The advertising for The Olive Garden shows the chefs going to "their kitchen in Tuscany" to learn to prepare the dinners. But the advertising never says that the meals are delivered to the restaurant already prepared frozen in packets. The chef at your local restaurant just reheats it (probably in a convection oven), puts it on a plate and maybe adds some pasta to the plate and sends it out. Many restaurants do this also. (I have worked in many restaurants and have seen thus.)
So how is this different from what Amtrak does? :huh:
To me Amtrak food tastes bland, stale, and overcooked. Similar to a hospital or retirement home.I find it amazing how you all can dwell on function over form. To me the proof is in the pudding, or more exactly the meal. I refrain from having an auto erection if something is microwaved or convection oven-ed but rather on how it tastes.
Fifty years ago consumers were still enamored with the easy storage and quick preparation of canned and frozen foods. Here in 2016 some of us are rediscovering the improved flavors, textures, and nutritional qualities of freshly prepared meals. Every time someone brings up poor quality food our resident apologists run off and circle the wagons around Steak Island™. Which is an amazingly overpriced option for folks in coach and a 50/50 option at best for folks in sleepers. Half the time Amtrak cooks my steak incorrectly, leaves it sitting somewhere until it's cold, or smothers it with some random sauce or other topping without asking. You want to know which kind of steak gets smothered in toppings without asking? Cheap generic steak that's too low grade to carry the meal on its own.I have never had a bad steak on Amtrak and can count on the fingers of one hand the horrible Amtrak meals I have had in fifty years.
I'd say Amtrak food today is substantially worse than Applebee's or Ruby Tuesdays and unlike those restaurants you can't really change anything of consequence. For the vast majority of the Amtrak's menu you either take it the one specific way Amtrak prepares it or you simply go without. Compared to the shockingly poor grade pork sausage served on Amtrak today an Egg McMuffin is practically fine dining. Let us know if you need any more pudding to clarify what's wrong with Amtrak's precooked frozen food.For all I care they can hang the steak out the window and let the passing torrent of air cook it as long as I get it prepared to my liking. Is the food equal to Commander's Palace in New Orleans or the Blue Lion in Jackson WY? No. Is it better than Applebee's or Ruby's Tuesday's? Yes. When they serve an egg McMuffin in Gore Canyon I will raise my voice, but we are a long way from that.
Yep. And the FDA will close the food service in a heartbeat if they see any of their violations. That is real, not an exaggeration. I have seen them close it because a passenger leaned over and grabbed their own ice from the ice well.To all:
In general,State regulations are much more forgiving than the FDA regs under which Amtrak operates. FDA's rationale has never been fully explained to me, although most of their issues have to do with contamination by people who have no training in sanitary practices. That's the actual situation, so please don't shoot the messenger.
Well, that's not really what I've been trying to say. Let me start over. I have two points to make:i assume everyone would agree that Amtrak is entitled to some mark up on its food & beverage service. The premise of this thread seems to be that 400% is too high. But is the mark-up on this item really 400%? OP cites a $4 supermarket item and a c. $16 Amtrak price tag and makes some observation that it cannot cost $12 to serve it.
And they would see the LAST of me on any LD train. Heck, I've already started saving $$$ for Canadian, or other........And there's the rub: a really good leisurely meal with decent service is what Amtrak is in the process of eliminating with their nickel and dime cuts, standardized Menus and cutting Food Service staff and even Diners!!!I guess these prepackaged meals are the best Amtrak could do given their mandate to reduce costs. So - why not reduce this price by serving them like they really are - a nuked cafe car fast food. Avoid the expense of the waiters and place settings and serve them as carry out to eat in your room or on bare tables in a portion of the diner. I suspect the majority of passengers wouldn't know the difference. But, at the same time, offer a freshly prepared sit down meal with quality food for a premium price. The cruise lines have figured that out with their specialty dining options. I'd gladly pay a few bucks more for a really good leisurely meal with decent service.
One might want to Google and read some stories about Congress's own dining facilities. Kind of gives you a perspective on their mind-set for dining, be it Amtrak or their own.Amtrak's dining cars are constantly under attack by Congress.
And Wall Street complains because the company I work for offers free food to employees -- I'm sure the amount they spend on this benefit is way, way under that, per capita.I have read about "From 1993 to 2008, the Senate cafeterias received more than $18 million dollars in subsidies.", and guess out of who's pockets those subsidies come out of?
Yep, this is the way it works everywhere I know of. I know some cafes which have a "customer self-serve microwave" and a completely separate "behind the counter" microwave, and never the twain shall mix. I'm pretty sure that's the standard rule nationwide.I wonder though if those FDA rules might only apply to mixing personal food with Amtrak Cafe prepared and handled food. So a separate microwave for personal, not Amtrak handled food, maybe be ok. Just speculating.
Excellent post Bill!There was a time, and I think it was in the late 1990's, when Amtrak boasted that its dining car chefs were all trained by the CIA. No, not that CIA. The Culinary Institute of America. It was a source of pride.
My bet is that there are a decent number of those folks left working Amtrak. This era must leave them depressed.
You pretty much nailed it.There was a time, and I think it was in the late 1990's, when Amtrak boasted that its dining car chefs were all trained by the CIA. No, not that CIA. The Culinary Institute of America. It was a source of pride.
My bet is that there are a decent number of those folks left working Amtrak. This era must leave them depressed.
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