Food quality? East vs south vs west?

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Sanari

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As I have read through the forums, I have gotten a very bad idea in my mind of the food on Amtrak. I do not have high hopes at all.

At best, I can expect the food will be packed with preservatives, food that will be popped into the microwave and served on a platter. For this reason, I am too scared to travel east or south on a train. I would rather fly.

But I have created this thread so that you can ally my fears. Is there really anything to fear?
 
I plan to travel west on the California Zephyr. This is the only train I plan to travel on so far.

Thank you for viewing. ☺️
 
It may depend on whether you plan to eat in the dining car or cafe car. I do not believe the dining car food on the trains with full dining cars (like the California Zephyr) is full of preservatives. The food in the cafe cars and on the trains with limited dining service, may have preservatives.
 
The opinions on the quality of the dining car food vary. I can't speak for the preservatives in their food, but most of the food in the regular dining cars, such as the CZ, is presentable and decent, just not very imaginative or creative. You should be fine on the CZ. If traveling for several days, the standardized menu found nationwide gets rather boring. Most of the cafe car food I would classify as junk food. The item that I most often buy there is hummus and pretzels. I would bring some of my own snacks.
 
Oh I see. Let us play a game where we compare the food to well known restaurants, shall we? As for the cafe car, I would not be a patron as I do not eat junk. Junk is a rare treat for me, and I will not indulge past the occasional coca-cola.
 
The dining car has been compared to Denny's by some on this forum. That is not a great recommendation. Most of the dinners I've had have been acceptable, the spinach salad is pretty good at lunch, and breakfasts can be good. ( a couple of years ago I had a breakfast frittata, which was lousy. ) What irritates me is the el cheapo things they have done to the ambiance,such as being served coffee in a paper cup. We can thank some of the Congressional geniuses for creating this situation.
 
Food in the dining car is excellent. All of it seems to be made to order (my steaks were always cooked perfectly) and occasionally they run out of menu items, which tells me they don't keep large stock of food on the train. The cafe car on the other hand is a little out of control. The prices are way too high for what you are getting. Basically gas station food at a premium price. For this, I suggest bring your own snacks and munchies but plan on meals in the dining car. I have actually been looking forward to my next Amtrak vacation just because of how awesome it was to eat in the diner with the ever changing views.

Also, depending on something, still cant figure out what, you may get better meals on the CA Zephyr. I say this because on the Empire Builder, my steaks didn't come with the caramelized onions but on the CZ it did and I really liked that. I assume the EB just ran out, but who knows why they didn't serve the steak with it.
 
The food (stuffed shells) that I had in roomette was comparable (to me) to a cheap frozen TV dinner from a super market.

Very disappointing.

Others here have praised it.

On the return trip I bought a couple sub sandwiches from the Subway in the LAX station.
 
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When they deliver food to your room, it is not the same food that is served in the dining car?
 
When they deliver food to your room, it is not the same food that is served in the dining car?
Yes.

peter
I am sorry, yes - it is, or yes it is not? That is the problem with English language, and asking questions in the negative..
the food provided should be the same, no matter where on the train. this being amtrak though, there are never promises.
Meals served to you in your room (or accessible coach) are the same meals you would get in the dining car. You may be able to get your attendant to get you a la cart food, which would be from the cafe car.

peter
 
The dining car food reminds me of Applebee's. It isn't incredible, but it's not bad either.

I order the steak or chicken for dinner, and I usually get the Angus steakburger for lunch. Sometimes there's an interesting "special", like a smoked grilled cheese sandwich or turkey meatballs, so I'll get that.

Their breakfast portions are pretty huge, and I've never had anything I didn't like. I tend to get an omelet with a side of sausage and breakfast potatoes, but I've also had the French toast a couple times.

The orange juice tastes weird, though. I stick with tea and milk.
 
As others have said the Breakfasts are the Best Meals all things considered.

Also the steaks and Fish (.Supposedly Atlantic Cod) generally are good to excellent of the chef cooks them right but the veggies, bread and the new desserts are all third rate (with the exception of the Chocolate Cake.)

I tend to like the Veggie Chipotle Burger for Lunch ( if you add Cheese and Bacon it's called a Cheater Burger! ), but as Sarah said some of the "Specials" are surprisingly good!

IMO the Crap sold in the Cafes at High Prices is just that!
 
In the dining car: For dinner, the steaks are just plain beef. For breakfast, the omelettes are pure eggs, with real cheese (optional) and real vegetables (optional). The cereals and milk have labels and are pretty pure. For lunch, the salads are real raw vegetables.

Everything else in the dining car is unlabeled processed stuff which could have ANYTHING in it. I've spent three years trying to get ingredients lists out of Amtrak (because I have an allergy) and I have been unable to. So.

The cafe car food is processed, but every last item in it has a complete ingredients list, so you can at least check whether it's acceptable to you.

Bring your own food. You're allowed to.
 
Here is Amtrak's list of the nutritional information & ingredients for all the dining car food served on any Amtrak train.

http://www.amtrakfoodfacts.com/

peter
This does not contain an ingredidents list for ANY of the dining car food, just to be clear about this. It contains a list of "common allergens". (I'm allergic to something uncommon.) It does contain the usual nutritional information.
 
Here is Amtrak's list of the nutritional information & ingredients for all the dining car food served on any Amtrak train.

http://www.amtrakfoodfacts.com/

peter
This does not contain an ingredidents list for ANY of the dining car food, just to be clear about this. It contains a list of "common allergens". (I'm allergic to something uncommon.) It does contain the usual nutritional information.
Oh interesting I thought it did... maybe it's something they removed as I remember ingredients being listed in the old design.

Amtrak's food is provided by Aramark, you might be able to get info from them.

peter
 
Can someone share the California Zephyr wine list, please?
 
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