How long would congress put up with amtrak meals?

[Chessie]

I would prefer for Amtrak to offer tiered meal plans, eg, one can choose between a diner plan, or a box meal plan or no meal plan at all. And I understand most LD trains already have either some sort of cafe or snack bar or a vending machine.

As long as I don't go hungry, food on board is a very minimal concern for me and I would imagine for many others.

 

[Carolina Special]

Seems to me if Congress did adapt Amtrak menus for their dining rooms, they would be the Acela first class dining menus, not the LD menus.

Not that is going to happen, anyway.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I don't have an issue with the meals.

&

I have always enjoyed the meals as well.

&

I'm generally ok with the meals in the diner.

&

Count me as a satisfied sleeper passenger with the meals.

Why is it that people who dislike Amtrak meals can often give specific examples of what exactly they found disappointing or inedible while people who are satisifed with Amtrak meals almost always talk in vague generalities that communicate virtually nothing of consequence? I guess it must be hard to wax poetic about precooked reheated pantry food.

For about the 8,849th time, they DID NOT remove ice from the sleepers! In most cases it is just not in the open; you have to ask your SCA for it. I took several trips this year and not one time was ice unavailable.

On my last several trips from about 12:00AM until 7:00AM ice was never available. Like many working age folks I have limited vacation time and have to get my passenger rail fix by flying to or from the origin or destination, so it is not very practical for me to carry a cooler around just to maintain the ice for more than an hour past last call.

As was previously mentioned, this is unhinged from factual reality. Public access to ice has *always* been a health issue, changes in enforcement of the existing rules have nothing to do with "pennies".

This reminds me that I really need to start photographing all the times I see deliveries of Amtrak ice casually dropped onto foot traffic platforms, resting next to trash bags on motorized delivery carts, and dumped onto sticky car floors in scratched up bags. If Amtrak and the FDA truly cared about the quality of the ice the staff wouldn't be allowed to treat it like that to begin with.

I am willing to acknowledge that if you are young, or old, or otherwise immunocompromised then it's entirely possible that unsanitary ice may kill you. So don't eat it. Let the folks who have nothing to do with you make their own decisions and keep your distance. Turn that concern toward more important issues like mandatory vaccine use and discontinuance of non-therapeutic overuse of antibiotics and antimicrobials.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I don't have an issue with the meals.

&

I have always enjoyed the meals as well.

&

I'm generally ok with the meals in the diner.

&

Count me as a satisfied sleeper passenger with the meals.

Why is it that people who dislike Amtrak meals can often give specific examples of what exactly they found disappointing or inedible while people who are satisifed with Amtrak meals almost always talk in vague generalities that communicate virtually nothing of consequence? I guess it must be hard to wax poetic about precooked reheated pantry food.

That is pretty much human nature. It is easier to remember and recount experiences that are outside of the realm of average since they are usually memorable. If something is phenomenal, you'll tend to remember it. If something is terrible, you'll tend to remember it. If something is decent, you'll note that you took no exceptions. The reason people aren't gushing or complaining could be a result of a poor palate, low expectations or being lost in the moment. You're not really saying much here.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

That is pretty much human nature. It is easier to remember and recount experiences that are outside of the realm of average since they are usually memorable. If something is phenomenal, you'll tend to remember it. If something is terrible, you'll tend to remember it. If something is decent, you'll note that you took no exceptions. The reason people aren't gushing or complaining could be a result of a poor palate, low expectations or being lost in the moment. You're not really saying much here.

For many contributors Amtrak meals don't appear to be worthy of meaningful discussion, which isn't unusual in and of itself, and yet for some reason it's still extremely important for some of these same members to repeatedly remind everyone that regardless of what was served or how it was served or who served it those meals were absolutely acceptable. Even among some people who have been eating on Amtrak for decades there is apparently little or no distinction from the very first meal to the very last, at least no differences which would be worthy of remarking upon. In my experience most people don't go around repeatedly reminded anyone who might listen that a meal which was unremarkable and has long since been forgotten was perfectly acceptable. Well, that is except for here in the Amtrak spin zone.

