Dinner On A Train

The Cincinnati Dinner Train
2172 Seymour Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45237
(513) 791-7245

For several years I have been trying to book a reservation for the Cincinnati Dinner Train to celebrate my birthday. Two years passed where I visited the website a month in advance to try to lock down dinner during the peak fall foliage season, when it's clear everyone else had the same idea but they moved faster. After the second year miss, I asked for a set of gift certificates for Christmas from my mom. They didn't expire for two years. Just like a procrastinator, I held on to them until the last possible moment. I missed my  opportunity to book my birthday weekend and peak fall foliage again but settled for the second week of November, unfortunately, after daylight saving ended.  The point was I was going, I'd gotten a reservation. I still had to book the reservation in September to get that. I say all of this to say, this is a hot ticket as far as Ohio experiences go. If you want to dine on the Cincinnati Dinner Train, it requires a few months planning.

Saturday I arrived at the location to board the train. It was a little off putting because the entrance is behind another business. I almost thought we were in the wrong place until we saw the train arriving. My date and I were the first to arrive, an hour before we were supposed to be there. We wanted to make sure we had plenty of time for correction if we got lost or somehow ended up in the wrong place. We left the parking lot to ride around in the immediate area, before we were scheduled to board. When we returned there were more cars in the lot and the staff was setting up. A man greeted us as we pulled into the lot, directed us to our parking space and explained where to pick up our boarding passes.

Boarding time was 5pm. I collected my boarding passes that were most likely meant to be really cute souvenirs for a scrap book. Both tickets had my name printed on them, the train car we were dining in and the table where we would spend the next few hours. We were greeted by a cute elderly man dressed in a train conductor's uniform. As we stood in line we were entertained by the Queen City Sisters, a women's singing group who cover songs from the 30's, 40's and 50's A cappella. The trip is designed to take you back to 1949, the singers set the mood. We almost reached the booster stairs to the train when we were stopped to take a photo that we had the opportunity to purchase later on in the ride. Everyone was dressed in late 1940s clothing including the photographer and his assistant.

The reservation was in the New York Central car, a car that was used from 1947 until 1967 in NYC. Before it became one of the Cincinnati Dinner Train cars, it also served as a soft-serve ice cream parlor in Cincinnati.

Once we boarded the train and reached the table, the appetizer was already waiting for us. It was a simple charcuterie plate with summer sausage, a scoop of sun dried tomato spread, crackers and grapes. We were offered tea or water with our meal. The option for beer, wine and cocktails are extra. The entree I pre-ordered when I made the reservation, was salmon, so I ordered a glass of white wine to drink with it later. The second course was a tossed green salad with ranch dressing and a roll. After the salad, the entree was served. They offer three options when you make the reservation, prime rib,boneless chicken breast in white wine sauce or salmon with spicy hoisin glaze.

Though I do not have images of any courses besides the appetizer because of lighting issues, I will at least share my experience. The salad was basic but fresh tasting. The salmon was tender and moist but I was not entirely sold on the hoisin glaze. I am used to a glaze being a little thick and sticky. The glaze on the salmon I was served was juicy and tasted more like citrus than hoisin. It was not what I expected but I still enjoyed it. My favorite part of the meal was dessert. I ordered the pecan pie but also tasted my date's cheese cake. Both were delicious.
   
My date and I shared the table with another couple, residents of Cincinnati. I was worried initially about who our table mates would be but we lucked out with a couple who we had so much in common with, we were like personality mirror images. We had so much to talk about that we spent more time talking when we were supposed to be eating.

Service on the train was impeccable. The wait staff came to check on tables often. My tea stayed filled and plates were removed in a timely fashion. They brought out desserts with candles for those celebrating birthdays and since it was Veterans Day weekend, veterans received a free cocktail of their choice.

We were entertained on and off throughout the night by The Queen City Sisters who sang songs from the 40's. They also sung Happy Birthday to all the people celebrating on the train. In the last hour of the ride they were in the last car performing until we return to the starting point. This train car felt like a 1940s club. There was only a bar, the singers and room to hangout.Past that car was the caboose where everyone was able to pull the train whistle. I felt like a goofy kid, so excited to pull a train whistle. 

This by far was one of my favorite Ohio dining experiences, and I have had a lot. The ambiance is great for a romantic date or a special occasion.  The ride isn't very scenic, there are a few special architectural and historical points of interest, but what they lack in outside views is made up for in the charm, detail and service of the staff. I see myself returning for a round two.

Until next time,
Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!
Kris,

 

Hello 2016

 
It is still January, so I hope it doesn't sound too funny telling you, Happy New Year! Last month and part of this month, I struggled a little with illness but I am much better now. My energy has finally returned and I feel so blessed to feel normal again. I appreciate every day that I wake up feeling well and comfortable. 

Since it is a new year, I am making new plans for the blog. A friend of mine suggested that I make my blog strictly about food since I love food so much. I don't have any plans to do that since I started  this blog to talk about all the things I love like: Ohio travel, art and exploring unique experiences. However, I do want to start highlighting more of my food adventures. This year I am introducing a new series called Tasty Travels. It will feature restaurants and other types of food establishments all over Ohio that are worth a road trip. At the end of the year I introduced a series called Made In Ohio. It is a series that features things that are produced in the Buckeye State. I plan to incorporate more of that series this year as well. I will continue my list of 101 Cool Places And Things In Ohio. I will continue to share the castles, wineries and natural wonders in my home state. Ohio will not be the only place I discuss this year, I am currently working on some travel plans. I will share as my plans progress.

