Questions about food on long distance trains between PHL and EMY in coach

[greg1956a]

Im planing to travel long distance from philly to emeryville and back on coach i was wondering if ican have breakfast lunc and dinner on my trip
Thanks
Gref

 

[the_traveler]

Breakfast in the dining car is first come/first served. Lunch may or may not be by reservation, dinner always is by reservation - with sleeping car passengers getting first choice. Trains east of Chicago have Flexible dining only available to sleeping car passengers. However, on both trains, the cafe car is available to all passengers.

 

[zephyr17]

You will have full diner service available on the California Zephyr west of Chicago. Just make sure you are in your seat when they announce they are going to take reservations, since they take reservations last in the Sightseer Lounge car and they may be out by then. First meal served leaving Chicago is dinner.

If you are taking the Cardinal, the only Chicago train directly serving Philly, you will not have access to the sleeper car "Flexible Dining" meals, but only order from the cafe menu. If you take a regional to connect in Washington or New York, the regional will only have a cafe car. On the Capitol Limited from Washington and the Lakeshore Limited from New York, you will only have access only to the cafe car, not the Viewliner Diner (LSL)/Superliner Diner Lounge (CL) operating as a "Sleeper Lounge" and providing the Flexible Dining meals to the sleeper passengers.

 

[pennyk]

Most coach passengers on the trains with full diners seem to enjoy eating breakfast. The prices are fairly reasonable and no reservations are required. Depending on the passenger load, there may be a waiting list for those who do not choose to eat early. Because breakfast service starts before announcements start, you should confirm what time breakfast service will begin and make your way up to the dining car as soon as you are ready to eat. It is likely service will begin at either 6am or 6:30am. Also, you should pay attention to the time zone since going west from Chicago, you will pass through 2 times zones.

 

[tricia]

To supplement what's available in the cafe and dining car, you're allowed to bring a cooler on the train with you. Stock it with whatever foods you like, and consider re-stocking in Chicago. Lots of good food options there, where you'll probably have several hours between trains. (Not sure what your options are for stowing luggage while you're walking around Chicago--perhaps others will comment about that.)

Note, though, that you'll probably NOT be able to re-stock ice in a cooler while on the train.

 

[MARC Rider]

If you take the Regional to Washington and go west on the Capitol Limited, that trains leaves Washington at about 4 PM. That's close enough to dinner time that carryout food purchased at one of the many eateries in Washington Union Station will keep long enough for dinner without requiring a cooler. (I'm not a fan of hauling around a cooler, it's another bulky piece of luggage, and, as has been pointed out, you can't easily get ice refills en route, so after the first day, it becomes useless.)

Breakfast might be a little trickier to bring your own food, as it has to keep overnight, but the National Cafe Car Menu provides the following: bagel with cream cheese, yoghurt (sweetened), fresh fruit tray, egg cheese and sausage sandwich, muffin and danish, plus coffee, tea, milk and fruit juices. I'd recommend getting breakfast early in the morning to minimize the chance that they'll be running out of whatever it is you really want. On the other hand, I've taken backpacking trips where we just have bagels and cream cheese for breakfast, and the cream cheese is fine even without refrigeration. Hard cheeses also keep very well without refrigeration for a day. In that case, all you'd need the cafe for is coffee or juice.

Also, note that the Capitol is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 8:45 AM Central Time (9:45 AM eastern), so if the train is on time and you can wait, there are a plenty of places to have a more elaborate breakfast in and around Chicago Union Station.

The California Zephyr leaves Chicago sometime around 2 or 3 PM. As others have said, it does have a dining car that serves coach passengers, but if you want to carry on a dinner, you'll have to have something that can keep a little longer than what you'd buy in Washington. Again, there are lots of places to buy food in and around Chicago Union Station.

 

[Steel City Don]

My ex and I got dinner on the Capital limited from CHI to PGH and it was good food!

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

If you're starting from Philly, have a good breakfast there before the train. Then a good late lunch at WAS before the CL, then a good breakfast at a diner in Chicago.

From there on, the food on the train should be better, and yes, go to breakfast if your dining money is limited--it's the best value for your money of all the meals and is fairly filling (although not like a Philly or Chicago diner breakfast, of course!).

 

[neroden]

Short answer: there is food west of Chicago. There is basically no food east of Chicago, bring your own

 

[MARC Rider]

Short answer: there is food west of Chicago. There is basically no food east of Chicago, bring your own

Actually, not true. There is food for coach passengers in the cafe car on trains east of Cicago. It's just that most of us aren't too impressed with the offerings. On the other hand, it may be adequate and less hassle than figuring out what to bring on your own.

 

[neroden]

The cafe car selections are not only small, they are *unreliable* and get changed without notice. That is why I say bring your own.