Amtrak Dining and Cafe Service discussion 2024 H2

drdumont · Nov 24, 2024

MARC Rider said:
On the other hand, I find most of the other flex entrees to be far superior to the omelet. I guess there's no accounting for individual taste.

I confess to somewhat picky tastes, I am a meat bread and taters kind of guy. Broccoli, strong green vegetables, smelly cheese, Brussels Sprouts and the like are a no go for me. And PLEASE, don't leave cucumbers on the greens. then wrap them up to perfuse the good stuff with that horrid stench. But I digress.

My primary beef (!) with this slop is that it is just that - frozen, all slopped together in one unappetizing mess when nuked. Even when slow heated as some enterprising FSAs attempt.
It is hard to screw up the omelette and potatoes.

My secondary beef is that we pay First Class fares, and expect dining with SOME amount of dignity, presentation and service. Imagine going in to Ruth's, Sparks, Delmonico's, or even a good Diner, ordering, and then be served in a metal takeout pan with plastic utensils and drinking vessels.

True, we will never again see the Fine Dining and service we got in the 70s and before, but before this FLEX abomination was sprung on us, including the horrid frozen dinner I got on the Cardinal before FLEX, service (Wait in your room until called, then sit down to the single table (reserved) in the Cafe car to a nuked bowl of glop, and OBTW please slurp it up and get out... I got up, bought a couple of hot dogs and chips, then sat down and ate them in place, resulting in the Conductor being called and a mini incident), food and the meal experience was pretty darn good. Even when I commuted weekly on The Eagle from FTW to AUS, I looked forward to Dinner and Breakfast. Sigh. I miss joking with "Chef DuJour", who would sometimes take his break at my table.
Our trip this weekend, I might try the chicken but I will have my SPAM singles and trimmings at the ready.

Eternityroad · Nov 24, 2024

I think the gods that oversee this site did not look at the context of your c-word. In fact i will wager no one of the overseers read it all. There is just a pre-fab list of "words" set to be censored whenever they come up, no matter the context. Facebook does this as well. Saves money on having live readers read every single post.

Bob Dylan · Nov 24, 2024

Before the COVID Pandemic and the " New and Improved" Menus served up by the Airline Suits, the Texas Eagle had several Excellent Diner Crews ( and other OBS and T&E Staff) including the Chefs.

I would book an affordable Roomette( as Low as $40!!!) for trips between Austin and Ft. Worth going North on 22,which included Breakfast and Lunch ,and 21 going South, which featured Lunch and an early Dinner .

I no longer ride the Eaglete due to the Short 4 Car Consists( No Sightseer Lounge, 1 Sleeper) and the Flex Menus served @ Unaffordable, Mostly High Bucket Fares.

Northwestern · Nov 24, 2024

railiner said:
I think they should replace the traditional urns in the sleepers with modern Keurig type pre-measured pod machines. They offer a fairly good and consistent fresh brew for each cup, and are easy to maintain. No more old, burnt coffee, sitting too long, or improperly measured.

I completely agree. Pod coffee makers would be a great replacement for the percolators between the sleepers. I think, however, if you have a little bin of coffee pods, the pods would be completely pilfered by the end of the day. Possibly you could have a coffee pod dispenser, accessed by a credit card, next to the pod machine. My favorite coffee pods are Peet's and Green Mountain. I bought some Crockett coffee pods but I haven't tried them, as yet.

BoulderCO · Nov 24, 2024

Northwestern said:
My favorite coffee pods are Peet's and Green Mountain. I bought some Crockett coffee pods but I haven't tried them, as yet.

Peet's Rules. I use it in bulk ground packages for drip machine rather than pods, but two strong cups have been the highlight of my mornings for the past 15 years.

drdumont · Nov 24, 2024

Northwestern said:
I completely agree. Pod coffee makers would be a great replacement for the percolators between the sleepers. I think, however, if you have a little bin of coffee pods, the pods would be completely pilfered by the end of the day. Possibly you could have a coffee pod dispenser, accessed by a credit card, next to the pod machine. My favorite coffee pods are Peet's and Green Mountain. I bought some Crockett coffee pods but I haven't tried them, as yet.

As inexpensively as AMTRAK could get pods in bulk (how about an AMTRAK SELECT custom K-Cup?) they could leave them in the rooms as theu used to leave bottles of water. However, comma, unless Keurig came up with a bulletproof MilSpec design, the offeemakers would be trashed within a couple of trips. Thus I carry my SingleCup in my suitcase. Also makes JimDandy Iced tea and hot cocoa.
Wednesday afternoon can't get here soon enough. We love what is left of the Eagle, looking for better days in the best Pollyanna tradition...

