Text 17055, 68 rader
Skriven 2007-06-21 22:37:52 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
Ärende: Beef Eater's Paradise
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Bernie's Depot in Chicopee MA is an interesting place. A railroad-
themed restaurant, it is, on the surface, a diner with a gimmick:
There's a full-sized pre-war Pullman dining car stitched on to the
west side of the restaurant.

Inside the front door, the decor is very diner: lots of vinyl, with
art-deco chrome accents.  No greasy spoon atmosphere, though - rather
more refined, but still homey.

But up the stairs to the left, patrons may enter the dining car to
experience a meal in a completely unique atmosphere.

The Pullman car has been restored to pristine originality, adapted only
for the necessity of making it an addition to a standing building. It
even stands on a real railbed built for the purpose.  On the left as
you walk to the back of the car are the tables, each seating four people
in plush, iron-framed original railroad seats covered in velour.  On the
right are the smaller cocktail tables, with their swivel-based chairs
on the same design.  All the woodwork and sheetmetal in the car has been
lovingly restored, right down to the numbers over the tables.  A few
concessions have been made to modernity - there are ceiling fans to
help circulate air, for example (with curved blades to fit the curved
contours of the car's ceiling) - but even the overhead racks above the
tables are intact.

For all the coolness of the architecture and atmosphere, though, the
star of Bernie's Depot is the roast prime rib of beef.  It is, at the
risk of sounding cliched, amazing.  The smallest cut, the "Junior 
Caboose," is almost two pounds of cooked-to-order rib.  The cut I
ordered, the "Standard" cut, was 2.5 inches thick and completely 
covered the oval serving plate it came on - it was a little over 40
ounces (around 2.5 pounds.)  I asked the waitress about the largest,
the "Conductor's cut;" she said that it would be another about pound 
and a half and was the size of the average family's roast. (!!!!)

In all cases, the beef came to the table perfect: I ordered mine rare
and got it bloody blue inside, potroasty yet red outside, in a big
pool of it's own natural juices (none of that canned "oh joos" piss
that some dumps ladle over their beef.)  This IS the place when you're
in the mood for a big slab of animal.

Other stuff there: Vegetables: green beans were canned - no big deal
to me, since I truly adore canned green beans (so sue me.)  Beets
were also canned, but lightly pickled. Potatoes: mashed were real,
and high quality; fries were decent crispy/mealy; baked were big,
tender and steamy with a toothsome skin.  Salads, which came with 
the meal, were the usual plates of lettuce and stuff.  Soups, however,
were unusually fine: the clam chowder was actually made there out
of real clams and although it was a little thicker and starchier than
I like it, it was leagues ahead of almost any other restaurant clam
chowder I've had in years.  Also there was grit in it (hah! actual
clam evidence!)  The French onion soup was rich with melty dissolving
slow-cooked onions, a tasty thick crouton, and rich melty cheese
on top - Lynn reported it as delicious.

The service was equal to the food; our waitress was a friendly
middle-aged woman who wasted no time on frivolous nonsense yet was
not abrupt or unpleasant in the least - quite efficient service
which enhanced our meal.

Maryanne and I took my mother there for her birthday.  Three prime
ribs (2 standard, 1 "Caboose"), fried shrimp for Lynn, appetizers,
drinks, tip: $125.  Thumbs up.

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Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, 
minutus carborata descendum pantorum
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