Pacific Dining Car

Most of my friends are omnivores, they eat meat, vegetables, fish, fruit, and somethings that can not technically be called food. One of my omnivore friends loves Pacific Dining Car so when invited to dinner, she automatically picks this stately steakhouse located in an old railway car that has been refitted to hold the restaurant.

The steaks are all corn fed USDA Prime cuts that have been dry aged, but they also have crab cakes, scallops, lobster, either as accompaniments to the steak of your choice or Swordfish, Salmon and Filet of Sole for non meat eater choices. There are peppercorn, bearnaise or bordelaise sauces if you insist, but your 8 oz -16 oz steak should be satisfying enough on its own accord. As for cuts of meat, all your favorites are available, from the tender Filet Mignon to a hefty T-Bone or Rib Eye. You might want some spinach (steamed, sauteed, or creamed), green beans, or asparagus to give your meat some color on the side. Of course if you are a strictly a meat and potatoes person, they also have the classic baked potato with all the usual sides.

To begin I chose the grilled artichoke which came with a nice char and a side of a tarragon infused dipping sauce. They were a wonderful way to begin the bacchanal.



John, the Birthday Boy, chose the Crab cakes to start and was still working on them when they asked if he was ready for his Cowboy cut, which is a rib eye with the bone, along with a side of asparagus; he said, "I want it all", so he put the crab cake on his steak plate and made his own combo plate.




I chose my favorite, the Baseball Steak, because it is the thickest cut so it has a better chance than any other of being made as rare as I like it. The very center was perfectly rare, but the outer edges were more medium; it was not a loss as I gave John some slices of the "too done" portion so he could taste the difference between his Cowboy Cut and the Baseball Steak. He made the best choice for himself as he was happy with his Cowboy Steak.



My friend Mika chose the Rib Eye, which she ordered medium rare, but came out well done. She was too hungry to wait for another steak, so she ate it, but she was not pleased that her favorite restaurant had over cooked her favorite steak. But she made up for it by thoroughly enjoying all of her tiramisu.



Since it was John's birthday we had to have a chocolate souffle with a candle for him to make a wish. It was a perfect rendition of a light tasty warm chocolate dream served with freshly whipped cream on the side.

I think John got his wish, since he started off getting a year older with two women by his side....