Eric in East County · Nov 24, 2024

Last September, a series of postings under the “Amtrak Dining Car and Café Service” thread discussed using personal heating devices in the coaches and sleepers. According to zephyr17, a sleeping car’s room outlets are on a 15A circuit that is shared with at least some other rooms. The use of high draw devices could result in a block of rooms losing their power if a breaker trips and is not reset. Someone specifically asked about the Norpro immersion coil which only draws 2.5A or 300W. zephry17 opined that 2.5A, while not a small draw, wouldn't be as much of a concern as, let’s say, an electric kettle with an 8A-12.5A draw. We now travel with Norpro immersion coil.

drdumont · Nov 24, 2024

Eric in East County said:
Last September, a series of postings under the “Amtrak Dining Car and Café Service” thread discussed using personal heating devices in the coaches and sleepers. According to zephyr17, a sleeping car’s room outlets are on a 15A circuit that is shared with at least some other rooms. The use of high draw devices could result in a block of rooms losing their power if a breaker trips and is not reset. Someone specifically asked about the Norpro immersion coil which only draws 2.5A or 300W. zephry17 opined that 2.5A, while not a small draw, wouldn't be as much of a concern as, let’s say, an electric kettle with an 8A-12.5A draw. We now travel with Norpro immersion coil.

As the food service on the SAS-CHI portion of The Eagle, the Cardinal and the CONO began its increasing death spiral, I looked into alternatives to suffering that slop. Yes, the Snack Bar has some edible viands, and I am partial to the hot dogs, we came up with the alternative of carrying snacks in a cooler and a coffeemaker. But before committing, I did a little research into just how much power was available in the sleepers.

In the Superliners, the Bedrooms, the Handicapped Room and the Family Bedrooms each have their very own 15A breakers. The downstairs showers and Rest Facilities share breakers, I believe in the power vault in the Vestibule.
IIRC, the Roomettes also share breakers from a central panel. I'll do some research this week. I do know my Keurig and the Peltier Cooler Bag ran just fine simultaneously as a test. but my Sporting Blood turned to urine and I shut off the cooler when brewing in a roomette.
The AC outlets in the rooms date to the days when about the only thing people carried which needed plugging in were them newfangled electrical razors - essentially buzzers which wiped out nearby AM radios. The AC in the Heritage equipment had a horrible waveshape, almost a triangle, but inductive loads didn't much care.
Nowadays the cars fed from Head End Power derive their AC from a relatively clean 480VAC 3 Phase system, stepped down to 120/208 and lower voltages for signals etc. Never checked to see if the general lighting is 277. The blower motors and stuff are likely 480 3phase so there might not be a need for a Delta connection..

drdumont · Dec 2, 2024

Just got home from roundtrip DAL-CHI-DAL on The Eagle. Food is still glop, a couple of changes, but still an unappetizing mess slopped into a round foil takeout bowl, left on the table until we arrove, plastic utensils (one knife broken, then one spoon broken). No tablecloths, have to ask for ice, beer warm. "Beef" chunks of Mystery Meat tough, the more you chewed it, the bigger it got.
We were last in an empty room when we were finishing, told to finish and leave "because more people were coming in".

Sic Transit Gloria AMTRAK

fillyjonk · Dec 13, 2024

A question that occurred to me: on the Flex Dining trains (the eastern leg of the TE is my experience), is there a kid's menu? Many of the menu choices aren't that friendly to a slightly picky adult eater (me), and I can see a small child not liking any of them. Do they have a kid's menu* or let kids in the family bedroom or similar order from the cafe menu? Or is it just "you get what you get and no one gets upset?"

(*no I would not try to wrangle a serving of Mac and Cheese in place of the Amtrak Mystery Meat selections, even though I might rather eat that)

For that matter: COULD a full-fledged adult say "could I please get a turkey sandwich off the cafe menu in place of the entree" or would they have to charge us for it?

I'm not sure I can face butter chicken again in a week, and it sounds like the beef entree is bad, and I don't know if the vegetarian meatballs have something in them that might upset my stomach (have to be careful about soy, should avoid celery and carrots, am mildly allergic to peanuts). Might try the alfredo even though the noodle dishes tend to be gloppy or have hard overheated noodles

AmtrakBlue · Dec 13, 2024

fillyjonk said:
A question that occurred to me: on the Flex Dining trains (the eastern leg of the TE is my experience), is there a kid's menu? Many of the menu choices aren't that friendly to a slightly picky adult eater (me), and I can see a small child not liking any of them. Do they have a kid's menu* or let kids in the family bedroom or similar order from the cafe menu? Or is it just "you get what you get and no one gets upset?"

