No more DAILY SPECIALS in the Dining Car?

[RRrich]

Maybe I'm just a big nut, but don't like to have the same dinner two nights in a row - just one of the PITA things that make me me.

Got on the Empire Builder - first nights dinner - Lamb Shank - I love lamb shank so I enjoyed. Second night - lamb shank again!!!! The seafood & the pasta were likewise the same. PHOOEY - so I had the steak - it was the good old Flat Iron Steak (not pot roast) but it wasn't - The texture was off - just not steaky(huh??) and the taste off-garlicky - must be the new pre-marinated in garlic butter steak - I didn't care for it, but I gave wifey a taste and she said it was fine.

Then we go on the Coastal Starlight - dinner special was Crab Cakes - Amtrak Crab Cakes are TASTY - so I enjoyed. Next night guess what the dinner special was - right Crab Cakes so I had chicken which was good but a bit over cooked.

The menus were exact repeats of the previous - as a passenger on a train that will serve me two dinner, I don't like it and I spoke to one of our waiters, and they don't like it.

What gives?

 

[the_traveler]

That actually makes sense. In Chicago (for instance) they load the "specials" on the EB. They may load 50 "specials", but they only sell 20 of them. I very much doubt that they offload the 30 remaining "specials" in Minot - and then load 50 of the "new specials" for the 2nd dinner! Remember the Diner only has so much storage space, and they only load food at the end points.

 

[Rail Freak]

Last year, I took an 11 day train trip around the country. You're right, on each leg of my trip the menu was the same (but the specials vary with the region you're in). But, as the traveler stated, on the longer routes, they don't have the storage or time to change each menu for every meal. However they do have choices of beef,chicken,seafood,etc. I remember having a hot dog on the last leg of my trip, just for a change, & enjoyed it!!!

One thing about Rail Travel is the View is NEVER THE SAME!!!!!

RF

 

[Shanghai]

I was on the LSL in late September and there were dinner specials, but no breakfast special.

 

[RRrich]

Well I'm glad its easier for Amtrak BUT I am the customer and I don't like it.

I am paying and it AIN'T CHEAP!!! If Amtrak doesn't extend itself for MY convenience/pleasure, I don't think I should pay their rates.

 

[jmbgeg]

Maybe I'm just a big nut, but don't like to have the same dinner two nights in a row - just one of the PITA things that make me me.
Got on the Empire Builder - first nights dinner - Lamb Shank - I love lamb shank so I enjoyed. Second night - lamb shank again!!!! The seafood & the pasta were likewise the same. PHOOEY - so I had the steak - it was the good old Flat Iron Steak (not pot roast) but it wasn't - The texture was off - just not steaky(huh??) and the taste off-garlicky - must be the new pre-marinated in garlic butter steak - I didn't care for it, but I gave wifey a taste and she said it was fine.

Then we go on the Coastal Starlight - dinner special was Crab Cakes - Amtrak Crab Cakes are TASTY - so I enjoyed. Next night guess what the dinner special was - right Crab Cakes so I had chicken which was good but a bit over cooked.

The menus were exact repeats of the previous - as a passenger on a train that will serve me two dinner, I don't like it and I spoke to one of our waiters, and they don't like it.

What gives?

My experience on the EB has been the breakafast and dinner specials are the same all the way east or all the way west and sometimes the same both ways (e.g. biscuits and gravy at breakfast or bison meatloaf at dinner). Personally, I have liked the daily specials much of the time, so no harm no foul on the repitition. In the PPC on the CS, the specials change daily.

 

[Shawn]

I was on a 30-day Amtrak trip in September...and while it was obvious there was "equipment" issues that need to be worked out, the biggest complaint I had was the dining cars. The food was ok on a couple, good on one, and inedible on a few. And when I say you couldn't eat it, I mean it. It was GROSS! The service also left alot to be desired.

And I realize that a railroad diner is different than a restaurant, but it is possible for the food to actually be of quality. The "heat and serve" needs to go away and actually have them cook it.

The best quote I heard from a dining car waiter was "We don't have toast, Amtrak doesn't trust their employees with toasters, so they took them out."

