IarnroD Eireann should rechristen the Dublin-Cork train "The Mystery Train" Why so?
Well, a recent excursion between the cities afforded a chance to try out the cooking, and in particular to see if the famous breakfast on the train was as good as Iarnrod Eireann reckons it is.
And the answer, quite resoundingly, was yes. Served by a charming young man, the breakfast arrived on a tray, the plate carrying two sausages, two slices of bacon, a fried egg and half a grilled tomato, with white-bread toast and two slices of brown bread on a small plate. There was also a pot of tea. All the ingredients were good, the bacon cooked just right, the bangers flavourful, the egg fresh, the tomato soft and squidgy, the toast was warm, the brown bread crumbly. A fine fry-up, with only the tea having a slight flatness to the flavour, a forgivable fault given the circumstances of the kitchen at work here. It cost £6.75, and was delightful.
So delightful that it encouraged me to have dinner, returning home on the train the same day. And this is where the mystery arose. From a straightforward menu, I chose the breaded supreme of chicken, which is served with chips. It arrived after only two minutes, which was rather disconcerting, but not as disconcerting as the food itself. The chicken and the chips were joined on the plate by slices of raw onion (!), three slices of raw tomato, mortified lettuce and rock-hard slices of cucumber. The chips were awful, but were not as bad as the chicken. To make matters worse, the service was utterly supercilious, with the waiter informing me that I was "a gent" at every turn, and asking to be paid the £8.75 for the meal even before I had finished.
Now, how can the same organisation which can serve an excellent breakfast, which demands care and attention, on the same day produce such a shoddy dinner, a meal which was considerably easier to produce? It's a mystery to me.