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I figured I'd open a tangential topic out of the Diner/Food Service thread, as Tadman had got me interested.

Take a station (your favorite, for instance). What would be your favorite dish to take on the train within walking distance?

DC Union, Philadelphia's 30th Street, and NYP are basically malls with a massive stations.

Baltimore Penn (BAL)? Go up north on Charles Street (take a right after you exit) and go a block, past Lanvale, and near Lafayette. On your right will be Sofi's Crepes. I dived into there when buses were rerouted and I missed two trains home, but I was able to pick up a Crepe Reuben (Corned beef, sauerkraut, gruyere, and thousand island) for dinner on the train home. Better than the in-station restaurant and mini-bar (Java Moon Cafe by Haber).

The options for food at NYP are much better outside the station than inside.

- Go upstairs to the new Pennsy food hall. Pretty much everything is good though I'm most fond of The Little Beet.

- For bagels, go to Best Bagel on 35th. Bold claim, but they live up to it. There's also Brown's Bagels on 31st which I'd put maybe one notch below, though it happens to be closer to the station if time is a factor.

- On 8th Avenue there are three great places on the same block: grab a couple of slices from NY Pizza Suprema; a delightful little Peruvian restaurant called Riko (the menu features a lot of seafood, please exercise due diligence with smells and/or spoilage ); and a decent-if-not-memorable Thai restaurant.

- Because this is Midtown there are also your standard office-worker-oriented takeout spots within a few blocks. Fresh&co, Lenwich, Hale and Hearty, Chipotle, various cafes/delis. Not high dining at all, but probably slightly better bang for your buck than inside the station.

I’d be more likely to board at ALX than at WAS. Depending on my mood, I’d either get a half-pound to go from Smoking Kow BBQ, or take the Old Town Trolley down to Virtue Feed & Grain at the waterfront and have them pack me a box dinner. If I were made of money and had a while until my train though, I’d be sitting down at The Warehouse.

At NYP, Shake Shack down in the LIRR concourse is always one of my go-to's. I really enjoy their burgers and chicken sandwiches, and have found their shakes to be pretty good.

30th Street has some great options:
Milkhouse, which has great shakes and grilled cheese
Beck's Cajun
Nathan's

And if you feel like walking around a bit, these are all within walking distance:
Shake Shack
Spread Bagelry
Wahoo's
Wawa

NaugyRR wrote: ↑Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:23 pm At NYP, Shake Shack down in the LIRR concourse is always one of my go-to's. I really enjoy their burgers and chicken sandwiches, and have found their shakes to be pretty good.

Things have changed a lot since I was last up there. In the upper level, Zaro's Bread Basket took over Moe's southwest Grill there, Pret A Manger replaced Chop' N Toss, The Petal Pusher gave way to Nuts.com and Perfumania is becoming a Wine & Spirits shop. On the lower level, Carvel/Cinnabon gave way to Magnolia Bakery, another Pret a Manger went along side, Moe's shares space with Charley's Grilled Subs, Penn Books and Central Market turned into Wasabi (but not the one I expected), Shake Shack took over for a combo food court area, and several stores (TGIF, Caruso Pizza, HaagenDazs, Penn Station Bookstore, Knot Just Pretzels, KFC, Riese Restaurant) turned into a bigger Daune Reade, having vacated their original space (where another Pret A Manger is). A lot of other businesses have left. (This from https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/maps/dire ... ectory.pdf )

And THAT was where McDonalds was, next to the 1/2/3 subway entrance on the lower level?!? When I was up there to see Weird Al in concert, I was ready for a quarter-decent hamburger. I couldn't find it! I ended up going to Grand Central for a full-decent Shake Shack burger and shake (more details over in the NYC Transit forum). (BTW, I rate McDonalds as well below Amtrak CafeBurgers, which is a step below a 7-11 burger)

Lancaster and Paoli have decent options within walking distance of both stations.

NaugyRR wrote: ↑Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:23 pm At NYP, Shake Shack down in the LIRR concourse is always one of my go-to's. I really enjoy their burgers and chicken sandwiches, and have found their shakes to be pretty good.

I hit the Shake Shack at WAS..and I was way underwhelmed. Personal preference.

In NYP, my go to tends to be the place that does hummus and falafel near the Amtrak waiting; Chickpea.
I should add in the food court area, there's a new place (no idea the name) that had sushi and bento boxes, my daughter ordered something there after NY Comic Con and loved it. I was really craving cheesesteak, but should have gone there instead.

I saw the sushi place on one of my last trips down but didn't try it. I usually try to be super careful about sushi, and fish in general. A year or two ago I got a bagel with cream cheese and lox at Zaro's in GCT and got suuuuper sick from it. It could've just as easily been the cream cheese or the bagel, but after that experience I've been a little gun shy.

Chicago: Its kinda cliché but Lou Mitchells on Jackson St has a stellar (and huge) breakfast. Its only about a block from Union Station.

Raleigh: Humble Pie does a nice (and reasonably priced) dinner. The Pit does some very good (but upscale) Eastern NC BBQ. both are about 2 blocks from the new Union Station.

Durham: Parker and Otis does excellent sandwiches and a variety of salads for lunch (one block)

New Orleans: While there is no shortage of great places to eat in the Crescent city, the burgers at The Company Burger (3 blocks from UPT) are very good (for this part of town).

mcgrath618 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:52 pm 30th Street has some great options:
Milkhouse, which has great shakes and grilled cheese
Beck's Cajun
Nathan's

And if you feel like walking around a bit, these are all within walking distance:
Shake Shack
Spread Bagelry
Wahoo's
Wawa

Also at 30th St., in the corridor running north-south from the concourse to the SW corner, is Bridgewater's*, with good food and a changing list of craft beers. Some of the table seating is out in the corridor itself, sort of a sidewalk café indoors.
* Bridgewater Street was obliterated during the construction of the station in the 1930's; the footprint of the station now occupies its former location.

MSP/St. Paul: Since the move from Midway I haven’t had reason (mostly haven’t had time) to use SPUD and the Empire Builder. I can say that if you’re going westbound, there are many eateries around Mears Park where you can get a good meal and drink - the only one I can personally vouch for though is The Bulldog Lowertown for good-quality pub grub. (Get some cheese curds if you don’t mind some greasy food before bed, I remember them being very good.)

For eastbound travelers, I don’t know as many breakfast places immediately near the station. I have heard very good things about The Buttered Tin though, and you’d be leaving early enough that they wouldn’t run out of the best baked goods.

BOS has several options in the head house. BON, from which you can catch the Downeaster to Maine, is attached to The Hub on Causeway which has a market, a new sports bar with the largest LED TV on the East Coast, and a food hall (hubhallboston.com) opening this winter. POR is currently adjacent to the Thompson's Point development which has one place to eat and several trendy places to imbibe.

Good. All I can remember at BON [five years ago] was a Dunkin Donuts and a McDonald's.

At PHL, an Amtrak ticket includes connection to or from Center City (Suburban/Penn Center or Market East/Jefferson) via SEPTA at no charge, so why not stop at Reading Terminal Market with many dining options and fresh foods?