Negative long distance trip review article based lack of value and inedible food

[crescent-zephyr]

According to Google there are at least two Unos in NYC.

This is getting a bit technical but UNOs chain restaurants and the original Uno (and Due across the street) are actually 2 completely different restaurants. It’s a brand licensing deal.

The same thing happened to Corkys BBQ in Memphis but I think all of those have closed now. (The chain, not the original location).

 

[joelkfla]

PIZZA, Most Overated Food there is!

Except NY Pizza.

 

[Dakota 400]

I got the feeling he is a young, hyper-energetic type of person from NYC who does not know how to relax, so 19 hours in a train was misery for him, not something nice, and he could hardly wait to get back home to NYC.

I agree. I realize that I am of a different generation than this gentleman, but watching Netflex as much as he seemed to be doing? I don't understand that kind of behavior.

 

[Exvalley]

My take, after skimming through a few dozen headlines of articles that he has written: He writes a ton of clickbait junk. At the risk of sounding rude, I hope that he did not spend too much on journalism school. Most of his articles are Buzzfeed type stuff.

 

[mlanoue]

Lou Malnati's isn't the best out there, but it's great to stock up on them frozen--especially if there is a pandemic going on and you don't want to go to the grocery store. Probably some of the best frozen pizza you can get.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

I am starting to think that Mr. Olito is just a wee bit negative.

If he’s this cranky as a young whiz kid, I can just imagine how much fun he will be to be around when he’s old and grumpy!

Which actually leads to, I think, a valid point—train travel, whether by choice or necessity, whether in sleeper or coach, comes with an underlying assumption that it will be fun. Not every minute of the trip, but part of it at least.

Of course, the fun has not been here this past year, with the pandemic. But it will return eventually.

I read a comment once (sorry, can’t remember where) that an Amtrak trip is a cross between a resort vacation and a camping trip. I thought that summed it up perfectly—some pampering, and some fending for yourself.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

I don’t know why we are giving this guy so much grief. The gist of the article was service and food sucked and fare was too high. I think a decent majority of us agree with him on those points. Could he have made things better sure.

Maybe he read our thread, in a very strange twist the article came out again today. Slightly redone and slightly more positive.

I took a 19-hour overnight Amtrak train for the first time. Here are 14 things that surprised me about the long-haul journey.

An Insider reporter was surprised to find that he could book a private room with a small bathroom on an overnight Amtrak train.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Exvalley]

Maybe he read our thread, in a very strange twist the article came out again today. Slightly redone and slightly more positive.

If this guy expects to be taken seriously as a reporter, he really needs to fact check. This line was especially cringe-worthy:
When I've ridden coach on past Amtrak trains, the conductors only checked my tickets and made sure everyone was following the rules. In the sleeper car, I was shocked to learn the conductors did so much more. They brought me food, drinks, and even offered turn-down service.

I don't have a problem with his overall disappointment. I guess that I am just being grumpy about the state of journalism in the era of clickbaits.

 

[flitcraft]

I read a comment once (sorry, can’t remember where) that an Amtrak trip is a cross between a resort vacation and a camping trip. I thought that summed it up perfectly—some pampering, and some fending for yourself.

Absolutely spot on. I may 'borrow' that description next time someone asks me about LD train travel.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

If this guy expects to be taken seriously as a reporter, he really needs to fact check. This line was especially cringe-worthy:
When I've ridden coach on past Amtrak trains, the conductors only checked my tickets and made sure everyone was following the rules. In the sleeper car, I was shocked to learn the conductors did so much more. They brought me food, drinks, and even offered turn-down service.

I don't have a problem with his overall disappointment. I guess that I am just being grumpy about the state of journalism in the era of clickbaits.

At least he didn’t call them porters! (Too soon?)

 

[JoeZeppyPA]

I took a 19-hour overnight Amtrak train from New York to Chicago and found it wasn't worth the $550 price tag

An Insider reporter booked a room on an Amtrak train and found the small space not to be worth the $550 price tag.

www.yahoo.com

He probably didn’t even pay the highest fare. Reports roll was best part of dinner. I hope this makes it to Amtrak management and congressional staffers.

This reads like a Cheech and Chong Sister Mary Elephant class trip review.

"On the first day of my vacation, I woke up. Then I went downtown. To start my vacation.
"On the second day of my vacation, I woke up. Then I went to the cafe car. To have my Amtrak breakfast."

 

[crescent-zephyr]

This reads like a Cheech and Chong Sister Mary Elephant class trip review.

"On the first day of my vacation, I woke up. Then I went downtown. To start my vacation.
"On the second day of my vacation, I woke up. Then I went to the cafe car. To have my Amtrak breakfast."

But you clicked it and read it! They get the $$$!!!

 

[mitako]

The author has a new article out. Spoiler alert: He is hard to impress.

I tried Chicago's famous deep dish pizza for the first time and was not impressed

An Insider reporter, who is a born and bred New Yorker, tried deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's in Chicago and didn't like the taste of the sauce.

www.insider.com

I guess he never heard of Yelp, which would have given him all the info that seemed to catch him by surprise at the restaurant, lol. He kind of seems like a guy who has a hard time dealing with things that aren't just the same as what he is used to. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but not the best personality trait for someone who reviews things for a living.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I guess he never heard of Yelp, which would have given him all the info that seemed to catch him by surprise at the restaurant, lol. He kind of seems like a guy who has a hard time dealing with things that aren't just the same as what he is used to. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but not the best personality trait for someone who reviews things for a living.

I agree with everything he said. He would like the atmosphere of Uno, Due, it Genos East and he shouldn’t order the individual pizzas, they don’t give anyone a sense of “deep dish Chicago” - imho.

