I have only ridden Acela in Business Class so I can't personally compare but nothing on the Acela 1st Class Menu sounds like it resembles anything on the flex menu. Now if you felt they were the same quality, that's interesting to note but the menu certainly makes them sound like a higher quality and fancy entree.
Acela will certainly serve different things than what is served on long distance trains - you aren't going to see raw bar type items on the flexible dining menu for example. The shorter distance trips on Acela certainly allow for items with a shorter shelf life. And with this Starr partnership they're kind of mixing things up a bit. But in the instances where there have been menu items where there is more of a direct comparison - braised beef entrees for instance which Acela first will often but not always have, they've always seemed more or less interchangeable to me when heated or prepared properly. But again, opinions will differ. It's just my experience, doesn't mean everyone has to agree or feel the same way. There's certainly more variety and more frequent changing up of the menu on Acela. I would say though that in my experience the portions are usually better on flexible dining (when you're dealing with a meal that's kind of similar to what they'd serve on long distance - a braised beef or chicken or fish entree.)
I don't think anything on Acela would have a shorter shelf life than items on the Long Distance trains - all the items are coming from the same commercial commissary.
But no items like that exist other than, perhaps, the breakfast pastries from the "local bakeries" which I highly doubt are delivered on a daily basis, but I suppose they could be.I think he meant that on an Acela, food items can be offered that don’t have to last for 3-6 days, as some might on a long-distance train?
That's generally not how commercial commissaries and kitchens work. A local bakery can still deliver items in bulk - often they will be frozen and then thawed the day before serving. And of course, local bakeries exist in all towns that Amtrak stocks dining cars from, which is really my point. There is nothing about Acela that can't be replicated on the other trains if Amtrak wants to.
The car seats 44 I believe. The point of flex was to serve sleeping car passengers with the help of the SCA's who were supposed to take the order and deliver the food.
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I never experienced "fresh contemporary" but the items looked much better in quality and definitely sounded more appealing to me. I'm not sure if they were "ridiculously unpopular" compared to the current flex meals which are also "ridiculously unpopular" from what I can tell. I don't think the flex meals stabilized the situation as much as Amtrak just gave up. My personal thought obviously.
What I had during the "diner lite" days on the City was about the same as flex in quality. What I had during "Diner Lite" on the Cardinal was significantly better than flex.
It stabilized the situation as far as Customer satisfaction index scores. The cold meals were very very unpopular and the most consistent feedback that they got was the lack of hot meals. The switch to the hot meals was largely the result of customer complaints and feedback. This was well documented at the time.
Are the customer satisfaction scores publicaly available? Would be interesting to see how they vary with Flex and Traditional Dining.
It's more of a niche thing, but I found it hard sifting through so many different threads and posts to find just a few vegan mentions scattered throughout. I wondered if a separate thread might be useful. I'm envisioning it having more to do with what we bring with us, not what Amtrak provides.
I'm not vegan - I'm kind of what they call "flexitarian" (usually eat lacto-ovo vegetarian but will eat meat). But I would happily eat vegan meals if (a) they didn't contain any of my food-intolerance or allergy foods (peanuts, but I also have bad reactions to carrots and celery if eat them in more than small quantities, and same with soy) and (b) were good (all too often I've seen vegan meals made unpleasantly spicy because the cook assumes vegan = bland). I have several vegan recipes I make from time to time and make to bring to potlucks if I think someone there might be vegan.I've been reading all the food convos with interest. I haven't had Amtrak food since summer 2021 on the Lake Shore Limited. If memory serves right, it was a vegan pasta something or other. It was not terrible, nor was it anything to write home about. I do remember thinking the presentation was...lacking, lol, but I chalked it up to pandemic chaos at the time. Over the years, traveling as a vegan has definitely become more manageable, but I prefer not to be caught hangry while traveling, so I plan, plan, and plan. Later this year I have a 4-night/3-train sleeper trip and then 3-nights/2-trains, so I'll definitely be bringing a small high-end cooler with as much food as I can fit into it!
I was thinking of starting a "vegan travel food" thread here as I didn't see anything like that when I searched. A place where those to whom that applies could share our favorite train-friendly vegan meals and snacks. I'm new to this forum, and I feel netiquette requires me to first inquire whether this has already existed in the past and if so, was there some kind of ugly uprising resulting in the thread being stomped out of existence, and no one wants a repeat?
But that brings me to what Amtrak provides, and man was I disappointed to see these new menus! Choices for vegans are even further reduced. It's not the battle I choose to fight, but there is an element of disappointment all the same to pay for a sleeper car that advertises "meals included" knowing that there's a good chance I'll either have to eat the exact same thing for lunch and dinner every day, or else bring a heck of a lot of food. (Doesn't seem like Amtrak ever offered any vegan breakfast unless purchased in the cafe car, but I could be wrong. Definitely, no dessert for the vegans! LOL)
I would be bringing a fair amount of food anyway, because I can't be certain that any given train will even have the vegan meals on hand, or that I won't end up with a bustituted segment or a missed connection, etc. But originally I was thinking of that more as an emergency backup, whereas after seeing the new menus I now feel like I need to bring the majority of my meals with me. I'll be on the Coast Starlight, the Zephyr, the Lake Shore Limited, and the Empire Builder. Me and my cooler and my shelf-stable eats, lol.
That has not been my experience with Acela First Class meals.
I do it now and then over egg noodles. When I was a kid, we camped on our vacations, and the first night was always DMBS. My HEB in Bastrop carries it.
As I recall, Amtrak grits are plain grits but are often served with a big glob of butter in the middle of them which I like since I fortunately don't have allergies to butter. I assume you can request grits with no butter added. Hopefully some of the grits experts in this group can provide more information.
Butter and Syrup/ Molasses are the proper way to eat Grits!
as someone whose adopted home is in the South......well, no, this is bait, I ain't taking it.Butter and Syrup/ Molasses are the proper way to eat Grits!