 

[profwebs]

I was on a 30-day Amtrak trip in September...and while it was obvious there was "equipment" issues that need to be worked out, the biggest complaint I had was the dining cars. The food was ok on a couple, good on one, and inedible on a few. And when I say you couldn't eat it, I mean it. It was GROSS! The service also left alot to be desired.
And I realize that a railroad diner is different than a restaurant, but it is possible for the food to actually be of quality. The "heat and serve" needs to go away and actually have them cook it.

I haven't had a problem with the quality the 2 trips I have taken. I think the chef's do very well with what they have to work with. With all the cut's that have taken place, there is going to be heat and serve no matter what.

At this point, I think we should be grateful there is a diner at all. We could be stuck with microwaveable food only.

 

[Tony]

And I realize that a railroad diner is different than a restaurant, but it is possible for the food to actually be of quality. The "heat and serve" needs to go away and actually have them cook it.

Restaurants do the "heat and serve" too. Yea, not quickie items like eggs sunny-side-up and hamburger patties, but they do have entrées what have been bulk prepared in a central kitchen and shipped to the individual restaurants.

 

[wayman]

And I realize that a railroad diner is different than a restaurant, but it is possible for the food to actually be of quality. The "heat and serve" needs to go away and actually have them cook it.

Restaurants do the "heat and serve" too. Yea, not quickie items like eggs sunny-side-up and hamburger patties, but they do have entrées what have been bulk prepared in a central kitchen and shipped to the individual restaurants.

Pretty much every chain restaurant of the Applebees/Chilis/TGIFridays level has all their food pre-prepared, portioned, seasoned, frozen, vacuum-sealed, and shipped from a central facility to all restaurants. Then the restaurant takes the individual portion-packs and does final warming preparations in their kitchen -- just grilling the steaks or burger patties, microwaving or steaming the vegetables, warming the soup, etc, before plating and serving. And this is more or less exactly how things work for Amtrak dining cars too.

See this post by a former Applebees line chef which gives a lot of details about how this works at Applebees, setting straight some myths along the way ("the steaks have fake grill marks", widely believed but not true).

 

[had8ley]

There was a time not so long ago that the Amtrak joke of the day was "The Special of The day"~ it was always Chicken Fried Steak and it seemed to be a system wide virus.

 

[EB_OBS]

The "daily special" was replaced with the Chef's Marketplace special in December 2007's menu change. The Chef's specials alternate with the direction of travel and train number.

The previous options for daily specials were, in my experience on the Empire Builder, only the Beef pot pie, Great Northern hamsteak or the Chicken fried steak dinner and one was served one night then another on the second night. Today's special variety, selection and quality is IMO far superior to the previous iteration.

I'll take this feedback though and direct it to our Executive Chef for him to consider.

 

[The Metropolitan]

Jay makes a good point. The current system may not give the customer as many options as they could, but it's a world better than the SDS program of about 2-3 years ago in which the menus across virtually every LD train were precisely the same. As it stands now, there's at least a good chance (as happened for you) that if you change trains and continue on, the menus on the next train will differ from the first.

Riding the Chief a few weeks ago, I found the same issue where the 2nd day's specials were all the same as the first. Still, I had a half-dozen options, so it was really no biggie to me. The way I see it, if Amtrak were to stock twice as many options, but half as much quantity of those options, the chances of the option you want being in stock would only be half as likely. This could wind up adding to people's frustrations in the Dining Car when they see a table mate with something appealing looking, only to be told by the Server that they are ogling the last one of that item.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Just off a two week trip on the EAGLES/LSL/CONO/WOLVERINE(no food except cafe mcfood): the "new menu" went in to effect this week, the CONO goty rid of the bourbon pecan pie (soggy bread pudding replaced it), the so called gumbo is gone, the crab cakes are a nightly feature and the rest is standard

McAmtrak menu food! The Eagle replaced baked chicken with fried chicken, salmon was the featured special both nights and the rest was standard menu!

The LSL had the same menu last week, it may have changed by now!The LSA told me on the Eagle and the CONO that they werent allowed to stoick as much food as before so startewd running out of favorites early in the trip, ie whiled eating on dinner when we left the station from CHI they were "out"

of the catfish, but the real flat iron steak is back, it is garlicky but still 1000% better than the pot roast IMHO! Interested to see what the Western and Eastern trains have changed too, there doesnt seem to be a whole lot of schedule or food changes really!

