Amtrak dining and cafe service

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JP1822 said:
The eggs seem better on more recent LD trips I’ve taken - for what it is worth. Better even since 2018…. They have more taste and a bit fluffier, not as bland. Steak though always ask how you want it cooked - so presuming that’s being put on the grill at least, as well a the salmon……Planko Chicken was tasty and not rubbery, so not sure how that’s prepared exactly. Presume it’s frozen (pre-cooked) and put in a convection oven or something.
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Steak I’m pretty sure is cooked completely on board. Chicken is sous vide prepared and finished in the oven.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
One of the fish dishes used to say “grilled to order” so that wouldn’t be sous vide. If it was partially cooked or not I can’t say. I didn’t think Amtrak was still doing the sous vide entrees…. They were the best I’ve ever had on any train. The Lamb Shank especially!
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It's possible to cook a food sous vide and then finish it on the grill for texture. They could probably get away with calling that "grilled to order."
 
About that first alcoholic drink being on Amtrak - the selection is extremely meager - check the Traditional and Flex dining menus for what
is offered - while you can't boldly BYOB to the cafe dining car you can in your own sleeper - a good sleeper car attendant should be able to offer
the fixin's !
 
ms garrison said:
I remember being served rainbow trout on the EB coming from St Paul to Chicago in 1980 or 81. Myself and 3 kids were in coach, but could pay to eat in the diner. Their first train ride and they were super impressed.
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Back then there used to be Chef and an assistant in the kitchen too. That has not been the case in the last 20 or so years. How food is prepared and delivered has changed drastically since the '80s and not necessarily for the better. But Amtrak was given marching orders to reduce labor cost and overall cost of food service and the results have been disastrous for food services, predictably.
 
ms garrison said:
I remember being served rainbow trout on the EB coming from St Paul to Chicago in 1980 or 81. Myself and 3 kids were in coach, but could pay to eat in the diner. Their first train ride and they were super impressed.
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Sounds delicious! I was able to get breakfast and lunch on the EB (Fargo, ND to Milwaukee, WI) as a college student in coach in the late 1970s, so no trout at lunchtime, and I remember being disappointed that plain potato chips were the only option for a side with the lunch entrees (probably some kind of burger, considering my tastes at the time).
 
jis said:
Back then there used to be Chef and an assistant in the kitchen too. That has not been the case in the last 20 or so years.
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I thought trains like Builder and Starlight had a 2nd cook in the kitchen when they had the real plates and glassware? That was supposedly the reason for being able to have real dishes…enough staff to wash them. Haha. Or so I was told.
 
cocojacoby said:
Here is a revised version of something I proposed two years ago on another website. Some of you might enjoy the concept:

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL CHEF

Okay it's just an idea but what if Amtrak tries this?

Amtrak "gives away" it's dining car service to its chefs. Each chef gets to run their own dining service. They have control of what to order and what to serve. They can get as creative as they want. They make the menus and they set their own prices. They can hire the servers they know are good or make it a family affair like many mom and pop restaurants. They must open for at least traditional dining car hours but can also operate up to 24 hours if they want. They got a pretty good captive audience to sell to.

The entrepreneurial chef does not get paid by Amtrak but they get to keep the profits that they make. They get to run their own restaurant without the high risk and overhead expense. I am sure there are Amtrak chefs out there who have great ideas on how to run a dining car but never got the chance to do it. I can see a spirited competition between chefs generating some good press for Amtrak and maybe having people ride certain trains just for the different culinary experience. Each chef would have his or her own specialty dish along with some required items.

The cost to run the dining car for Amtrak would be minimal. Amtrak can proudly tell the story of the unique opportunity it has given to these hard working men and woman who toil very hard at their unique craft behind the scenes. I think this could be a pretty exciting opportunity for some hard working folks who would never get such a chance in their lifetime and great publicity for Amtrak.

Could it work? Why not give it a try?
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Smart idea. I thought instantly of a great deli, like Corky and Lenny’s in Cleveland. That would be a great business on a train! Something with variety, hot and cold foods, soups, bread, deserts, yum!
 
railiner said:
You can hardly compare the level of service between the two examples...the Fred Harvey service was what you would get in a fine dining landside restaurant, with polished real silverware, snowy linen tablecloths and napkins, fine china and glassware, fresh cut flowers, impeccable course by course service...just not the same. 6 waiters meant one serving two tables of four, or more if one was covering the Turquoise Room in the adjacent Pleasure Dome Lounge car.
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Yes, they did and they never "ran into each other". It's a long time ago, but I remember. "Behind you, please".
 
