The Lake Shore and Silver Service have a separate dedicated dining car for sleeping car food service with that LSA only serving flex meals and not having to also serve coach passengers which means they are less time crunched to serve all the meals - in those cars the flex meals are prepared in convection/regular ovens. All other trains that serve flex dining have just one car serving both cafe and flex meals. Now I get that the Capitol and eagle have a ccc car so they should be able to do the same but in practice how many staff are in the CCC car? I am merely pointing out that when there is a dedicated car/staff member service may be a bit more consistent. I know from direct observation that on the Lake Shore and Silvers they do not normally microwave the flex meals. The presence of an oven may not be the factor as much as it is the level of staffing as I do realize even the Amfleet 2 lounges have a convection oven. If a staff member has to do both they may be more likely to do whatever is the quickest to get through the meal period.
I’ve intentionally avoided trains with flex dining after my first experience on the meteor - but I thought there were still 2 crew members even if there was only 1 car. Of course on Amtrak who knows what is actually happening.
Tastes differ. That's my favorite flex meal.
I prefer the beef short ribs as the safest choice. The chicken one is alright too. For breakfast I think the pancakes is the way to go.
We had an enjoyable experience on the Empire Builder this summer and found the food overall, quite good. One exception was the quick takeout breakfast just before we arrived in Portland. We chose yogurt and a toasted bagel, except the bagel was nuked, not toasted. It was so tough I think it could have been used as body amour. Really, we just couldn't bite through it. My foodie wife was going to offer feedback to the young man, but we were about to detrain. Turned out to be a humorous and memorable moment of a fun train trip.
Yes they only have a Sightseer Lounge on the Portland section of the Builder which only has a microwave. I'm kind of surprised to hear they do that a nuked bagel doesnt sound like a great idea!
I didn't even try. There wasn't a true lounge (SSL) on the run, hasn't been since before the pandemic. I just hung out in my roomette.
Sorta like saying it's your favorite meal from the frozen section in xyz supermarket.
Yeah, but if those are your choices, then you're going to have preferences.
Ramen packets were my go-to meal when the dorm cafeterias weren't open, as I went to college before microwaves in dorm rooms were common. However, as you said, one expects better than ramen-in-a-cup with hot water from the sleeping car coffee station when one is paying for Amtrak sleeper accommodations.
Exactly. You expect fresh cooked to order food aka traditional dining when paying $600 or more for a sleeper. If anybody on this forum thinks Covid was the reason Flex was introduced as early as June 2018.
Anyone that has been paying attention knows that Flex was introduced in the Eastern trains in an attempt to meet the goals set in the Mica Amendment. Covid only caused its extension to the Western LD trains, explicitly stated then as a temporary measure for the duration of the pandemic driven special operations.
Sorry, but Covid was not the reason Flex meals were introduced. COVID hit us in 2020, not 2018. We had our first Flex meals on out Oct, 2019 south bound Meteor
You want to see perfection. I took viarail from Vancouver to Toronto last month, four days. Three meals a day and I have to say they were gourmet five star.
let's see.... about 30%, or 1/3 of the nation eats gluten free. 4% have a medical diagnosis and this is the only treatment. 10% have a medical "request" or reason to eat gluten free. These people have to be concerned of cross-contamination issues. A sealed meal isn't that difficult. Getting a contract with a local caterer for Amtrak hubs would be easy peasy. It just isn't done.
Glad you got to enjoy your Meal , the ones I had on the Lake Shore Ltd.(Dinner and Breakfast) around this time were absolutely inedible!
What's your point? They are planning to do so this year.
Back in October I got the pasta meal and the braised beef meal on the Cardinal - obviously microwaved, or terribly abused by the "cook". both looked like dog food. And, I had no option but to eat in my cell.