 

[Sauve850]

My take, after skimming through a few dozen headlines of articles that he has written: He writes a ton of clickbait junk. At the risk of sounding rude, I hope that he did not spend too much on journalism school. Most of his articles are Buzzfeed type stuff.

I think his Amtrak article is fairly accurate. He may write some clickbait type articles and got lots of attention here on the forum. Your comment on his journalism school cost is rude.

 

[Barb Stout]

I am starting to think that Mr. Olito is just a wee bit negative.

I tried living in a luxury camper van for a weekend during the winter, and I'll never do it again

An Insider reporter spent three nights in January in a camper van and found that van life isn't all that's it's cracked up to be.

www.insider.com

I tried making 2 grilled cheese sandwiches in my air fryer, and they were so dry I wouldn't do it again

It took 12 minutes for an Insider reporter to cook grilled cheese sandwiches in an air fryer, and he found them to be too dry and crunchy.

www.insider.com

I stayed at a campground for the first time in a camper van during the off-season, and I didn't think it was worth the price

An Insider reporter stayed at a campground just outside of Philadelphia in January and found it largely empty.

www.insider.com

I paid $1,000 to sleep in a tiny house on a remote island in the middle of New York City — and it was not worth the price

Collective Retreats has tiny homes on Governors Island that cost $1,000 a night, but the high price tag only includes scenic views and a complimentary breakfast.

www.insider.com

I read a few of these and he is incredibly ignorant concerning the experiences he writes about. It really shouldn't be him writing about these things; he should either stick to something he knows something about or spend a little time, like any reasonable person would, first trying to find out a modicum about the experiment he is about to embark upon. But maybe being The Fool (like in the Tarot deck) embarking on an unknown journey is his schtick.

 

[hlcteacher]

The author has a new article out. Spoiler alert: He is hard to impress.

I tried Chicago's famous deep dish pizza for the first time and was not impressed

An Insider reporter, who is a born and bred New Yorker, tried deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's in Chicago and didn't like the taste of the sauce.

www.insider.com

ok, i read this - if i knew this person, i would tell him to keep his negative attitude at home where evidently everything is wonderful and down to his "standards"

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Lou Malnati’s doesn’t have the atmosphere of the original Uno and Geno’s East - I agree it feels like a standard chain restaurant.

Maybe it's bad now but I always preferred (fresh) Lou Malnati's over the others. Gino's East was my least favorite and had to close up down here.

Like champagne which can only be made in the Champagne district of France (everything else is "sparkling wine")...

For some reason Californian vineyards can apparently call it Champagne too.

It seems to me the “reporter” didn’t partake in all the perks available when riding in a Sleeper. He didn’t check out ClubAcela before boarding. As a sleeper passenger that’s one of the perks you get. Also, they will actually board you from the lounge and take you to your assigned car.

With airport lounges I'm invited to visit with an entry coupon whereas Amtrak just assumes I know where lounges are located and who has access. Having seen lounge dragons berate and belittle passengers over minor misunderstandings I would never presume to have access unless specifically told so.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Maybe it's bad now but I always preferred (fresh) Lou Malnati's over the others. Gino's East was my least favorite and had to close up down here.

I was talking about the atmosphere specifically. Lou Malnatis pizza is quite good (the standard sizes). But Geno’s East (the Chicago location with all the graffiti on the walls) is easily one of my favorites as well.

Geno’s East, Uno, and Due have so much history - you feel it. I think that’s what he was looking for and that is very much lacking at the Lou Malnatis locations I’ve been to.

 

[Exvalley]

For some reason Californian vineyards can apparently call it Champagne too.

Thanks to a 100 year old loophole.

The 100-Year-Old Loophole That Makes California Champagne Legal

The only legal Champagne comes from the Champagne region of France, unless it comes from California. Discover the historical loophole that allows this.

vinepair.com

 

[Dakota 400]

This line was especially cringe-worthy:
When I've ridden coach on past Amtrak trains, the conductors only checked my tickets and made sure everyone was following the rules. In the sleeper car, I was shocked to learn the conductors did so much more. They brought me food, drinks, and even offered turn-down service.

Calling the SCA a "conductor" may be due to a lack of proof reading of what he wrote. Is there any one of us who has not been guilty of that at times?

 

[jis]

I doubt that many normal mortals who are not railfans know the difference between a Conductor and na SCA and an LSA off the bat. They might pick up on it after spending some time on the train.

 

[Qapla]

I can't speak to all of his reviews because I did not read them all*

However, it was obvious from the few I did look at that he went into the experience predisposed not to like it ... then he emphasized all the things he found that fit with his predisposed negative view ... in the end, even though he found a few things that were "nice", he went with his predisposed position and did NOT like them.

I could do the same thing if I were to review flying, eating seafood or some of the other things I do not really care for. Most of the time, if you go into something convinced you won't like it ... most of the time you won't.



* I guess you could say I am predisposed not to like his reviews so I didn't bother to read any more - I mean, since I didn't like the ones I did read, like him, it only follows I would not like the rest even if I did find something positive in some of them.

 

[jis]

Just doing a confirmation bias article is a low energy way to get some often poor quality journalistic mileage as practiced by many writers. Of course the polemicists make it an art form in and of itself, but I did not see this guy rise to that level.

 

[me_little_me]

Maybe it's bad now but I always preferred (fresh) Lou Malnati's over the others. Gino's East was my least favorite and had to close up down here.
For some reason Californian vineyards can apparently call it Champagne too.

And here's why there is a loophole:
California Champagne loophole