Amtrak Dining and Cafe Service discussion 2024 H1

[user 14106]

Maybe it's just my local Subway, but I always get a gassy tummy after eating Subway, no matter how bland the sandwich is. As to "grocery store freezer meals = Flex dining", supermarket freezer meals usually don't make me gassy, so maybe I'll survive Flex dining on the Texas Eagle this fall, especially since it'll be for a far shorter duration than a roundtrip on one of the other Flex dining routes.

The flex meals certainly aren't gourmet dining though in my experience when prepared properly and served in a dedicated diner (and not the disgraceful half cafe situation they were doing on the Crescent) it's nowhere near as bad as reading the internet would have you believe - my opinion of course. That's what I was left thinking after reading much negative opinions on them and having it for the rest time. Lots of sodium of course and limited options for those with special dietary requirements which are the biggest issues. And the salad is a bit tiny. But certainly not inedible - I've actually liked a few of them and not cared for others. Having said all that I'd certainly be down for going to traditional dining or something closer to it for what we are paying!

 

[nferr]

I can comment on the current flex meal situation as I just returned from a cross country trip in which I traveled both the Lake Shore and the Crescent. Both had diners with table cloths and flowers. The Lake Shore attendant plated the meals and the salads and also heated up the brownie. Would I rather have had a steak? Of course, but the flex meals were heated properly and the presentation was pretty good. On a train where you're only getting a dinner and a breakfast it was acceptable IMO. And they were allowing sleeper passengers to use the diner as a lounge. As my room was on the right side westbound, it was nice to sit in there, have a free drink and see the Hudson River views. I paid for my wine at dinner since I used my free drink prior. The Crescent was different. You had the full diner but the meals were brought to your table in the box, wrapped up. Dessert was not heated. The presentation just makes a big difference. The attendant was great, but very busy at times. All the meals were heated properly. If you're taveling the entire distance NOL to NYP as I was there's just too many flex meals. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, breakfast and a late lunch (3:30 for me as the train was running almost three hours late). it's way too long of a run for all flex meals IMO.

 

[zephyr17]

And they were allowing sleeper passengers to use the diner as a lounge.

Good to know. I will be taking the LSL in November and that was one of my big questions with the revised service. I really liked being able to use the Viewliner diner as a lounge and was wondering if they restricted that when they got the tablecloths. Those cars make a pretty decent lounge car.

I was fully expecting Flex on the LSL leg and still do, BTW.

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

On a train where you're only getting a dinner and a breakfast it was acceptable IMO.

When the hubby and I ride the Texas Eagle Pontiac, IL-Ft. Worth, TX roundtrip this fall, those are the 2 flex meals we'll be having on the return trip. (On the southbound trip it'll be supper + breakfast + lunch.) Should be interesting to compare the meal presentation on the Eaglette to your experience on the Lake Shore Limited & the Crescent.

 

[Asher]

I can comment on the current flex meal situation as I just returned from a cross country trip in which I traveled both the Lake Shore and the Crescent. Both had diners with table cloths and flowers. The Lake Shore attendant plated the meals and the salads and also heated up the brownie. Would I rather have had a steak? Of course, but the flex meals were heated properly and the presentation was pretty good. On a train where you're only getting a dinner and a breakfast it was acceptable IMO. And they were allowing sleeper passengers to use the diner as a lounge. As my room was on the right side westbound, it was nice to sit in there, have a free drink and see the Hudson River views. I paid for my wine at dinner since I used my free drink prior. The Crescent was different. You had the full diner but the meals were brought to your table in the box, wrapped up. Dessert was not heated. The presentation just makes a big difference. The attendant was great, but very busy at times. All the meals were heated properly. If you're taveling the entire distance NOL to NYP as I was there's just too many flex meals. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, breakfast and a late lunch (3:30 for me as the train was running almost three hours late). it's way too long of a run for all flex meals IMO.

Yep, for sure you need a couple of glasses of wine to help flush all that flex down.

 

[Rasputin]

In the past, we have had great meals on the Lake Shore, both with traditional dining and diner-lite. Three meals if you are a Boston sleeping car passenger. I used to look forward to taking that train.

With flex meals I no longer look forward to the Lake Shore. It is just something to endure as you look forward to the much better meal service on the trains west of Chicago.

 

[west point]

This diner situation is a chicken and egg problem for some routes. A train that has 100 revenue passengers is very different to have 400 passengers. Until Amtrak gets the capacity meeting all the unfulfilled demand diners and cafe are suffering with poor meals and service. Right now diners and cafes have high fixed operating costs. If Amtrak was able to add one additional or 2 to diners and stocked to service many persons desiring food the operating costs for another OBS in each car is incremental to the additional riders that will want to eat on the train in question.

