A respite in Galesburg

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Okay, Chicago.
Time to go, away from here.
The rails beckon me.

The First a Dream mural on the south wall of the Discovery Depot Children’s Museum in Galesburg.

Way too many people waiting for trains on this morning at Chicago Union Station. Damn glad I’m leaving early, aboard the Carl Sandburg, instead of later in the afternoon when the long-distance trains start taking passengers. Much more hectic, if you’re not boarding a sleeper.

This post-drunk hunger would be easier to endure if it weren't for the precocious child seated across the aisle. Urge to kill rising...

Train stops, then slows, several times along the way. First for signal/switch problems, then again due to high winds.

We pull into the Galesburg Amtrak station just as a storm was bearing down from the opposite direction, and I just miss the worst of the downpour getting to the Landmark Cafe and Creperie, a few blocks north on Seminary Street.

With hot coffee in hand I order up the French Farmers' Crepe with a side of hash browns, and a Fiesta corn muffin.

The hash browns were passable, though with a few burnt spots.

The crepe was study, filling, dense: hardly what I expected. No lack of bacon within, but the overall flavor is rather muted. A little black pepper would have helped. Next time I'll opt for more standard breakfast fare, like eggs and bacon, or an omelet.

The corn muffin, though too also dense, appealed with good texture, a nice cornmeal taste, and was pleasantly studded with kernels of corn and bits of red pepper. A smear of salted butter compliments it nicely.

After my weighty breakfast I return to the station to relax and nurse the rest of my coffee. Once tapped, I wander further north on Seminary to Innkeeper's Coffee for some of their remarkably good house blend iced tea. It’s blustery as fuck outside and a little cool, but it was nice to sit on the patio at Innkeeper’s, and in a decent chair for a change.

The sun reluctantly comes out and I feel the need for a stroll down Main Street. I end up on Cherry Street, wandering into Duffy's Tavern for some hair of the dog that bit me. Jim Beam at $2.50 a shot pleases me, after the exorbitant bar prices in Chicago (the whiskey and beer specials at Big Star being the lone exemption).

Across the street, I spot Coney Island, a hot dog eatery bedecked with nostalgia [see blog post]. Despite my heavy breakfast, I stop for a final bite before I return to the station, and ultimately, home.

Photos from the Picasa Web Album: A respite in Galesburg.