 

[EB_OBS]

Just off a two week trip on the EAGLES/LSL/CONO/WOLVERINE(no food except cafe mcfood): the "new menu" went in to effect this week, the CONO goty rid of the bourbon pecan pie (soggy bread pudding replaced it), the so called gumbo is gone, the crab cakes are a nightly feature and the rest is standard McAmtrak menu food! The Eagle replaced baked chicken with fried chicken, salmon was the featured special both nights and the rest was standard menu!

The LSL had the same menu last week, it may have changed by now!The LSA told me on the Eagle and the CONO that they werent allowed to stoick as much food as before so startewd running out of favorites early in the trip, ie whiled eating on dinner when we left the station from CHI they were "out"

of the catfish, but the real flat iron steak is back, it is garlicky but still 1000% better than the pot roast IMHO! Interested to see what the Western and Eastern trains have changed too, there doesnt seem to be a whole lot of schedule or food changes really!

The "new menu" is really more of a refresh and some rotation of specials between trains. I'm curious, did you try the fried chicken? If so, how was it? I sampled it earlier this year and I was surprised that it was pretty good and fairly easy to prepare. The product I sampled was re-heated in the oven not the microwave.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Pretty much every chain restaurant of the Applebees/Chilis/TGIFridays level has all their food pre-prepared, portioned, seasoned, frozen, vacuum-sealed, and shipped from a central facility to all restaurants. Then the restaurant takes the individual portion-packs and does final warming preparations in their kitchen -- just grilling the steaks or burger patties, microwaving or steaming the vegetables, warming the soup, etc, before plating and serving. And this is more or less exactly how things work for Amtrak dining cars too.

And any restaurant that has the gall to do this should be boycotted. Actually, any chain restaurant should, as a matter of sanity, be avoided. There are a few exceptions to the rules (Five Guy's Burgers And Fries come to mind) but not that damned many.

There is a diner near my house that makes great food. They make everything themselves- bread, deserts, even their chicken soup. They buy whole chickens in huge batches, sell what they can from them (breasts for chicken parm, for instance) and then use the rest to make chicken soup with- which is some of the best chicken soup I've ever had. I include my mothers in that, by the way.

Its not gourmet, no. But it is fresh, tasty, filling, and cheaper then these chains people are fascinated by. How cheap? Tuesday's Chicken special consists of

1) soup (My choice: home made chicken)

2) salad (My choice: Cœser)

3) half a chicken

4) Stuffing

5) vegetable (Steamed carrots)

6) potato (French fries)

7) house desert (home-made rice pudding)

For a grand total of... $8.95.

All fresh, all home made, and all extremely tasty. I dare anyone to get a meal at Applebees for that price. Or get one as good. Get both, and I'll be shocked.

Are chains safe? Sure. You are guaranteed mediocrity every time- places like Morton's excused. But you're better off scouting your local scene until you come up with two or three favourites, and not making the mistake of judging a book by its cover- my diner looks pretty run down.

 

[Konrad]

Last year, I took an 11 day train trip around the country. You're right, on each leg of my trip the menu was the same (but the specials vary with the region you're in). But, as the traveler stated, on the longer routes, they don't have the storage or time to change each menu for every meal. However they do have choices of beef,chicken,seafood,etc. I remember having a hot dog on the last leg of my trip, just for a change, & enjoyed it!!!One thing about Rail Travel is the View is NEVER THE SAME!!!!!

RF

Travelled last year (Easter) from SFS to CHI return and the 'daily special' was meatballs marinara with rice for lunch and dinner every day of the trip. Not very special on the sixth day!

And, hello America, where is the marine content of your 'marinara'. Anywhere else in the world a marinara sauce is a seafood sauce.

But then, don't get me started on what constitutes an 'entree'.

As Professor Henry Higgins said of the English language - 'in America they haven't spoken it for years'.

