Day 4: Denver to Chicago

The Great American Train Ride

By Nathan Tsai

December 30^th, 2021

The Midwest

After an exhausting day spent in Denver, I was comfortably rocked to sleep by the now-familiar sounds and sensations of a moving train.

I awoke in the mid-morning to a dash of sunshine and the beautiful, open landscapes of the Midwest.

Americana

I've spent the majority of my life abroad or on either coast of the United States and I was grateful to get glimpses of what I consider to be "classic Americana" flash by my window as we thundered along.

Lunch

I had chicken marsala pasta for lunch. This was probably the best meal they had on the train. The pasta was mushy, the sauce was sickly sweet, the vegetables had a strangely chewy-crispy texture, but at least the chicken had a nice savory bite to it.

Silos

Often, I'd see these gorgeous metal silos jutting out of the farmed earth. I think many of them were used for storing grain or potable water, but they really struck me as being obvious signs of human dominance over the land. They stood proudly against the flat landscape and towered over everything else for hundreds of miles.

Green Street Smoked Meats

112 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607

We pulled into Chicago more than four hours late and by the time I stumbled into my hotel room, it was almost midnight. I had planned to go directly to Green Street Smoked Meats and grab the food freshly off the smoker, but the delayed arrival put a kibosh on those plans. However, the kind folks at Green Street were able to pack a dinner for me and send it over to the hotel I'd be staying at. I was able to pick up my dinner from the front desk as I checked in and to my surprise, the food was still warm!

After the sad food I had on the train, the ribs, sausage, and sides were an absolute revelation. The broccoli slaw was sharp and fresh, the "elote style corn" was creamy and smokey, and the macaroni salad was tangy and sweet. The Texas-style ribs were cooked just right -- with enough bite to be satisfying paired with a deep smoke-basted flavor. The hot link sausage was fatty, tender, and oozed with flavor in every bite.

Merry (belated) Christmas

In some respects, 2021 has been worse than I expected. I was really hoping that COVID would have been under control by now -- that I'd be able to travel to visit friends and do work. From a more positive perspective though, I'm grateful that I've remained healthy, my family's (mostly) stayed healthy, and it's been another nice year spent bonding with my close family and friends.