I would need anymore but it did order a refill on the catfish because it was so good. The chicken was also very good but we could have done without the pot roast. Also don't miss the candied Yams.

The lovely view from our seat

Banana Pudding

Ooey Gooey Butter cake w chocolate chips

We enjoyed our dinner and it was a nice feature they have when you check in they will text you when your table is ready so you can walk around the shopping center.

Jack And Jameson's Smokehouse

I got to try a new local restaurant that is owned by General Hospital and Nashville tv show alums Steve Burton and Jonathon Jackson along with an industry veteran Richard Shannon.

https://www.facebook.com/JackandJamesons/

The building is nicely remodeled with a wood smokehouse theme and a stage at one end.


I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was here. They have a lot more than just BBQ although that is what I ordered. I went with the pork plate with a pretzel bun. The pork was smoked just right and the sweet potato fries were nice and crispy. I went with the pretzel bun on the side.

We tried a Winter Kale salad with roasted Butternut Squash on it that was delicious.

And we couldn’t leave without some dessert so we got the carrot cake which was tasty also.