New Dining Car Menus

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cpamtfan

OBS Chief
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Long Island, NY.
New menus started yesterday, some of the things I noticed were:

Steak is now a New York Strip, which sounds like an improvement.

French toast sticks replace pancakes on the Cardinal.

100th anniversary Glacier National Park artwork on the cover of the EB menu.

New Cardinal artwork on that menu.
 
New menus started yesterday, some of the things I noticed were:Steak is now a New York Strip, which sounds like an improvement.

French toast sticks replace pancakes on the Cardinal.

100th anniversary Glacier National Park artwork on the cover of the EB menu.

New Cardinal artwork on that menu.
I forget exactly where but, on one of my recent routes, I had the NY Strip. I liked it more than the Flat Iorn!

RF

PS: I believe it was on the SWC.
 
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New menus started yesterday, some of the things I noticed were:Steak is now a New York Strip, which sounds like an improvement.

French toast sticks replace pancakes on the Cardinal.

100th anniversary Glacier National Park artwork on the cover of the EB menu.

New Cardinal artwork on that menu.
On which train, and which direction? The menus rotate, as "cycles", and so the steaks change every few months, and usually you will get one type of steak one way and another on the return (for example, the SWC this past week had the flatiron eastbound, and the NY strip westbound)
 
New menus started yesterday, some of the things I noticed were:Steak is now a New York Strip, which sounds like an improvement.

French toast sticks replace pancakes on the Cardinal.

100th anniversary Glacier National Park artwork on the cover of the EB menu.

New Cardinal artwork on that menu.
On which train, and which direction? The menus rotate, as "cycles", and so the steaks change every few months, and usually you will get one type of steak one way and another on the return (for example, the SWC this past week had the flatiron eastbound, and the NY strip westbound)

I believe they are only serving NYS now, no Flat Iron.
 
Last summer the infamous trainkill mystery meat became a loooooooooooong thread, hope it's not being served on the trains Ill ride in July (TE/CZ/CS/SWC/TE), I thought it was, well, terrible pot roast! :rolleyes:
 
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Great news! That beef dish they dud last summer was not very good, IMO. I look forward to getting a real steak on the SWC later this month.
I thought it was pretty good.
I thought it was awful. As did everyone else on 49 who had ordered the "steak".
I must have something different on the Zephyr then.
You did. The LSL did not have a "full service" dining car last summer, so no steak was cooked to order like on the CZ, because there is no grill in a diner-lite car, which would have been used on the LSL last summer. The "steak" you had was probably just a piece of meat thrown in the microwave.
 
^^

Not to bring back bad memories for last summer's travelers, but grilled steak was off the menu for nearly all trains with dining service (Empire Builder was a notable exception). Most passengers asking for the premium beef entree were served "flat iron bordelaise" (flat iron refers to the cut of beef and not preparation style).

DSC00070-3.JPG


More pics

Amtrak chefs discussed the 2009 menu changes with Trains magazine, but many posters here were not pleased with the beef offering. It's not grilled steak, but it was a passable dish for me (it reminded me of comfort food from growing up).
 
^^Not to bring back bad memories for last summer's travelers, but grilled steak was off the menu for nearly all trains with dining service (Empire Builder was a notable exception). Most passengers asking for the premium beef entree were served "flat iron bordelaise" (flat iron refers to the cut of beef and not preparation style).

DSC00070-3.JPG


More pics

Amtrak chefs discussed the 2009 menu changes with Trains magazine, but many posters here were not pleased with the beef offering. It's not grilled steak, but it was a passable dish for me (it reminded me of comfort food from growing up).
It's still available on the Cardinal, Amy had it last month and it was rather tasty.
 
Amtrak food is cookie cutter institution food. Take it for what it is. Just enjoy the ride.
I agree with part of this. ENJOY THE RIDE.

While the food on Amtrak is certainly several cut's above McD's, it's certainly cookie cutter, with some notable exceptions, like lunch on the Coast Starlight.

You can call it "Flat Iron" steak, or New York Strip," or whatever you like... it's still the same old steak.

I'm certainly not complaining about the food on an Amtrak train. I've always been well fed, and have never turned it down.

However, I'd never call it "fine dining" in any respect. Amtrak can't be expected to turn out "fine dining" given that the cooks are working in a pitching, small kitchens.

Let's get real --- Appreciate what Amtrak is able to turn out in a diner, a CCC, or a Diner Lite.

I'll continue riding Amtrak, and enjoy the food as it's served. If my French Toast, or Angus Burger isn't served EXACTLY the way I'd like it, I'll just eat it and go back to my room. :cool:
 
Amtrak food is cookie cutter institution food. Take it for what it is. Just enjoy the ride.
I agree with part of this. ENJOY THE RIDE.

While the food on Amtrak is certainly several cut's above McD's, it's certainly cookie cutter, with some notable exceptions, like lunch on the Coast Starlight.

You can call it "Flat Iron" steak, or New York Strip," or whatever you like... it's still the same old steak.

I'm certainly not complaining about the food on an Amtrak train. I've always been well fed, and have never turned it down.

However, I'd never call it "fine dining" in any respect. Amtrak can't be expected to turn out "fine dining" given that the cooks are working in a pitching, small kitchens.

Let's get real --- Appreciate what Amtrak is able to turn out in a diner, a CCC, or a Diner Lite.

I'll continue riding Amtrak, and enjoy the food as it's served. If my French Toast, or Angus Burger isn't served EXACTLY the way I'd like it, I'll just eat it and go back to my room. :cool:
Agree totally. Well put!
 
Meal and "treat time" on board is always an enjoyable part of the trip and my standards are very forgiving. Just to be able to eat in a Dining Car or Lounge rolling along at 70 MPH is worth the price of admission, no matter how mundane the chow.
 
^^Not to bring back bad memories for last summer's travelers, but grilled steak was off the menu for nearly all trains with dining service (Empire Builder was a notable exception). Most passengers asking for the premium beef entree were served "flat iron bordelaise" (flat iron refers to the cut of beef and not preparation style).

DSC00070-3.JPG


More pics

Amtrak chefs discussed the 2009 menu changes with Trains magazine, but many posters here were not pleased with the beef offering. It's not grilled steak, but it was a passable dish for me (it reminded me of comfort food from growing up).
I actually ordered it twice on my trip, for some reason I really liked it. Of course I've never really had a bad meal on Amtrak, my only complainant has been the potato chips served with the burgers. How hard would it be to serve french fires?
 
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