# food (meals on 28 and 30)



## Dominick Stevens (May 19, 2018)

I'm trying to book passage for my brother. I'd like to know if you most knowledgeable people will tell me about food service for First class passengers. Bob will be boarding the Empire Builder (#28) at PASCO, WA and on to the Capital Limited (#30) to Washington, DC.

Q. 1.) What is the FIRST food he will get on the EB #28?

2. What is the FIRST food he will get on CL #30?

THANK YOU!! in advance for your help......Dominick Stevens


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## JayPea (May 19, 2018)

First meal on the Empire Builder is breakfast the next morning. As you may or may not know #28 is combined with #8 in Spokane. On the CL, dinner, I believe would be the first meal.


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## cpotisch (May 19, 2018)

As JayPea said, first meal on the Empire Builder will be breakfast, and the first meal on the Capitol Limited is dinner. The Empire Builder has a full service dining car, meaning hot meals brought to your table by a waiter. However, if your brother is traveling June 1st or later, the Capitol Limited will not offer hot meals or table service, and will instead offer a limited selection of prepackaged cold meals. He will have the choice to either have his food delivered to his room, or picked up at the counter in the new dedicated lounge car for sleeper passengers.


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## the_traveler (May 19, 2018)

Dinner is indeed the first meal on #30.


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## Guest (May 19, 2018)

THANKS!! to all for your replies........Most appreciated. This will be my brothers first train ride IN HIS LIFE! He's 70 yrs young.


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## cpotisch (May 19, 2018)

Here's the menu for the Empire Builder:

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/menus/routes/Empire-Builder-Dining-Car-Menu-0917.pdf

The new menu for the Capitol Limited seems to have been taken down, but if it's put back up I'll post it for you.


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## bratkinson (May 19, 2018)

The first meal served on #28 departing PDX is a cold, prepackaged dinner delivered by your car attendant shortly after leaving Vancouver WA. I enjoyed one of them a month ago. It was a 'fancy salad' featuring either beef, chicken or fish with additional 'side dishes' in the 3 smaller portions of the TV-dinner style plastic tray. For a SINGLE meal, it was nutritionally balanced and reasonably tasty. Getting a 'real' bacon & eggs breakfast in the dining car (from Seattle) the following morning was a delight, along with 'real' meals the rest of the way to Chicago.

The 'bummer' is that the meals on the Capitol Limited will be a similar cold-cut dinner leaving Chicago....and an all carbohydrate cold breakfast leaving Pittsburgh. I can't imagine Amtrak going 'all cold' on the LD trains. 3 days cross country with all cold meals would be like being in a blackout eating whatever one has in their cupboards.


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## TinCan782 (May 19, 2018)

bratkinson said:


> The first meal served on #28 departing PDX is a cold, prepackaged dinner delivered by your car attendant shortly after leaving Vancouver WA. I enjoyed one of them a month ago. It was a 'fancy salad' featuring either beef, chicken or fish with additional 'side dishes' in the 3 smaller portions of the TV-dinner style plastic tray. For a SINGLE meal, it was nutritionally balanced and reasonably tasty. Getting a 'real' bacon & eggs breakfast in the dining car (from Seattle) the following morning was a delight, along with 'real' meals the rest of the way to Chicago.
> 
> The 'bummer' is that the meals on the Capitol Limited will be a similar cold-cut dinner leaving Chicago....and an all carbohydrate cold breakfast leaving Pittsburgh. I can't imagine Amtrak going 'all cold' on the LD trains. 3 days cross country with all cold meals would be like being in a blackout eating whatever one has in their cupboards.


My experience on #28 about a year and a half ago was as* bratkinson* described above. My shrimp salad was pretty good and my wife enjoyed her chicken salad as well. I think, boarding at Pasco, you will miss this evening meal.


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## KmH (May 19, 2018)

FWIW - Amtrak hasn't had 'first class' for quite a few years now.

Meals are included in the price of sleeper accommodations and sleeper passengers get some other perks coach passengers don't get.

I'm 66 and took my first long distance overnight train trip 8 years ago (California Zephyr), and really, really liked it.

I take at least 1 long distance train trip every year now.

I hope your brother enjoys his trip as much as I enjoy traveling long distance by train.

Here's part of my March '18 trip out to California:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/72682-my-amtrak-adventure-trailer/


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## JayPea (May 19, 2018)

Guest said:


> THANKS!! to all for your replies........Most appreciated. This will be my brothers first train ride IN HIS LIFE! He's 70 yrs young.



