Cycle 4 menu

[amtrakmichigan]

I just got back from my trip to MSP and CHI on the EB. I have seen some of you discuss the topic of the "cycle 4" menu, and nobody really knew for sure what the selections were. So if your intrested, here is the complete menu and prices. Note.... I left out all the little fancy words and descriptions for typing speed.

Breakfast

-Southwest Omelet.............................................$9.00

-2 eggs, potatoes(grits) biscuit (croissant).........$6.00

-Quiche Lorraine..................................................$8.50

-French Toast......................................................$6.75

-pancakes............................................................$6.75

-Continental.........................................................$5.75

(choice of rice krispies, raisin bran, frosted flakes, or oatmeal. served with biscuit or croissant and yogurt)

-side of bacon or sausage...................................$3.00

Lunch

-Angus Burger.....................................................$7.75

-Grilled Chicken sandwhich..................................$7.75

-Gardenburger.....................................................$7.75

-Quiche Lorraine..................................................$8.50

-Roast beef and Swiss.........................................$7.75

-Jambalaya...........................................................$8.50

-Fried green salad............................................... $6.50

Dinner

-T-bone steak.....................................................$19.75

-Lamb shank.......................................................$16.50

-seared salmon...................................................$16.50

-Chicken Montrachet...........................................$13.50

-Daily Special.......................................................$11.50

-Penne rigate alfredo..........................................$10.50

Dessert

-chocolate cake..................................................$5.00

-cheesecake.......................................................$3.75

-apple pie...........................................................$4.00

-fruit...................................................................$3.50

-ice cream...........................................................$1.75

Drinks

-bottled water...........$1.75

-soft drinks................$1.50

-domestic beer..........$3.50

-premium beer...........$4.50

-wine(half bottle).......$10.00

 

[Guest]

Yep. That's what I had on the EB in March and then on the Eagle on the same trip. For dinner the T Bone and lamb were good, but that chicken thing left a lot to be desired. Pasta dish was also pretty good.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

Well, for the coach passengers, it is ashame to ask them to pay "those" prices. For the sleeper passengers it doesn't really matter.

 

[GG-1]

Well, for the coach passengers, it is ashame to ask them to pay "those" prices. For the sleeper passengers it doesn't really matter.

Aloha

I am curious as to where you live. Also why do you think the cost of the food doesn't affect the price of the Sleeping car. The prices in the earlier list seeme to be adverage of our resturant prices

 

[whs1325]

Well, for the coach passengers, it is ashame to ask them to pay "those" prices. For the sleeper passengers it doesn't really matter.

Aloha

I am curious as to where you live. Also why do you think the cost of the food doesn't affect the price of the Sleeping car. The prices in the earlier list seeme to be adverage of our resturant prices

I agree. Those prices seem comparable to most fine dining resturants. Besides, if the people in coach want a cheaper meal there still the lounge.

 

[jccollins]

...but that chicken thing left a lot to be desired.

Huh? I just had that chicken thing for dinner Thursday night on my Calif. Zephyr trip from Reno to Winnemucca, NV and it was pretty good! Everyone else at my table had it too and said it was really good. On the contrary, someone at the table across from us was complaining about the T-bone (that it was too tough)... I guess it really just depends on your chef the day you are travelling, but I can tell you the chicken was good.

I have always thought the dining car prices were very reasonable, so I am kind of surprised to hear the complaints here. The quality of the food served it very good. I am sure they could lower it to lower the prices, but I would rather pay for the higher quality food and enjoy it. It sure beats the junk sold in the snack bar! (which I had to resort to this morning since my westbound train back to Reno arrived 2 1/2 hours down through Winnemucca and I missed the breakfast).

 

[panamaclipper]

Well, there you have it. My "chicken thing" from menu 4 seemed a little undercooked and the stuffing was too soft. But the T bone I had was one of the best I've ever eaten. It's the same story in my kitchen. I'm making a pot of chili tonite and sometimes it's great and sometimes it's so so. Even though I seem to do it the same way. Oh, well.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

About the prices..... I will agree and disagree with you guys.