But back to the topic - a daily special ain't very special when it is served at lunch and dinner for almost a week! :angry:

 

[MrEd]

Sorry you did not like the sauce.

...

Marinara Sauce is an American-Italian term for a simple tomato sauce with herbs ... In other countries marinara refers to a seafood and tomato sauce. ...

....

do they serve freedom fries in your country ?

 

[cpamtfan]

Just off a two week trip on the EAGLES/LSL/CONO/WOLVERINE(no food except cafe mcfood): the "new menu" went in to effect this week, the CONO goty rid of the bourbon pecan pie (soggy bread pudding replaced it), the so called gumbo is gone, the crab cakes are a nightly feature and the rest is standard McAmtrak menu food! The Eagle replaced baked chicken with fried chicken, salmon was the featured special both nights and the rest was standard menu!

The LSL had the same menu last week, it may have changed by now!The LSA told me on the Eagle and the CONO that they werent allowed to stoick as much food as before so startewd running out of favorites early in the trip, ie whiled eating on dinner when we left the station from CHI they were "out"

of the catfish, but the real flat iron steak is back, it is garlicky but still 1000% better than the pot roast IMHO!

Interesting. It said in Amtrak Ink that they were changing the CONO and TEs menus first(mid-October), then the long distance trains (Silver Service, CL,CZ,SWC,SL,and CS) in early-mid November, then the LSL,Crescent,EB, and Cardinal menus will get a "refreshing (Whatever that means). Did your bread putting have apples in them? They said they were going to change it to a "seasonal option)"(although pecan pie is a real good fall treat here in the Northeast). Hmm, fried chicken. Didn't we have a discussion a few months back about fried chicken on trains? Maybe it was the southern style "baked chicken" on the Crescent?

 

[Bob Dylan]

In re the questions/comments from ez223 and cpamtfan: thr fried chicken was very tasty/seemed like it was really fried

(@ one time! LOL) I thought the bread pudding on the CONO was just soggy bread, didnt see/taste any apples-the pecan pie is by far superior!)There was three big pieces,some pax couldnt finish them,definitely a full meal!

The OBS crew on the City werent real happy about this either, but the so called gumbo being gone was Ok with themand me too! The Eagle crew mostly ate salads and the chicken, I also tried the ribs, Id compare them to the so

called "ribs" you can get in chain places like AppleBees etc.Ill take a pass on them but the Bar-B-Q sandwich wasnt bad!

(for being made outside of Texas! LOL)

Lots of pizzas served, they ran out due to the large volume of kids on the train, also in Dallas a flock of happy UT fans

(sorry Sooners)got on and finished them off!(Also they ran out of beer/wine and some liquor, those Horn fans like their spirits!!I stuck to Sam Adams!!)

As to chains, read "Fast Food Nation" for the low down on chain food in this country, its eye opening! I like the comments about the mom and pop diner, my kind of place!

By the way, the vegetarian pasta/spinach dish was pretty tasty, I had it twice, didnt try the veggie burger (its got a new name, something about veggie/corn burger), will on my next trip next month on the Eagle/River Runner.Chief/CS/CZ/

Cardinal/Crescent! (Should get to see all the "new" revised menus on that trip!

Looking forward to members comments about this food, Im not a big brekfast eater but always look forward to breakfast on the trains, they seem to do a great job with limited resources, as someone said: "theres something about a train,,"

 

[the_traveler]

Pretty much every chain restaurant of the Applebees/Chilis/TGIFridays level has all their food pre-prepared, portioned, seasoned, frozen, vacuum-sealed, and shipped from a central facility to all restaurants. Then the restaurant takes the individual portion-packs and does final warming preparations in their kitchen -- just grilling the steaks or burger patties, microwaving or steaming the vegetables, warming the soup, etc, before plating and serving. And this is more or less exactly how things work for Amtrak dining cars too.

And any restaurant that has the gall to do this should be boycotted. Actually, any chain restaurant should, as a matter of sanity, be avoided.

Chains do this partially so that a customer can get the same item (with the same taste) in AR, OR or NY.