Better late than never!!! I hope your brother enjoys his trip.


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## Dominick Stevens (May 19, 2018)

A very big and grateful THANKS!! to all who replied about meals.

One more question, please.......

Is there any way I can verify my brother Bob actually boarded the train at Pasco, WA? If I call the Amtrak 800 # will Amtrak confirm he boarded?

I want him to get a neighbor to take him to the station. He lives in Richland, WA about 15 miles away. He doesn't want to "bother" anybody and insists he knows where he can leave his car safely...........he can be such a stubborn old goat at times.

Also, has anybody on this site ever purchased and USED the trip insurance offered by Amtrak?

Thanks in advance for any info provided


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## bratkinson (May 19, 2018)

Dominick Stevens said:


> One more question, please.......
> 
> Is there any way I can verify my brother Bob actually boarded the train at Pasco, WA? If I call the Amtrak 800 # will Amtrak confirm he boarded?


I strongly doubt that Amtrak would give out that information over the phone to anyone but law enforcement officials. It's also highly unlikely that the folks at the 800# would even have access to that information on their screens. Some of them don't even know how to choose a specific roomette number when I make reservations months in advance. (I prefer #14 in Superliners)


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## TinCan782 (May 19, 2018)

I know, at least via the app, if you bring up your ticket/reservation after its lifted, the ticket is not displayed and you are directed to call to make a change (or something along those lines).

Doing this wont provide a lot of detail but, it would at least indicate the ticket was scanned by the conductor and that your brother is indeed on the train.


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## Bob Dylan (May 20, 2018)

If your brother has a Cell Phone he could call,text or email you or vice versa after he boards the train IF service is,available in Pasco.

Jay Pea should know this one!


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## Dominick Stevens (May 20, 2018)

Mr. John,

Thanks for that bit of info. Really, that's all I'm looking for, confirmation that he actually boarded the train. He's fiercely independent, which can only be admired, but reaching an age where he can easily "overreach" and I can't help being concerned, protective. Again, Thank you.


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## JayPea (May 20, 2018)

Bob Dylan said:


> If your brother has a Cell Phone he could call,text or email you or vice versa after he boards the train IF service is,available in Pasco.
> 
> Jay Pea should know this one!


There is indeed service in Pasco. But service out of Pasco can be spotty until about halfway to Spokane so he should let you know immediately upon noarding.


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## TinCan782 (May 20, 2018)

Dominick Stevens said:


> Mr. John,
> 
> Thanks for that bit of info. Really, that's all I'm looking for, confirmation that he actually boarded the train. He's fiercely independent, which can only be admired, but reaching an age where he can easily "overreach" and I can't help being concerned, protective. Again, Thank you.


You're welcome Dominick


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## cpotisch (May 20, 2018)

Dominick Stevens said:


> Mr. John,
> 
> Thanks for that bit of info. Really, that's all I'm looking for, confirmation that he actually boarded the train. He's fiercely independent, which can only be admired, but reaching an age where he can easily "overreach" and I can't help being concerned, protective. Again, Thank you.


Oh. I thought you were asking if there was any way to confirm he boarded _without_ asking your brother - that you wouldn’t trust him to tell you the truth about it since he’s so independent. So yeah, just text/call/email him to verify, and you should be all good!


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## TinCan782 (May 20, 2018)

cpotisch said:


> Dominick Stevens said:
> 
> 
> > Mr. John,
> ...


That, *cpotisch*, was the basis for my response. Dominick could use that as a method of checking rather than waiting for a text from his brother. If he knows the reservation number and email address attached to the ticket, he could "Find a Reservation" via the app.


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## the_traveler (May 20, 2018)

Many are talking about the dinner box out of Portland and how it is given around Vancouver. Note that he is boarding in Pasco (which is almost to Spokane) around 9 pm!


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## cpotisch (May 20, 2018)

the_traveler said:


> Many are talking about the dinner box out of Portland and how it is given around Vancouver. Note that he is boarding in Pasco (which is almost to Spokane) around 9 pm!


The context was primarily that the Capitol will soon offer cold boxed meals, somewhat like the Portland section dinner. Not that Bob will be served it.


