Amtrak Dining and Cafe Service discussion 2024 H1

[flitcraft]

I had several amtrak waiters ask me if I wanted bacon on mine... the regular riders knew that was the best thing on the lunch menu! Of course cheese is still vegetarian so that's not unusual.

Well, cheese isn't necessarily vegetarian. If it is clabbered with animal rennet, it isn't vegetarian, but if it is made with microbial enzymes, it is. British labeling of cheese makes it easy to tell the difference, using the label term Suitable for vegetarians when no cow's rennet was used.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Well, cheese isn't necessarily vegetarian. If it is clabbered with animal rennet, it isn't vegetarian, but if it is made with microbial enzymes, it is. British labeling of cheese makes it easy to tell the difference, using the label term Suitable for vegetarians when no cow's rennet was used.

Oh I see... I guess it's different definitions. I know many "vegetarians" that eat cheese no questions asked but I didn't really stop to think about it!

That is another disappointment for taking baked potatoes off the menu - that's a good vegetarian item for lunch and dinner. While not every amtrak crew would allow it... a side salad and a baked potato can be a nice dinner if the limited entree items don't sound appetizing.

 

[MARC Rider]

Reading these posts, it strikes me that no matter how much effort is put into the food, presenting a limited menu is going to end up not satisfying everybody. This is true on the Candian, with better food service than Amtrak, it was true when I did my ride on Hockory Creek, with very good cooked-on[board food, and, come to think of it, it was true when I was in college. Out dining hall had pretty good food dished up by ARA, but they only had 3 entree choices. If you didn't like the choices, tough luck, either pick one, or call for pizza delivery to your dorm room.

Thus, I do not expect some sort of sublime culinary experience when I'm fed on a mode of transport like a train or a plane. As long as the food is edible and I get reliably fed during a long trip, I'm fine. I can save the fine dining experience for a real restaurant when I get to my destination, or when I get home.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

Vegan and vegetarian are very different terms.

Vegan=no animal products at all such as cheese, milk, etc and by strict definition honey as well.

Vegetarian for the most part means no animals were killed in producing the product.

My comment regarding the menus is bring back the black bean burgers!

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Reading these posts, it strikes me that no matter how much effort is put into the food, presenting a limited menu is going to end up not satisfying everybody.

Yes, and no. I get what you are saying but the more thought and effort is put in to the menu the more that people will be satisfied. The current dinner menu is pretty limited but it does have some good options that will please most guests. I'd still love to see a return of the specials like the Grilled Mahi Mahi and Lamb Shank - by the far the best meals I've ever had on any train! Those were the days!

 

[Sauve850]

Grits being served with breakfast used to let you know you were in the South!( see "My Cousin Vinny" with Joe Pesci for a good discussion about Grits.)

I used to have them on the Sunset,Eagle,CONO and Crescent when eating Breakfast in the Diner.

Always liked Amtraks grits!

 

[Rasputin]

I recall being a bit surprised to find grits on the menu for the Lake Shore and the Empire Builder as those were northern trains where one would not expect grits to be in demand but there they were. I don't think the New York Central or Great Northern offered grits on these same routes years ago.

In looking at a few Amtrak menus in my collection it appears that grits probably disappeared from the Lake Shore menu when the Diner Lite service was started. This is what I gather from looking at a 10/2017 Lake Shore diner-lite menu. Menus from a few years earlier when the heritage dining cars were in operation show grits being included with several breakfast selections on the Lake Shore.

 

[Augusta_H]

In traditional dining, pre-Covid, grits appeared to be a standard item on all long distance Amtrak trains and I have also had them on the Empire Builder and the Lake Shore, probably on the Coast Starlight as well. I am not sure when they became a standard item on the Amtrak breakfast menu.

I recall being a bit surprised to find grits on the menu for the Lake Shore and the Empire Builder as those were northern trains where one would not expect grits to be in demand but there they were. I don't think the New York Central or Great Northern offered grits on these same routes years ago.

Are these plain grits, or do they have butter or cheese? I am troubled by the abundance of dairy products. I have a severe dairy allergy.

 

[pennyk]

MODERATOR NOTE: Several posts have been removed as off topic since they did not directly relate to the topic of Amtrak dining and cafe service. Thank you for keeping your comments on topic and thank you for your understanding, cooperation and participation.

 

[DCSocial Worker]

Recently took the Crescent from Washington, DC to New Orleans. The Crescent does not have a kitchen and features a "Flexible Dining Menu." Don't get me wrong - I didn't expect fine dining and I am not a fussy eater - but this food was awful - worse than a high school cafeteria. I had one each of the entrees and all were horrible. These are prepared - I assume - frozen dinners that are either microwaved or convention oven heated on board. The person reheating them obviously did not follow directions. They were burnt and dried out. I had no choice but to eat them. I had good meals on trains that have kitchens - like the Coastal Starlight - and the food is pretty good. ALL long distance trains need kitchens. A 28 hour train ride is way too long to eat horrible food. It would have been better to give sleeper passengers a voucher to buy sandwiches in the cafe car. I also take the Acela first class between Washington and New York RT once a month. I was so excited about the new menu. Again, very disappointed especially for the ticket price. Some of the food on the old menu, especially the cheese plate, was way better. Again, poorly microwaved entrees - pasta dishes seem to reheat the best. No salad or starter. I took VIA from Quebec to Montreal and the food was surprisingly good in business class. If airlines can do better with economy meals 38,000 feet in the air - why can't Acela First Class food be better. There also should be an option for the attendant to take orders for salads or sandwiches from the cafe car for delivery to first class. Again, Canada rail and the airlines can produce fairly good food - why can't Amtrak do this in Acela first class?