 

[Bob Dylan]

When the hubby and I ride the Texas Eagle Pontiac, IL-Ft. Worth, TX roundtrip this fall, those are the 2 flex meals we'll be having on the return trip. (On the southbound trip it'll be supper + breakfast + lunch.) Should be interesting to compare the meal presentation on the Eaglette to your experience on the Lake Shore Limited & the Crescent.

On lots of trips on the Eaglete I've taken to Chicago, they have served a limited menu "Lunch" around Springfield since the Train is usually running Late to Very Late.

I haven't taken the Eagle North of Dallas since the Pandemic "Cut backs" gutted this Train, so not sure if this still occurs????

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

On lots of trips on the Eaglete I've taken to Chicago, they have served a limited menu "Lunch" around Springfield since the Train is usually running Late to Very Late.

I haven't taken the Eagle North of Dallas since the Pandemic "Cut backs" gutted this Train, so not sure if this still occurs????

I guess we'll find out about lunch on the way back this fall!

 

[zephyr17]

This diner situation is a chicken and egg problem for some routes. A train that has 100 revenue passengers is very different to have 400 passengers. Until Amtrak gets the capacity meeting all the unfulfilled demand diners and cafe are suffering with poor meals and service. Right now diners and cafes have high fixed operating costs. If Amtrak was able to add one additional or 2 to diners and stocked to service many persons desiring food the operating costs for another OBS in each car is incremental to the additional riders that will want to eat on the train in question.

On Superliners they would not even need another car, just fully staff the one they have. The cars have much more physically capacity than they've utilized in years. Note the number of empty tables during any meal sitting. They are empty because the diners aren't fully staffed, which would be like 5 servers plus LSA plus more staff downstairs in the galley. They started destaffing the Superliner diners years and years ago, late 90s maybe, but certainly by the 2000s. They brought some back since restoring traditional, but it is still only about the level just before COVID. Nowhere near the level of staffing they are designed to have.

 

[Steve's Wanderlust]

In January 2023 a limited lunch was indeed served around Springfield.

 

[Cal]

On LD trains when does the cafe usually reopen in the morning?

 

[eackly]

Neighbors of mine order from an online meal delivery company that ships microwave meals ready to eat in 2-3 mins.

They recently went on vacation and forgot to pause their order.

They called me from the airport and told me to grab their order when it arrives and enjoy it with their compliments rather than it go to waste.

My wife and I were skeptical but the four meals we ate were all tasty and the ingredients list was not something only a Chemical Engineer at DuPont would be proud of.

If this company can make frozen ready to eat meals that taste good and aren't laden with chemicals, Amtrak can find a vendor to offer a similar product.

Someone wrote here that these Flex meals aren't even cheap for Amtrak to purchase, so if they aren't cheap, aren't good, why not try something else?

 

[zephyr17]

On LD trains when does the cafe usually reopen in the morning?

6-6:30 am

 

[Brian Battuello]

And you won't be the only one waiting for coffee...

 

[tgstubbs1]

Someone wrote here that these Flex meals aren't even cheap for Amtrak to purchase, so if they aren't cheap, aren't good, why not try something else?

Flexible dining continues to upset Amtrak travelers. Some people probably consider it garbage, so when I saw this article I wondered if there could be some connection.
Could this be the origin of flex dining? I have never been to Rochester, NY, but this article claims people have become accustomed to eating a "garbage plate" .
Maybe it has enough appeal for people that are hungry enough to ignore the mess if the ingredients are tasty enough? I would guess it might not be that different than what you might get at a backyard barbeque with paper plates that aren't quite big enough.

https://lifehacker.com/food-drink/h...-plate-station?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

"The Rochester garbage plate, also called a trash plate, is a point of pride for upstate New York. It’s said to have originated at Nick Tahou Hots, though I don’t know if anyone else is competing for the title. My friends and I would get it at a random roadside drive-in-esque situation.
A garbage plate consists of all the classic yard party favorites: a grilled cheeseburger, hot dog, or sausage nested upon some home fries (or French fries), sharing space with a mound of macaroni salad, and a scoop of baked beans. Beef chili is ladled over the top along with chopped raw onions, and a streak of yellow mustard. This combination may be horrifying for some, but others have been eating barbecue sides in this manner their whole lives."

 

[Eric in East County]

Neighbors of mine order from an online meal delivery company that ships microwave meals ready to eat in 2-3 mins.

They recently went on vacation and forgot to pause their order.

They called me from the airport and told me to grab their order when it arrives and enjoy it with their compliments rather than it go to waste.

My wife and I were skeptical but the four meals we ate were all tasty and the ingredients list was not something only a Chemical Engineer at DuPont would be proud of.

