Minor Amtrak dining car menu requests

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unitedstatesfan

Train Attendant
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Aug 6, 2016
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On long distance trains such as CS, CZ and so on, can passengers request (say) 'no gravy' with the 'Amtrak signature steak' or is every menu item pre-prepared with the sauce or other condiment or enhancement noted on the printed menus?

I am not talking about 'special meals' - which as with airlines naturally require prior notice to Amtrak - but just a minor change to a menu item.
 
Yes, you can specifically ask for the signature steak without gravy. In most cases, the gravy is served on the side anyway. To my knowledge most food on full service dining cars are prepared by an on-board chef. Notable exceptions are CONO and Cardinal.
 
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Recent Sliver trip.

Southbound the steak "gravy" had it own container on the side.

Northbound the "gravy" was on the steak.

I agree you can specifically ask for the signature steak without "gravy". Be sure to ask at the time you order.
 
Tennessee Traveler, don't forget the Lake Shore has adopted the same menu as the Cardinal since they're on Diner-Lite until new diners are delivered.
 
Yes, you can specifically ask for the signature steak without gravy. In most cases, the gravy is served on the side anyway. To my knowledge most food on full service dining cars are prepared by an on-board chef. Notable exceptions are CONO and Cardinal.
That's a negative, most of the dinner entrees are already prepared, they are just heated by the chef, the steak is the one exception, as it is grilled to order.

As an example the shrimp and crab cakes are already made, they are simply placed on the grill and finished.

From Amtrak's website.

Low Fat, Low Cholesterol, Low Sodium, Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Peanut Free MealsAmtrak does not offer meals specifically designated as low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium, gluten free, wheat free or peanut free. Most dinner entrees are not prepared on the dining car. The fat, cholesterol, sodium, gluten, wheat and peanut content may vary, and cannot be controlled or modified by the chef.

Ken
 
Those entrees with a sauce, Crab Cakes or Salisbury Steak, it comes in its own labeled plastic container which is placed on the side. On the CS the cook opened the plastic container and poured it into a small dipping bowl. SL, EB, TE all just placed the plastic container on the plate.
 
Yes, they will do some minor things like that. My daughter and I are a little "particular" and I also have a handful of food allergies and we have been able to make it work.
 
The Lake Shore menu is quite similar to the OLD Cardinal menu.
 
Yes, you can specifically ask for the signature steak without gravy. In most cases, the gravy is served on the side anyway. To my knowledge most food on full service dining cars are prepared by an on-board chef. Notable exceptions are CONO and Cardinal.
Half the time the dining staff don't even warn you that your entree or dessert is coming with some generic commercial sauce/topping that isn't listed anywhere in the menu, so how are you supposed to know to ask them to leave it off? In my experience Amtrak dining service is all about assuming forgiveness after the fact rather than taking the effort to inform you of your extremely limited options ahead of time.
 
Is there an example of an 'unnamed sauce' on a particular menu item that you can remember Devil's Advocate?

What is the typical attitude of the dining car waiters if a passenger looks at the dish and exclaims (politely) 'oh I don't like gravy/tomato sauce/ketchup/ but this wasn't shown on the menu, so can you please take it back and bring me one without the sauce?'
 
Is there an example of an 'unnamed sauce' on a particular menu item that you can remember Devil's Advocate?

What is the typical attitude of the dining car waiters if a passenger looks at the dish and exclaims (politely) 'oh I don't like gravy/tomato sauce/ketchup/ but this wasn't shown on the menu, so can you please take it back and bring me one without the sauce?'
I have food allergies, and I routinely ask for no sauce with whatever entree I order.
 
Is there an example of an 'unnamed sauce' on a particular menu item that you can remember Devil's Advocate?

What is the typical attitude of the dining car waiters if a passenger looks at the dish and exclaims (politely) 'oh I don't like gravy/tomato sauce/ketchup/ but this wasn't shown on the menu, so can you please take it back and bring me one without the sauce?'
Off the top of my head some odd mushroom topping on my steak and weird fruit like goop on my cheesecake, but that's only two examples out of dozens of similar situations. You can always ask to have it redone. Some staff will apologize and handle it quickly while others seem to act like you're being a bit of a nuisance about it.
 
The fish dish usually has some sauce. Normally it's served on the side but sometimes it will be placed directly on the fish. This has been the same in my experience for Tilapia, Mahi, Salmon, and the current crab cakes
 
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