I recently rode Amtrak’s Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, a trip of more than 2,000 miles across three time zones and seven states.

Whether I was exploring a chilly platform during a brief layover in St. Paul (above) or enjoying the clean, stark views of an unexpectedly long stop in Shelby, Montana, (right), I had a great time -- and talk about it in this latest podcast.

Taking the train isn’t for everybody. I know it’s a cliché to say so, but in long-distance train travel, it’s the trip that makes the experience worthwhile. If you want to get there quickly, fly. What's especially fun for me is seeing all the small towns -- and reading some of the small-town newspapers you're able to get at station stops.

In jobs gone by, I occasionally had to edit school lunch menus. Once, a local school district got a nasty letter from Ore-Ida because although "Tater Tots" were constantly listed in their menu, the company had somehow determined that the school cafeteria's side dish was not, in fact, genuine Tater Tots® brand potato product. 

That's why I read small-town newspapers' school lunch menus with a great deal of interest. Whether it's fun dishes like "Chef Betsy's Special Surprise" or "Same as Tuesday" (I've actually seen those over the years), these simple yet vital lists provide a wonderful culinary glimpse into those thrilling meals of yesteryear.

When the Empire Builder pulled into Minot, North Dakota, all of us sleeper car passengers received a fresh copy of the Minot Daily News. After reading about the rodeo news and that high school gal who bagged a moose, I turned to the school lunch menus in the Education section.

Once I got back to Chicago, I surfed more of the Minot menus online and discovered something remarkable: These folks have more than one way of making tacos for kids. Check it out:

Taco, Taco in a bag, Taco on a tray.

Minot schools are versatile with ground beef, as well. They serve cheeseburger, sloppy joe -- and then something called a slushburger, which sure sounds like a sloppy joe to me.

They also make references to Tater Tots, spelled in a variety of styles -- including Tator tot hotdish. Speaking of Tater Tots, anybody want to try Tater Tots Tuna Pie?

Maybe Amtrak should try serving that in the dining car.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.

I'm not sure where these folks are from, but I enjoyed their performance Friday morning in the plaza next to the Tribune Tower.


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Grabbed this footage of an outbound Metra train sailing into the Jefferson Park station on Saturday, Aug. 8. After I left the station, I saw the cops warning a woman not to feed the birds. She had just dumped at least two pounds of birdseed and breadcrumbs down near the Milwaukee Avenue entrance to the station.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.

I don't always like Quentin Tarantino's movies, but I do like his taste in films and film music. His latest production, "Inglourious Basterds," uses a track of music from "Kelly's Heroes" called "Tiger Tank."

You can hear it in this clip starting at 1:17. I like this Lalo Schifrin music, although it's too contemporary and way too much like his "Mission: Impossible" background tracks.

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One of my favorite pleasures is reading On the Bi-Level, a monthly newsletter distributed to customers of Metra, the Chicago suburban rail service.

The newsletter is a riotous collection of commuter train news and bitchy complaints from riders outraged by the behavior of others. Check out the current issue. (Note: This will open a PDF page.)

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.

The controversy surrounding flat iron steak continues unabated!

Faithful ChicagoScope followers recall, of course, that I concluded that the flat iron steak on Amtrak totally sucked.

Phil and Lingo of The Brit and Yankee took notice, too, and challenged me to try their flat iron steak and see how it measures up to that served to unsuspecting passengers on America's subsidized passenger rail service.

It turned out to be a kind of railroad experience, anyway, as I had to take a Metra train way out into the hinterlands of unincorporated DuPage County to join them in The Brit and Yankee Beer Garden. There, I consented to subject their own special flat iron steak to a taste test.

And guess what? It was great!

I also got a chance to sample some of their home-brewed beer -- and was a quest on their podcast. Listen to The Brit and Yankee.

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Maybe someone moved -- or died -- and left all of this stuff behind. I don't know the story, only that there's a pantload of crap in back of this garage in the alley that runs between Linder and Central avenues in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood.

Some of my neighbors insist that the pile used to be as high as the bottom of the roof. Some of the stuff has been taken away, but whether any there's anything worthwhile left in here is debatable.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.

I shot some footage on my way home from work this week on Metra's Northwest line. The window is tinted green, so I decided to render this in black and white.

Did another test of the iPhone 3GS video camera while wheeling my way through the produce department at the Dominick's supermarket in Park Ridge. I shot this vertically to make it less obvious to store personnel I was capturing video.

Looks pretty good -- although a wider format would have captured more of the experience.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.

Apple's new iPhone 3G S doesn't deliver high-definition images, but what it lacks in fidelity, it more than makes up for with convenience and portability. Here's my first video, shot on my way into work in Chicago this morning.

I wish we could shut off the camera's autoexposure, but otherwise, I'm really pleased with the addition of video to iPhone.

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.