There are those of us who remember no dining service at all on Amtrak’s intercity trains, coupled with the interminable tedium of switching between diesel and electric in New Haven. Thankfully that’s over, and Amtrak has long offered swift, comfortable Acela service between Boston and Washington DC. Even the slower-moving trains aren’t bad; the Auto Train from DC to just outside Orlando has decent food and is borderline romantic for all the sleepy Southern towns it passes through.

But if you’re going to eat well on a train, you can’t beat the Europeans. And we’re not talking about a pretzel and a pilsner.

Welcome to Central Europe, where crisp white tablecloths greet you as your train winds through landscapes worthy of a James Bond establishing shot. Instead of the garbage-strewn cuts of The Bronx, you wind your way through mountain passes with a luncheon featuring “a crisp, improbably thin, fried chicken fillet, tender on the inside, accompanied by the Platonic ideal of potato croquettes and a craft beer that had been custom-brewed for the train.”

Far better than the 8:15 into the city—especially since the MTA took away the bar cars.

The most remarkable part: there’s competition among Central Europe's railways for the best dining service. “On social media, fans share photos of their favorite onboard meals. Connoisseurs argue over which railways have the best menus, rooting for Polskie Koleje Państwowe (PKP) in Poland, Deutsche Bahn in Germany or Czech Railways.”

For our part, we’re just happy when our Amtrak Regional gets in on time. (Which—in fairness—is more often than not.) But there is a certain… I-don’t-know-what to traveling by rail in Europe. And it probably comes down to food. A good schnitzel is a good schnitzel, but when it’s done on a train that’s winding its way through the Alps, it becomes something poetic.

At any rate, we have a hankering for “a tower of well-cooked potato cubes, larded with pieces of dill pickles, boiled egg and tender carrots, bound together in a rich mayonnaise dressing.” See you on the rails.

Dining in Style, at 90 Miles an Hour [via The New York Times]