If this company can make frozen ready to eat meals that taste good and aren't laden with chemicals, Amtrak can find a vendor to offer a similar product.

Someone wrote here that these Flex meals aren't even cheap for Amtrak to purchase, so if they aren't cheap, aren't good, why not try something else?

Did you happen to notice who made the microwavable meals you liked? According to earlier AU posts, the flex meals being served on Amtrak are provided by the Aramark Corporation. Here’s their link telling what they do: https://www.aramark.com/our-services/food-services

 

[Rasputin]

Flexible dining continues to upset Amtrak travelers. Some people probably consider it garbage, so when I saw this article I wondered if there could be some connection.
Could this be the origin of flex dining? I have never been to Rochester, NY, but this article claims people have become accustomed to eating a "garbage plate"

The upstate New York garage plate sounds far superior to flex dining and I am sure there is no connection.

 

[Widfara]

Not sure how recent of a change this is, but I know since Covid, coach passengers were not able to eat in the dining car. On the CS yesterday, coach passengers were able to make dining car reservations and several in my car did so. I had brought my food, so didn’t make a reservation myself. Prices were breakfast $20, lunch $25, and dinner $45

My brain has been on 1990's prices. My first trip on a long distance train, in December 1968, was the Broadway Limited, Chicago to New York, and dinner was about $10-12, and breakfast in the morning was $8. Of course my Navy pay was $113 a month then as a Seaman Apprentice (E-2).
I have been recently reminded that these rates for coach passengers are not horrible prices. I took one friend to dinner the other night and the cost was over $100, with the tip. Of course the service was more attentive, too.

 

[Widfara]

Yes, you will get dinner included in a bedroom or roomette. They will dictate the time you will be served in your room. The down side is their flex meals are really bad. I have had them all and none of them are enjoyable. Here is a picture of the chicken parmesan.View attachment 35701

My last trip on the Crescent, in 2022, the only thing worth eating, or which even had a non-dogfood appearance, was the salmon. Had it once on the Cardinal, twice on the Crescent, both trains gave no option but eating in the room.

 

[Cal]

My first trip on a long distance train, in December 1968, was the Broadway Limited, Chicago to New York, and dinner was about $10-12

According to a quick google, $12 in 1968 is equal to roughly $108 today. So by that measure (assuming it's right) Amtrak prices have decreased dramatically.

Edit: Realizing now that Amtrak didn't exist in 1968, but alas the comparison is still valid.

 

[Harmon Shay]

My last trip on the Crescent, in 2022, the only thing worth eating, or which even had a non-dogfood appearance, was the salmon. Had it once on the Cardinal, twice on the Crescent, both trains gave no option but eating in the room.

On the trip I took last fall, which included the Crescent, nothing on the Flex menu looked good to me except one thing, beef burgundy as I recall, and I ended up not liking it. There was also the matter of dealing with endless plastic packaging. I'm not looking for fancy meals on the train as many do but to me Flex is really substandard. I feel like I can easily do better in any fast food restaurant. There simply has to be a better way to do this.

 

[Sidney]

On the trip I took last fall, which included the Crescent, nothing on the Flex menu looked good to me except one thing, beef burgundy as I recall, and I ended up not liking it. There was also the matter of dealing with endless plastic packaging. I'm not looking for fancy meals on the train as many do but to me Flex is really substandard. I feel like I can easily do better in any fast food restaurant. There simply has to be a better way to do this.

Of course there is a better way,but Amtrak doesn’t do anything. A better grade of frozen dinners,letting people eat from the cafe car, which is an improvement, or heaven forbid, bring back traditional dining. It’s been six years since flex. Why is it taking so long to return to traditional dining? How many years does it take to train chefs?

 

[MARC Rider]

Did you happen to notice who made the microwavable meals you liked? According to earlier AU posts, the flex meals being served on Amtrak are provided by the Aramark Corporation. Here’s their link telling what they do: https://www.aramark.com/our-services/food-services

It's quite possible that Aramark doesn't actually prepare the meals, but might be getting them from an outside vendor.

 

[MARC Rider]

My brain has been on 1990's prices. My first trip on a long distance train, in December 1968, was the Broadway Limited, Chicago to New York, and dinner was about $10-12, and breakfast in the morning was $8.

During the summer of 1975 I got dinner several times in the diner of the Merchant's Limited between Philly and New York. The menu choices were fish at $2, chicken at $3, and a steak at $8. This was a meal that included a salad, but any drinks were extra. I think a can of soda was 35 cents, which was a ripoff, as one could get a similar can in a vending machine for 15 cents. Very fast efficient service; you filled out the order, and the waiter took it from you. Also, I always paid in cash, and the transaction was done quickly and efficiently.