I’ve always wanted to try first class on an airplane. My friend Kate once regaled me with her adventures in the sky flying first class from Australia. She was pampered with unlimited wine, a first class meal, a chair that automatically converts into a bed, and a complimentary massage. I can’t really fathom shelling out triple or more beyond the economy price just to fly in style. Heck, it’s more about the destination than the actual journey in some cases.
That said, in April VIA Rail had a promotional sale where you could go to Montreal, Ottawa, or anywhere else nearby and save up to 60% off. So for pretty much the price of a regular economy ticket, I was able to snag a ticket in VIA’s Business Class (formerly known as Via 1 Class) for my trip to Montreal this past June. Right when you first arrive to the station, you’ll notice the difference in classes right away. First, you get access to the Via Rail Panorama lounge which is a waiting area that has complimentary wifi, free coffee, tea and drinks contained inside of a mini fridge, and sometimes the odd snack or two. You can go up to about an hour before your train departs but on the way back from Montreal I went in about two hours before my departure and had no problems. I think the sweet part of the lounge deal is that you get to sit on a nice chair before you leave and you don’t have to worry about lining up.
About an hour into your journey, you’ll be given a menu where you get to choose your main course. The selection usually includes meat, fish, or some alternative. I do believe they have a vegetarian option but you may need to request it in advance. For my return trip, I chose the turkey served with mashed squash.
Before your food arrives, you’re given a small bag of pretzels or “urban mix” which is pretty much just salty chip. Much like in airplanes, they usually serve a few salty snacks before they start serving drinks so that the alcohol doesn’t hit you as hard if you have an empty stomach.
When the food arrives, you’re first given a finely chilled tray with your dessert and appetizer on it. That day’s dessert was sort of a mango pudding pie which was quite excellent. The mango filling was nice and puree’d and didn’t appear to be instant pie mix. I usually eat my dessert after my main course so it was difficult to abstain myself from eating the pie before my dinner came. It just kept staring at me with those mango chunks on top saying “eat me”.
The appetizer was roast beef and potato salad with bacon chunks in it. The dressing was a little on the weak and bland side but at least the potatoes were thoroughly cooked. To be honest, I like my potato salad to be nice and mayonnaise’d up, so I’m sure people who aren’t as accustomed to over-flavoured salads would fine this one to have just the right balance of flavour. The roast beef was excellent. Not chewy at all and had a nice beef gravy on top of it.
The main course comes about half an hour later after they’ve refilled your drinks and taken away the appetizer plates. The plates come piping hot like they were freshly made (or freshly reheated given the amount of space on these trains). The turkey was nice and soft, and literally melted in your mouth. I’m actually surprised because given that this meal was probably prepared hours earlier, it was actually like something you’d get from a nice downtown restaurant.
I would recommend trying out the VIA business class experience at least once. Given the usual high price of it, I wouldn’t recommend taking it both ways if you’re as cheap as me, but it is a nice way to end your long trip so I do recommend you take it on your way back so you can relax and have a nice meal on the way home.
i love compartmentalized food.