First, when you consider the price of Amtrak's breakfast for what you get I will agree that yes, it is somewhat overpriced. I consider the lunch prices to be above average prices, and dinner I consider to be very fair in pricing.

One thing you guys have to remember, there is one big thing Amtrak has to deal with that your local diner doesn't. That is employee salary. Local restaurants don't pay union wages and benefits to there wait and cooking staff. In the metro Detroit area I can get a breakfast with 2 eggs, potatoes, bacon, toast and coffee for about $4 to $5. But they pay there waitstaff $2.51 per hour and cooks make about $8 to $10 per hour, usually with no benefits. Amtrak must figure that they have to charge at least $6.00 per meal (even if it's just eggs,potatoes and biscuit) just to try to break even.

 

[AlanB]

It's the same story in my kitchen. I'm making a pot of chili tonite and sometimes it's great and sometimes it's so so. Even though I seem to do it the same way. Oh, well.

And just think Panama, you had that varience and there was no one in your kitchen shaking the stove and moving the floor that you were standing on.

Just imaging how much things could vary if that were happening to you. You might well end up wearing it. :lol:

 

[AlanB]

As for the prices, personally I don't think that they are too bad. Breakfast seems a bit high to me, but the rest is pretty much in order. I spend at least that much on dinner and often more. Of course I do live in NYC, one of the most expensive cities in the US.

 

[PennsyFan]

If you book in advance , you can ride to Philadelphia and back in coach, and eat dinner on the train (assuming they'll let you book on 97) for as much as a good dinner in New York. Of course this is impossible now that the Silver Everything is in operation.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

Well, for the coach passengers, it is ashame to ask them to pay "those" prices. For the sleeper passengers it doesn't really matter.

Aloha

I am curious as to where you live. Also why do you think the cost of the food doesn't affect the price of the Sleeping car. The prices in the earlier list seeme to be adverage of our resturant prices

I am a Southerner, thanks for asking. As far as my comments in regard to sleeper passengers, I never said the prices don't really matter to them. These costs are absorbed in the price of their fare. But for some reason, mentally, most of them (not all but just in my observations) as a whole, seem to feel as if they are not paying for their meals, but in fact they actually are. But with that in mind (price included in the fare), they don't really pay attention to the prices of the meals because no money changes hands unless they purchase alcohol or leave gratuity. As far as costs of the operation, yeah true, payroll (as in any company) takes a big chunk out of the budget. But in my opinion, I feel as if Gate Gormet (who supplies us with our food and beverages) overcharges Amtrak on the product for both the diner and the lounge. In turn Amtrak must charge a certain markup to break even. The food prices are pretty much the single most complaint about food service on the train in my observations. And boy, don't let service or product quality cause a problem, then that just makes the prices a bigger problem. The passengers pay a lot for just their railfares, anyway! Take it from me, I work there! I listen to what the passengers are saying out there. I may not make a response if it is not directed to me, but I do hear a lot of what goes on!!!

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

I would say that these prices are somewhat in line with an average scale! I guess dinner would be most in line, in my opinion. I am from management in my former trade. I always have believed that "a fast nickel is better than a slow dime!" If the prices were a little lower, more passengers would would patronize the food service cars out of desire, not out of absolute necessity!!!

 

[Amfleet]

After Amtrak introduced the standardized cycle menu I have food quality and consistancy has been improved greatly. I find for the most part prices are reasonable. What will jack the cost of your meal is ordering a side of sausage at breakfast, adding cheese and bacon to your burger at lunch, or getting dessert after dinner.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

After Amtrak introduced the standardized cycle menu I have food quality and consistancy has been improved greatly. I find for the most part prices are reasonable. What will jack the cost of your meal is ordering a side of sausage at breakfast, adding cheese and bacon to your burger at lunch, or getting dessert after dinner.