JWM said:
Yes, they did and they never "ran into each other". It's a long time ago, but I remember. "Behind you, please".
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Right! It always amazed me at the skill of these waiters, balancing a tray laden with plates of food and drinks for a table of four on their hand, passing other waiters and sometimes passengers in the aisle, while rolling along at track speed on not always stellar rails…🙂
 
I'm so glad ash trays are nowhere to be seen but lament (most) passengers' dress today compared to back then. The Super Chief had finger bowls along with the fine glassware, china, silverware, and substantial snowy-white tablecloths. Every railroad had its own interesting china and there were so many railroad companies. How the dining car staffs ever performed so perfectly is very hard to understand, especially in view of the space limitation and movement of the train, including curves, switches, crossings, braking, and all the rest.
 
Though their skill was impressive, don't forget that ride quality used to be much better. Some railroads offered haircuts and shaves to market the quality of their track.
 
daybeers said:
Though their skill was impressive, don't forget that ride quality used to be much better. Some railroads offered haircuts and shaves to market the quality of their track.
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You had to be brave to get a shave at track speed back then. And with a straight-edged razor! :eek:
 
WWW said:
About that first alcoholic drink being on Amtrak - the selection is extremely meager - check the Traditional and Flex dining menus for what
is offered - while you can't boldly BYOB to the cafe dining car you can in your own sleeper - a good sleeper car attendant should be able to offer
the fixin's !
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I asked for a Maker’s Mark on the rocks (for my complimentary drink) was handed a mini bottle, which was warm. No glass and no ice. I was told that the drink was free and so what I received was correct.
 
A shave with a straight razor on a moving train . . . no thanks. One bad grade crossing or one poorly maintained switch interlocking . . . and I am carrying my head under my arm back to my roomette as I am now a ghost haunting the 20th century Limited . . .

On my first trip on the Canadian, I witnessed a waiter with a tray full of water do an NFL receiver-type move as he stepped out of the way of people passing in the aisle. He leaned over a table with the tray held above the passengers, while his feet remained firmly planted is the aisle. He maintained perfect control of the tray as the train rounded a super-elevated curve at speed. A catch inbounds for a first down.
 
TheCrescent said:
I asked for a Maker’s Mark on the rocks (for my complimentary drink) was handed a mini bottle, which was warm. No glass and no ice. I was told that the drink was free and so what I received was correct.
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Hoy cow, that's pretty tacky. I've never seen service that bad on all my Amtrak rides. Did they bring glasses and ice to people who ordered cans of soda?
 
jpakala said:
I'm so glad ash trays are nowhere to be seen but lament (most) passengers' dress today compared to back then. The Super Chief had finger bowls along with the fine glassware, china, silverware, and substantial snowy-white tablecloths. Every railroad had its own interesting china and there were so many railroad companies.
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Remember, there was a lot more formality back then in general, and the Super Chief was an extra-fare train for richer people. And even on the lesser trains, dining car food was expensive enough that most travelers didn't use the dining car, but brought their own food. So the dining car was really only for the rich or the social climber.

Personally, I'm glad all that formal stuff is "gone with the wind," especially the expectations of dress. It used to be one would have to carry a complete change of dress clothes (suit, dress shirt, tie, dress shoes or the equivalent for women) when traveling, which added weight and bulk to one's luggage. In addition, wearing a necktie is uncomfortable. My religion teaches "do not judge the container, but rather what is inside." Unfortunately, over most of human history, people have tended to judge others by trivial external appearances, and people who didn't have a lot of resources have always been left behind. If there was one good thing that has survived from the social upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s, it is that dress has become a lot more informal, there are fewer class distinction in dress, and men no longer have to wear neckties.
 
TheCrescent said:
I asked for a Maker’s Mark on the rocks (for my complimentary drink) was handed a mini bottle, which was warm. No glass and no ice. I was told that the drink was free and so what I received was correct.
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That's really unusual. There are a lot of problems with Amtrak, but I've found that the dining/cafe car attendants usually make a bit of an effort.

FWIW, the cafe attendant that "plated" my most recent Amdinner did the best she could with what she had to work with.
 
TheCrescent said:
I asked for a Maker’s Mark on the rocks (for my complimentary drink) was handed a mini bottle, which was warm. No glass and no ice. I was told that the drink was free and so what I received was correct.
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I ordered a gin and tonic and got a small bottle of gin and a plastic cup that had a tiny amount of tonic in it. I would have liked an entire cup of tonic water with ice… like everyone else serves it. Haha.
 
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