(*no I would not try to wrangle a serving of Mac and Cheese in place of the Amtrak Mystery Meat selections, even though I might rather eat that)

The flex menus are on the Amtrak website.

zephyr17 · Dec 13, 2024

Specifically, here:
https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...ts/menus/routes/Flexible-Dining-Menu-0924.pdf

And no children's menu choices.

The salmon is a total sodium bomb, btw. The "glaze"/sauce tastes overwhelmingly of salt.

MccfamschoolMom · Dec 13, 2024

zephyr17 said:
Specifically, here:
https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...ts/menus/routes/Flexible-Dining-Menu-0924.pdf

And no children's menu choices.

The salmon is a total sodium bomb, btw. The "glaze"/sauce tastes overwhelmingly of salt.

The Continental Breakfast is probably the most kid-friendly of the flex dining options, as there are several choices one can make within the Continental Breakfast offerings. Nothing very kid-friendly among the lunch/dinner choices, though. Parents/grandparents accompanying children on a LD route w/Flex Dining should look over the online menu before the trip, and be prepared to either buy from the Cafe Car options or bring food with them for any kids they know are picky eaters.

fillyjonk · Dec 13, 2024

Yes, I know what the existing choices are.

it just seems like they're not good choices, and would be terrible with a picky kid, especially a travel-tired picky kid. The "butter chicken" almost made ME cry.

oregon pioneer · Dec 13, 2024

fillyjonk said:
A question that occurred to me: on the Flex Dining trains (the eastern leg of the TE is my experience), is there a kid's menu? Many of the menu choices aren't that friendly to a slightly picky adult eater (me), and I can see a small child not liking any of them. Do they have a kid's menu* or let kids in the family bedroom or similar order from the cafe menu? Or is it just "you get what you get and no one gets upset?"

(*no I would not try to wrangle a serving of Mac and Cheese in place of the Amtrak Mystery Meat selections, even though I might rather eat that)

For that matter: COULD a full-fledged adult say "could I please get a turkey sandwich off the cafe menu in place of the entree" or would they have to charge us for it?

I'm not sure I can face butter chicken again in a week, and it sounds like the beef entree is bad, and I don't know if the vegetarian meatballs have something in them that might upset my stomach (have to be careful about soy, should avoid celery and carrots, am mildly allergic to peanuts). Might try the alfredo even though the noodle dishes tend to be gloppy or have hard overheated noodles

Don't know if they are still doing that, but I sat across the table on the Boston section of the LSL some years ago and watched an adult male complain he didn't want either of the two choices. The attendant offered him anything he wanted from the cafe menu. He chose the pizza, which looked awful to me, and ate the sauce and cheese off it.

And regarding trains where they DO have a kids' menu, last winter I got the roasted chicken dinner from it, as I did not want the heavy dinner provided off the adult menu. The portion size and clean presentation (no gravy or sauce) was perfect for my small-person appetite, in fact it left enough room for dessert, LOL.

AmtrakBlue · Dec 13, 2024

oregon pioneer said:
Don't know if they are still doing that, but I sat across the table on the Boston section of the LSL some years ago and watched an adult male complain he didn't want either of the two choices. The attendant offered him anything he wanted from the cafe menu. He chose the pizza, which looked awful to me, and ate the sauce and cheese off it.

And regarding trains where they DO have a kids' menu, last winter I got the roasted chicken dinner from it, as I did not want the heavy dinner provided off the adult menu. The portion size and clean presentation (no gravy or sauce) was perfect for my small-person appetite, in fact it left enough room for dessert, LOL.

View attachment 38583 View attachment 38584

Gotta save room for that cake. YUMMMM. I skipped lunches in the diner on my recent round trip to Seattle/Vancouver and back so I would have room for both the steak and the cake. On the 2nd night in each direction, I took the cake back to my room to eat the next day. I brought a collapsible covered bowl to put it into for safe keeping.

fillyjonk · Dec 13, 2024

oregon pioneer said:
Don't know if they are still doing that, but I sat across the table on the Boston section of the LSL some years ago and watched an adult male complain he didn't want either of the two choices. The attendant offered him anything he wanted from the cafe menu. He chose the pizza, which looked awful to me, and ate the sauce and cheese off it.