Well that is one of my points!!!! If you get a side order of bacon at breakfast, it costs $3.00!!!!! You get three (3, trece) slices of bacon! That is a $1.00 per slice, c-mon get real!!!!! A lot of people like to have a meat item as part of their breakfast, but don't wanna pay that price! And that is only one thing that is complained about constantly! Also yes, the same goes with having cheese on the burger/chicken sandwich.

As far as food quality is concerned, I agree with you to an extent, but I remember the days of when (we'll use this as an example) chicken was fresh prepared on board, etc, and now it is only a few things. As far as consistancy, I have noticed great improvements that respect, though!

 

[amtrakmichigan]

But in my opinion, I feel as if Gate Gormet (who supplies us with our food and beverages) overcharges Amtrak on the product for both the diner and the lounge.

OBS Employee,

I don't know if you can answer this or not, but I will ask you anyway. I can understand why Amtrak needs to use a company like Gate Gormet for lounge/Cafe food since it's all microwave heated stuff. But you made it sound like they use them for Diner food too. Why is this?? It would seem Amtrak would turn to someone like Misel Sysco to supply there "restaurant" style food for the dining cars, since none of this food has to be pre made. A company like Sysco can be found anywhere in the USA , which would be good in times of emergencys, an example being if a train has to be turned around in the middle of no mans land because of a derailment or something. There prices would probably be far less then an outfit like Gate Gormet.

 

[battalion51]

Michigan, Amtrak does indeed use Gate Gourmet (notice the spelling of Gourmet), for a couple of reasons. First, Amtrak only has to deal with one vendor for their fodd items rather than two. Also, Gate Gourmet probably presented a contract to Amtrak for both Diner and Lounge and it was probably discounted further than if they got just the lounge. As for meals on board, one chef actually said to me "I don't cook, I just warm things up. And this is pretty true, if you watch the kitchen during meal time a lot of the foods are pre made, just placed in ovens for warming, put on a plate and served. Now, there are some foods cooked to order, like Steak, pancakes, French Toast, but, many foods are all ready to go when they're loaded on the train. It's a sad statement, but that's the way it is.

 

[engine999]

That would explain why the soup tasted like it was from a can and mashed potatoes like instant ones.

 

[battalion51]

No offense, but I LOVE THOSE MASHED POTATOES!!! Back in the day, I was able to fenagle an entire plate of the mashed potatoes with gravy, talk about hog heaven.

 

[engine999]

Have they changed them? It has been a long time scince I have eaten dining car food.

 

[engine999]

It would be nice to see Amtrak having meals fully cooked onboard. After all they have chefs that are graduates of the American Culinary Institute onboard(or atleast from what i have heard).

 

[panamaclipper]

In the late 70s when I was riding the old San Francisco Zephyr they were cooking on a stove that used coal or charcoal briquets. The food all tasted great.

 

[battalion51]

I think it'd be cool if they could have smoked turkey around the holidays as the Evening Special.

 

[engine999]

I think it'd be cool if they could have smoked turkey around the holidays as the Evening Special.

I don't know if thet have a premade supplier of those yet. They have bbq chicken so it is comming.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I was interested to see OBS note that the cost of the meal was indeed included in the sleeper fare.

I remember, about 1986, when meals started being included. And, yes, the sleeper fares did shoot up. I think that came along with complimentary newspaper, coffee and juice, bedtime sweet etc as part of a first class package. Something came up on this post a month or two back, and I was never able to find anything, magazine article or whatever, to prove the fares went up, but I know from memory that they did.

For that reason I have usually ordered the most expensive dining car items, on the theory that I am paying for them anyway. That would be steak for dinner which I hardly ever eat otherwise. Of course for a longer trip I would vary the menu more.

Oh, and by the way, I remember a day (pre-Amtrak or maybe even early Amtrak) when luncheon items were a more substantial food, closer to what dinner items were, maybe just a notch below. Perhaps there was a hamburger , etc, but I clearly remember fish, chicken etc for lunch also.