 

[keelhauled]

For many contributors Amtrak meals don't appear to be worthy of meaningful discussion, which isn't unusual in and of itself, and yet for some reason it's still extremely important for some of these same members to repeatedly remind everyone that regardless of what was served or how it was served or who served it those meals were absolutely acceptable. Even among some people who have been eating on Amtrak for decades there is apparently little or no distinction from the very first meal to the very last, at least no differences which would be worthy of remarking upon. In my experience most people don't go around repeatedly reminded anyone who might listen that a meal which was unremarkable and has long since been forgotten was perfectly acceptable. Well, that is except for here in the Amtrak spin zone.

Well what else are you supposed to say? Personally I find the meals average. If someone else says that Amtrak food is awful, am I supposed to not say that I don't find them awful? Just because I don't think the dining car serves great food doesn't mean I think it's bad. It's kind of like fast food to me. No, I don't remember the sandwich I had the last time I was in Subway, but it was good enough I don't have hesitation about eating another one. Same for Amtrak. I'm not going to refuse to travel because of the dining car food, but it also isn't really a specific point in favor of the train vs some other form of transportation. It's just kinda there. I also will fully concede that this is entirely a matter of taste and I maybe I just have low standards.

 

[jebr]

I think because many people on this board are generally Amtrak supporters, those that found the meals fine and don't want people to be dissuaded from riding the train will put in their two cents and mention that they haven't found the food terrible on the train. I tend to find that Amtrak food is generally acceptable to good, on par with a Denny's for most meals. I know it isn't high praise, but for many people considering Amtrak having counterpoints to the gloom and doom of food service, where others state that the food is generally okay, may make them consider the train because they're fine with that level of food service for their particular trip.

 

[TiBike]

Dining car food is on a par with Denny's when it's properly prepared and served. And that standard is OK up to a point.

There are two problems, though. One is that preparation and, particularly, service is highly variable. When the dining car crew is sub-par, there's nothing you can do. You're stuck with what you get for the rest of the trip. It would be overstating it to say that I begin to dread going into the dining car, but I do find myself wishing I had another choice. When you start a meal with a negative attitude, it's likely to continue right on through. Restaurants live in a competitive world, Amtrak dining cars do not and it shows.

The second problem is that not everyone is happy eating three meals a day at Denny's. I eat there maybe a half dozen times a year, and it's usually because it's a convenient and acceptable alternative at the moment. Not because it particularly turns me on. Upgrading LD cafe cars to halfway decent food and keeping them open continuously would be a huge step in the right direction. Airports have come around to this kind of thinking -- you can pretty much count on finding grab and go food at any time in any terminal that's reasonably light, fresh and healthy. Amtrak dining car food fails on all three points.

 

[dlagrua]

The point is that the food in the past was better, ice was available and coffee was available in the sleepers all day. About 5 years back on a trip to/from New Orleans on the Crescent the chef was serving Crawfish Etoufee. It was very good. On the Capital Ltd you were able to order Cajun Shrimp for dinner and that was good too.. At that time Amtrak employed gourmet chefs to help develop the meal selections. Does anyone remember that program? Today what do you get; plain roast chicken, a veggy dish, a plain piece of fish filet and on some routes the flatiron steak which IMO is the best dinner menu item. The Cardinal has been famous for the rubbery breakfast omelets and french toast sticks but the lunch and dinner selections have been passable. You won't die from the food but for an $800- $1000 one way fare to CHI or NYP, sleeper passengers deserve better.

....and on the subject of the dining car crew; three years ago while on a trip on the EB to Seattle there was a dining car manager who ran the service efficiently like clockwork. Don't recall his name but I believe that he was an Italian fellow. He wore a business suit and spoke with a slight accent. He really did his job well, motivated the staff and kept things moving. .

 

[Bob Dylan]

Totally agree with TBike and dlagrua!