 

[Eric in East County]

Write to Amtrak Customer Relations to inform them of the poorly prepared meals you were served. (Be sure to give them full information as to the dates you traveled, the train you were on, how long you were on the train, etc. They should be able to figure out who was responsible for preparing your burned and dried out meals.) Customer Relations might even compensate you with a credit voucher good for future travel. While flex meals leave a lot to be desired, had yours been properly prepared, they would probably have been more or less acceptable.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Welcome to Amtrak.

You’re preaching to the choir.

Failure to follow instructions or cold chain issues will mess up the TV dinners. It very common that problems occur in the transportation, storage and end user interface.
Everyone is responsible, but nobody will point out problems to the next link.

Good news is that we are expecting the Crescent from NYC to NOL to get its dinner back. However holding your breath might not be a good idea, as Amtrak is slow to adjust its course.

 

[DCSocial Worker]

Write to Amtrak Customer Relations to inform them of the poorly prepared meals you were served. (Be sure to give them full information as to the dates you traveled, the train you were on, how long you were on the train, etc. They should be able to figure out who was responsible for preparing your burned and dried out meals.) Customer Relations might even compensate you with a credit voucher good for future travel. While flex meals leave a lot to be desired, had yours been properly prepared, they would probably have been more or less acceptable.

just did.

 

[Eric in East County]

just did.

Great! (The problem can’t be fixed unless Amtrak knows there is a problem.)

 

[cassie225]

So if Crescent gets it’s diner back does that mean traditional dining will be back or just flex meals in a diner

 

[jis]

So if Crescent gets it’s diner back does that mean traditional dining will be back or just flex meals in a diner

Most likely Flex+ as is being served on the LSL of late.

 

[Railvt]

Most likely Flex+ as is being served on the LSL of late.

I'm fascinated by the reference to Flex +. What is the difference?

 

[jis]

I'm fascinated by the reference to Flex +. What is the difference?

My understanding is that the same food as in Flex is served plated with better flatware on tables covered with table cloth and flower and such. Heard second hand from people who traveled recently on LSL.

 

[Eric in East County]

My understanding is that the same food as in Flex is served plated with better flatware on tables covered with table cloth and flower and such. Heard second hand from people who traveled recently on LSL.

It will be interesting to find out if a flex meal, served up as if it was a traditional menu meal, will be more readily accepted by the traveling public.

 

[user 14106]

Another trip report today showed the plated flex meal on the Lake Shore FB group.

 

[DCSocial Worker]

The Acela First Classs meal is a flex meal that is plated and served more fancy. Mind you, a last minute Acela first class ticket between WAS and NYP can be as high as $485 - no reason why better food cannot be served. Oddly, some items from the cafe car are better.

 

[cassie225]

Flex served on a plate served as flex plus ain’t gonna make the food taste better lol. How crazy is that lol

 

[crescent-zephyr]

It will be interesting to find out if a flex meal, served up as if it was a traditional menu meal, will be more readily accepted by the traveling public.

The Flex Meals that I have had are really bad and wouldn't be acceptable if they were on literal gold plates. I've had Cafe car food on Amtrak that was quite good and that is not presented dining car style. I've also had Domestic First Airline food that is simply reheated and plated and it was considerably better than flex.

The complaints with flex are not just presentation, which do leave a lot to be desired. Nor is the problem preparation - although that is quite inconsistent. The number #1 complaint is the quality and taste of the food. Have you seen what they call a salad in flex?

There was a way to make the flex concept work that I think would be very appealing to amtrak customers, especially on the east coast and 1 night trains, but Amtrak management mixed with the work ethics of many OBS was never going to make it work.

 

[Eric in East County]

About a year or so ago, someone posted that the Kosher flex meals are somewhat better than the regular flex meals, and recommended them as a better option, even to those travelers who are not Jewish. Apparently, Kosher flex meals must be requested in advance as they are not routinely stocked on the dining cars.

 

[user 14106]

Obviously people’s tastes, preferences, and opinions will differ - but for my take on it I have never noticed a significant difference in quality between the flexible dining meals and what is served in Acela first class - and I had a couple trips very close together once where I got a good comparison. They’re both basically pre made airline meals. To me presentation has always been the biggest difference. You see before you taste and first impressions are key. And I’ve found my taste can be influenced by that. Some of the meals are certainly better than others and I have found the same with Acela.