Red Lobster (as their name implies) sells lobster. I went to Red Lobster in PDX in August and bought the same meal that I could buy anywhere else in the country. But the nearest Red Lobster (at least to me that I know of) in New England is in Hartford, CT! Part of the reason is that they sell Rock Lobsters, not Maine Lobsters. (They have a different taste, and New Englanders prefer Maine Lobsters.)

 

[Guest]

Pretty much every chain restaurant of the Applebees/Chilis/TGIFridays level has all their food pre-prepared, portioned, seasoned, frozen, vacuum-sealed, and shipped from a central facility to all restaurants. Then the restaurant takes the individual portion-packs and does final warming preparations in their kitchen -- just grilling the steaks or burger patties, microwaving or steaming the vegetables, warming the soup, etc, before plating and serving. And this is more or less exactly how things work for Amtrak dining cars too.

And any restaurant that has the gall to do this should be boycotted. Actually, any chain restaurant should, as a matter of sanity, be avoided.

Chains do this partially so that a customer can get the same item (with the same taste) in AR, OR or NY.

Red Lobster (as their name implies) sells lobster. I went to Red Lobster in PDX in August and bought the same meal that I could buy anywhere else in the country. But the nearest Red Lobster (at least to me that I know of) in New England is in Hartford, CT! Part of the reason is that they sell Rock Lobsters, not Maine Lobsters. (They have a different taste, and New Englanders prefer Maine Lobsters.)

Well dave, down here we call it "Dead Lobster" LOL!!!! Read "Fast Food Nation" for the low down on the chains and Agri-Giants!! Hope Amtrak doesnt buy from these merchants of death!!!!

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Chains do this partially so that a customer can get the same item (with the same taste) in AR, OR or NY.
Red Lobster (as their name implies) sells lobster. I went to Red Lobster in PDX in August and bought the same meal that I could buy anywhere else in the country. But the nearest Red Lobster (at least to me that I know of) in New England is in Hartford, CT! Part of the reason is that they sell Rock Lobsters, not Maine Lobsters. (They have a different taste, and New Englanders prefer Maine Lobsters.)

Pfui. If I wanted the same food that I got at home, I'd stay home. I could buy myself a Wegman's Bake And Rise Pepperoni Pizza and have the same, pretty tasty, meal every day.

I've eaten meals from all over. I've eaten in chains- who hasn't? I've eaten in mom-and-pop restaurants from Quebec Canada to Denver Colorado to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, to London, England, Ben Yahuda Street in Jerusalem. I even eat kabobs from New York City street sellers- and like most of them.

I find that national chains are almost universally overpriced for what you get. I mean what McDonald's sells I can get for free out of my very own toilet. What you pay for is predictability. Who wants that? Its boring.

I've eaten at a very few places that are inedible. Every place else ranges from mediocre to great. Inedible places? Mostly chains. Friendly's is awful. McDonalds doubly so. Burger King gets my order wrong, 2 out of 3 times. Applebees is rotten as heck- Bob's Big Boy does better food for less money- and I mean that as a heck of an insult.

Maybe its because I like the greasy food that you find in what I call a "choke-and-puke", which is a greasy diner-type restaurant, usually at a truck stop. I mean, it isn't my preference most of the time, but sometimes I even crave it. Don't ask me why. I don't know. But in my many years of eating out all over the world, I think I've been to independent operations preparing inedible food twice. One of them was a supposedly high-end buffett in Vegas. I suppose they figured the liquor numbs your tastebuds or something.

 

[wayman]

I find that national chains are almost universally overpriced for what you get. ... What you pay for is predictability. Who wants that? Its boring.

Children love predictability and repetition. And parents love making their children happy. And national chains realize this.

One of them was a supposedly high-end buffett in Vegas. I suppose they figured the liquor numbs your tastebuds or something.

Casino food was one of the worst aspects of my work out there: the restaurants were extremely overpriced and the buffets were generally lousy (and often overpriced too). I packed my own sandwiches and stuck out like a sore thumb for it, but the food was much tastier and healthier that way. The casinos buffets and restaurants realize they have a captive market -- where else are you going to go? -- and few people who spend their days there have access to a kitchen every morning as I did, because most are tourists.

Fortunately, while Amtrak similarly has a captive audience, they make an effort and are not as overpriced as the casinos either.