A train, a meal and the Cape

IF YOU GO . . . The Cape Cod Dinner Train depot, a red building with a white trim, is at 252 Main St., Hyannis. Parking is free. The dinner train costs $41.86 a person (slightly higher on Saturdays) plus tax. Hotel packages that include a trip on the dinner train are also available. Most bottles of wine cost $15-$25 a bottle and glasses of wine, cocktails or liquers are largely in the $4-$6 range. Reservations must be made, with the dinner portion payment and menu selection required in advance. Tipping of 15 percent is suggested on the entire bill. A few private tables are available at additional charge. The dinner train runs from late March through New Year's Eve. In March and April, trips are Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.; in May, Saturdays and Sundays at 6:30 p.m.; in June, Wednesdays through Sundays at 6:30 p.m. except Fridays at 7 p.m.; in July and August, Tuesdays through Sundays at 6:30 p.m., except Fridays at 7 p.m.; in September and October, Wednesdays through Sundays at 6:30 p.m. except Fridays at 7 p.m.; in November and December, Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.; on New Year's Eve, at 8:30 p.m. For more information or reservations, call 508-771-3800.

HYANNIS -- As you might expect in a fine restaurant, the food is delicious, the glassware sparkles and the tableware shines. Soft music plays, and there is a rose on the cloth-covered table.

But wait a minute -- this restaurant is moving!

Of course it is: It's the Cape Cod Dinner Train, which serves a five-course gourmet meal while traveling 42 miles round-trip past the new and the old Cape Cod.

The three-hour journey begins at the Hyannis depot of the Cape Cod Railroad. Looking at the waiting crowd, it is evident that this will be no jeans-and-jersey trip. Jackets or ties are required for men, and the women are dressed in their finery. This, after all, is an Event. Passengers are called to one of three dining cars -- the Sconset and the Monomoy, both built in 1937, and the Nobska, built in 1912. All were originally constructed for the Canadian National Railroad and have been extensively renovated, wallpapered and carpeted. One old-time feature remains, though: the baggage racks, from which decorations hang at Christmas time. What was once a baggage car, though, is now the kitchen.

There's something about train travel that puts you in a relaxing mood. So, of course, do cocktails: Orders are taken shortly after passengers are seated at tables for four. (If there are just two of you in a party, you will meet two new friends.) The first course is already set: an assortment of veggies, fruits, crackers and dips. A variety of warm bread is served, including -- aaahh -- garlic sticks.

The train has started and will travel at 20-25 m.p.h., a comfortable speed for dining although there is occasionally a mild sway. The conductor comes by to punch your tickets. This is mostly ceremonial, although it does give you an opportunity to ask him any questions you might have about the train.

Soup's on, and -- fitting for Cape Cod -- it is seafood chowder. While sipping, there is scenery to see. You will enjoy it even though most of the dining trips take place in the evening because the train turns on its outside lights. Modern sights such as shops, a power plant and the barbed-wire-encircled Barnstable County House of Correction give way to more rural views such as a fence, a field and a farm, which made me want to break out in a chorus of ``City of New Orleans.'' Along with historic villages, there are cranberry bogs, Cape Cod Bay and the Great Salt Marsh. You look under and up -- way up -- at the Sagamore and Bourne bridges. Shortly afterward, there is a 15-minute stop.

Dinner, meanwhile, is served. There were three in our party, and we each selected a different one of three main entrees served during March and April: peppered tenderloin of beef with a sauce of red wine and wild mushroom; salmon filet in a court bunion, topped with hollandaise, shrimp and caviar; and marinated chicken Atlantis with thin tomato slices, prosciutto, asparagus and provolone. One companion pronounced the tenderloin the best she had ever had; the other raved about the salmon. And while I enjoyed the topping, my chicken tasted basically like chicken. In summer, the menu changes monthly, and upcoming choices -- from fresh native cod to charbroiled filet oscar to a mixed seafood grill -- sounded scrumptious, too. In addition, a vegetarian entree, four-cheese angelica pasta with vegetables, is always available. There, too, is a medium-sized wine list. (We did have to wait a while for our wine, but then I just casually made my request to a passing waitress who was busy serving our rolls.)

It was time for our return trip. The train goes backward for 3 miles and then, as the conductor put it, ``the engine runs around the train'' and pulls forward again. On the return trip, the speed was slightly faster, causing one passenger to shout suddenly, ``Hey, we're really barreling now!''

The return trip is also time for coffee, a dessert of a large fruit tart and, if you want, liqueurs or alcohol-laced coffees with names such as the Iron Horse and Midnight Express. Doggie bags, or in this case duckie bags -- the aluminum wrap was shaped into what one waitress called ``our ugly ducklings'' -- were brought to passengers who wanted them.

And then it was over, with many passengers expressing pleasure with the service, style and scenery. As one of our party put it, ``It was like being in a time machine.''

Published 05/05/96 in the Boston Suday Globe's Travel Section