My trip on the Capitol Limited

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Thanks for sharing the link!

There are a couple errors in descriptions of the rooms. The lower berth in a Bedroom is not "king" size--it is almost half that, barely bigger than a twin size. Also, the Family Bedroom is the entire width of the car, not the entire length of the car.
 
Capitol Limited late January. Only sweetened stuff for breakfast; no hard boiled eggs available. A salad that would have fit into a Dixie cup, and if you left out the iceberg lettuce, it would have fit into an egg cup. We had to ask for a roll with dinner, and then were told there was no butter for it. The beef dish tasted like a canned stew. All told, a yuck set of menu options.
 
Together with the obvious use of "stock photos" throughout, this reads more like an advert than a genuine travel report...

Thanks for the feedback. I travelled on a fully paid ticket and not as a guest of Amtrak (unfortunately as it was expensive) - in fact as part of a trip from Australia where I'm based. Unfortunately I don't have too many from that trip which was stupid of me!
 
Your assessment of the flex-dining caught my attention. Your reheated TV-dinner bowl, self-served in plastic dishes with plastic utensils, was described as "presented well" and "perfectly adequate for the short trip." For breakfast, you were pleased by the "contemporary buffet." The breakfast sandwich was "fine" and "perfectly adequate" although not the best ever.

I've experienced flex-dining myself 6 times, and I've read hundreds (if not thousands) of comments about it on this forum.

In that context, your comments about your meals on board the CL are without question the most positive and praise-worthy comments about flex-dining I have ever encountered, in print or in person, since the inception of the program. Although people's tastes and perceptions quite obviously differ, it does make me wonder where you are coming from.
 
In my admittedly limited experience, flex dining started out rather meh, and deteriorating rapidly to yuck status.
Realizing the pandemic and all the changes that are necessary in no way justifies the poorly conceived flex meal program... for example, take a stroll over to the cafe car for a wide variety of sandwiches and salads; more healthful, tasty, and satisfying.

So I am completely baffled as to the food limitations for first class passengers when so much else is possible to make the eating experience more enjoyable, especially when the fare seems to be disproportionately higher than for coach seating.

Is there any justification or reason for this 'flex method' of food service??? It would certainly be a better idea to expand the cafe and remove the flex kitchen entirely... giving sleeper car passengers a meal coupon for the cafe car. Why not?
 
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