If you have any suggestions, I will happily address what ever topics you have in mind.  I get messages on social media all the time asking me about events, where to eat or places to visit. I want to continue to be that person that has at least some of those answers for you. I will try my best to give you something cool, new or exciting weekly. I will try not to let you down. Again, Happy New Year! I hope the first month of this year has already brought you joy!

Kris,

July Concert Wrap Up

Yesterday I did reviews on the three Ohio wineries I visited. This month I did so much. In addition to the wineries I visited, I went to a couple of concerts. I love music as much as I love my wine. So today's post is about the concerts I attended this month.

I have a broad selection of music that I listen to. This year I have seen Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Tyga, Stevie Wonder and Tesla. This month I added Whitesnake, Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa to the list.


WHITESNAKE

My beau loves 80s hair bands, so I went to see Whitesnake with him, his brother and his friend a few weeks ago near Dayton. Songs you may be familiar with are, Still Of The Night, Is This Love and Here I Go Again. I was impressed with the energy of lead singer David Coverdale. He is in his 60s and moves just as he did when I was wearing cloth diapers and Huggies. The band's songs are still being used in the soundtracks of current shows and movies.

The show was great! All though I was not familiar with every song, I still had a good time. I danced, sang along to the songs I knew and drooled over guitarist Joel Hoekstra. I also met a couple who got engaged at a Whitesnake concert many years ago. The husband celebrated seeing his 100th Whitesnake concert that night.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Photos

The Whitesnake Set

David Coverdale

Joel Hoekstra

THE BOYS OF ZUMMER TOUR

I took my preteen nephew to his first concert two weeks ago. It was a festival style concert where Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa were the headliners. It also featured Hoodie Allen and a few other acts I was not familiar with.

It may not have been the best concert to take a twelve year old because of the the glamorization of a certain natural drug that Wiz Khalifa refers to often; no judgement to those who appreciate it. His set even included giant inflatable joints that the crowd tossed around. The concert itself was entertaining and lively. I forgot how many Wiz Khalifa songs I actually knew. We went because my nephew was a Fall Out Boy fan but he left more of a fan of Wiz. Aside from the second hand smoke we inhaled during his entire show, it was a good time.

Fall Out Boy sounded just as they do on their tracks. Their set used a lot of graphics, laser lights and pyrotechnics. I felt like an old lady, jumping every time there was a big boom.  My nephew got a kick out of my skittishness. We sang along to Centuries, Light Em Up, Uma Thurman and older hits like Thanks For The Memories. Hopefully the concert will be a lasting memory for my nephew. You only get one first concert.

LEICA V-LUX 1 DIGITAL CAMERA

The tour banner

Samsung Camera Phone Photo of us at the concert

Wiz Khalifa

Wiz

Patrick Stump & Pete Wentz

Joe Trohman & Andy Hurley

Light Em Up played as we headed toward the exit.

Until next time,
Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!
Kris,

July Winery Wrap Up

It's almost the end of July and this will be my first post of the month. My apologies! Sometime I get busy with activities and that is great, but my schedule leaves me tired or without time or motivation to write. We also celebrated the third anniversary of the style blog that this blog was spun from. This week I will sum up the last few weeks with  the events of the month. I will share the photos I took, some of which made it to instagram.

In the month of July I visited three new Ohio wineries, so in today's post,  I am doing a few short reviews of my visits. 

My Ohio Winery Visits

I love Ohio wine, so I  travel to new wineries every time I have the opportunity. This month I got the chance to visit Buckeye Lake Winery, Three Oaks Vineyard and Hidden Lakes Winery.

BUCKEYE LAKE WINERY

I spent July 4th at Buckeye Lake Winery. It is a beautiful place, even by the low lake water. They offer mostly dry wines, so those sweet Ohio wine drinkers may not appreciate the selection as much. I thought the wine was decent but the cheese plate, scenery and live music were my favorite parts. I recommend visiting just for a nice day by the lake. Supporting the businesses in the area will help them to survive while the city works on the issues with the dam.

Photo from the patio.

The cool tasting carrier at Buckeye Lake Winery.

Cheese and fruit! Delicious!

THREE OAKS VINEYARD

A week ago, Christina, my guy and I went winery hopping and Three Oaks was one of our stops. We were rushed because it was really busy that day. The inside and outside were both packed, so we did our tasting standing up in the middle of their tasting room. We tasted three wines each. The winery offers both sweet and dry wines. I found the Peggy's Pink to be interesting. It was sweet and citrusy. They have special events once a month with live music and food vendors. It just so happened we visited on that day, which is their busiest day. We were not prepared for the situation since we were winging everything that day. I look forward to returning in the near future, on a quieter day.

Christina at Three Oaks Vineyard

My tasting glass

HIDDEN LAKES WINERY 

The second stop that day was Hidden Lakes Winery in Canal Winchester. They were hosting a wedding party so we didn't get to see the grounds outside but we had dinner and did a tasting. The wines are mostly sweet. They offer flavors that come dangerously close to wine coolers in taste. My favorite was a sweet red called Red Velvet. It tasted like chocolate. We tasted five wines each and we're given two free wine slushy drink samples. I don't think there was anything that I didn't like. The food menu was simple, offering pizzas , subs and appetizers like artichoke dip. The Italian sub I had was good and filling. We also shared the artichoke dip, which was good as well. I plan to return to try the wines I didn't taste, check out the grounds and get a Red Velvet bottle to take home.

The front entrance of Hidden Lakes Winery.

My tasting at Hidden Lakes.

I will continue my July wrap up tomorrow, so come back to check in.

Thanks!

& 

Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!

Kris,