And regarding trains where they DO have a kids' menu, last winter I got the roasted chicken dinner from it, as I did not want the heavy dinner provided off the adult menu. The portion size and clean presentation (no gravy or sauce) was perfect for my small-person appetite, in fact it left enough room for dessert, LOL.

View attachment 38583 View attachment 38584

that looks better than 90% of the restaurant food I've seen recently, and unbelievably, different-universe-level better than the microwaved glop the Texas Eagle serves.

I did hint that nothing on the menu seemed appealing last time I was on and no cafe-meal selection was offered, so I guessed it was a "take it or leave it" proposition. I travel again in five days and am not sure what to order. Maybe the train will be late enough I grab a hamburger before getting on.....

oregon pioneer · Dec 14, 2024

fillyjonk said:
that looks better than 90% of the restaurant food I've seen recently, and unbelievably, different-universe-level better than the microwaved glop the Texas Eagle serves.

I did hint that nothing on the menu seemed appealing last time I was on and no cafe-meal selection was offered, so I guessed it was a "take it or leave it" proposition. I travel again in five days and am not sure what to order. Maybe the train will be late enough I grab a hamburger before getting on.....

Would love to hear what the current response is if you ask flat-out whether the cafe lounge menu is an option for sleeper passengers.

OBS · Dec 14, 2024

It will probablybly vary from crew to crew.

zephyr17 · Dec 14, 2024

OBS said:
It will probablybly vary from crew to crew.

Yeah, probably, though I'd think there would have to be some kind of standardized accounting for cafe items provided to sleeper pax in lieu of Flex.

Possibly crews that won't just don't want to go to trouble of accounting for it

fillyjonk · Dec 14, 2024

OBS said:
It will probablybly vary from crew to crew.

yeah, I don't fancy getting yelled at if it's a grumpy/overworked person, I'll probably eat the salad and roll and pick at the glop and hope they have either the brownie or the butter cake

Steve4031 · Dec 14, 2024

I just ask to buy a sandwich. Sometimes they comp it, and sometimes they don’t.

drdumont · Tuesday at 5:50 PM

oregon pioneer said:
Would love to hear what the current response is if you ask flat-out whether the cafe lounge menu is an option for sleeper passengers.

I usually jest with the SCA if they act human, and assuring them that in noway do I hold them responsible for the insult to the art of Escoffier, I have never been refused a request from the snack bar manu. Actually, the hot dogs are quite good. Hebrew National at last experience.
I asked the day before and the SCA took a frozen Omelette and had it ready for dinner. IMHO it is about the only thing palatable from the entire FLEX menu.

MARC Rider · Tuesday at 6:16 PM

drdumont said:
Actually, the hot dogs are quite good. Hebrew National at last experience.

The only problem with cafe car hot dogs is that they just take the wrapped sandwich, throw it in the microwave and heat it. They don't eve bother to slit a vent. Microwaving bread more than 20 seconds or so makes it chewy and unpalatable, plus it's hot and hard to hold.

I had a breakfast biyali the other day, and it was nuked in the wrapper unvented. The result was that all the cheese melted all over the wrapper, the sandwich was too hot to handle, and the bread was too chewy.

I have seen cafe attendants remove the hot dog from the wrapper, nuke it separately on a plate, and put the bun in a toaster. (Yes, they have a toaster in the cafe car.) But, of course, if there's a long line, that might not go over too well.

drdumont · Tuesday at 11:17 PM

MARC Rider said:
The only problem with cafe car hot dogs is that they just take the wrapped sandwich, throw it in the microwave and heat it. They don't eve bother to slit a vent. Microwaving bread more than 20 seconds or so makes it chewy and unpalatable, plus it's hot and hard to hold.

I had a breakfast biyali the other day, and it was nuked in the wrapper unvented. The result was that all the cheese melted all over the wrapper, the sandwich was too hot to handle, and the bread was too chewy.

I have seen cafe attendants remove the hot dog from the wrapper, nuke it separately on a plate, and put the bun in a toaster. (Yes, they have a toaster in the cafe car.) But, of course, if there's a long line, that might not go over too well.

Your comments are spot on, guess I have been fortunate thus far. The Snack Bar Attendants have indeed nuked the dog separately or at least slit the wrapper as you say. I have had a couple who needed prompting, but have never been refused. Many trips up and down the NEC, although usually when leaving NYC I stopped for a couple of Dirtwater Dogs.
Unless you have spent time in The Suppurating Pustule on the Buttocks of Humanity, you might not have experienced the wonder of the hot dogs from the carts on the streets, one of the few benefits found there.

Amtrak Dining and Cafe Service discussion 2024 H2

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