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## the_traveler (May 20, 2018)

The original question that was asked was “What is the 1st meal (he) will be served on the Empire Builder”, and many were saying the dinner out on Portland which you get in Vancouver.


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## spinnaker (May 20, 2018)

Dominick Stevens said:


> A very big and grateful THANKS!! to all who replied about meals.
> 
> One more question, please.......
> 
> ...



Why not have him simply call you when he boards the train? He does have a cell phone?


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## William (May 21, 2018)

Good luck to your independent brother. He will enjoy himself immensely. I am over 80 and do a trans-continental Amtrak trek every year. It is not the easiest thing in the world, however. I have always said it's a bit like "Fancy Camping". There are unknowns and rules and certain knowledges that one must understand in order to make ones journey a pleasant one. A 90 year old friend of mine, who took a solo journey like mine thought he could do it as well. Well, he didn't hear the announcements and missed dinner once. Then after meeting new friends at a meal, decided they would have dinner again at 8PM that night. He went at eight only to discover that the last seating had passed. I encourage your Brother to do his "homework" on sites like this. It will make for a much more enjoyable Amtrak experience.


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## cpotisch (May 21, 2018)

spinnaker said:


> Dominick Stevens said:
> 
> 
> > A very big and grateful THANKS!! to all who replied about meals.
> ...


He already said that's what he was going to do.


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## William (May 22, 2018)

As to your question re: Trip Insurance offered by Amtrak, I have had experience with this and offer that with a caveat. I ticked the choice on each leg of a booked Amtrak Journey. When I went to the Insurance provider to have them all put into one coverage, I discovered that one only covered the loss of my electronics, Another did have trip cancellations, but with many exclusions. I will keep it for my upcoming trip, and hope for the best. But in the future, I will go to one of the highest rated providers that my needs require. A Google search gave me all the choices one could want - including price points and value. Also, there is the potential cost for the families of those with advanced years of "re-patriation of remains", which can cost up to 20K, should the misfortune arise.

And if you used Amtrak Rewards for any part of your itinerary, I imagine they don't deal with the return of those (very valuable) points; only "The cost of the trip".

I hope this helps.


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## Dominick Stevens (May 22, 2018)

I write to again thank all who have posted and shared the vast knowledge base all of you have acquired. I sent my brother Bob a cell phone. He called me on the house phone and told me it doesn't work..........no "dial tone"......

I'm looking at this Consumer Cellular unit that indeed has a dial tone and will send that out to him...

But in reality, I don't expect him to be able to really use it until he gets here to Washington D.C. and I can walk him through it's operation.

I did find a phone number for the Pasco, WA "Transportation Center"......was impressed with the pictures people posted on "Yelp"..looks brand new and spiffy clean and swell lighted............I'll try calling to see if anyone at the station would be willing to help me out. Often, people in smaller towns will step forward to help if asked.

Again, I thank all who took the time to post and all the suggestions and pointers offered. Much appreciated andd I'm grateful to you all.

"Nick"


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## cpotisch (May 22, 2018)

Dominick Stevens said:


> I write to again thank all who have posted and shared the vast knowledge base all of you have acquired. I sent my brother Bob a cell phone. He called me on the house phone and told me it doesn't work..........no "dial tone"......
> I'm looking at this Consumer Cellular unit that indeed has a dial tone and will send that out to him...
> 
> But in reality, I don't expect him to be able to really use it until he gets here to Washington D.C. and I can walk him through it's operation.
> ...


You’re very welcome. Hope Bob has a good trip!


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## Guest (May 23, 2018)

Your brother will enjoy the closest thing Amtrak really has anymore, to first class service, on the Empire Builder.

Be sure to let him know of the red cap service in Chicago, they can take him to the Metropolitan Lounge to wait for the Cap, so he doesn't have to walk through the station which is almost always very hectic. The Lounge staff will announce boarding and he can request Red Cap service to go back out to the track for boarding.

Food options on the CL are no longer what you would think of as first class. No hot breakfast with protein, it's cold continental options and no one knows quite what that looks like yet as it doesn't take effect until June 1st. My experience on the CL to Washington is that it's poorly provisioned to begin with, and often late. So with this new "cold choices" crap, tell your brother to obtain and save whatever is offered, even if it's not a preferred option, that way if the train is late he won't feel sick from not eating. The cafe car should have hot breakfast sandwiches available, if they don't sell out, which FC passengers should automatically receive as part of the fare but don't get me started on that....


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