Amtrak dining and cafe service

[joelkfla]

Is there any breaking news from Chestler or the F&B WG? Updates on Silver Service? Any more upgrades this year?

 

[jis]

Is there any breaking news from Chestler or the F&B WG? Updates on Silver Service? Any more upgrades this year?

Only Silver Star and Silver Meteor.

 

[pennyk]

MODERATOR NOTE: Please keep the discussion on the topic of Amtrak Dining. Several posts discussing tipping in general were removed this morning.

Thank you for your cooperation, understanding and participation.

 

[pennyk]

With regard to tipping on Amtrak, here is fairly recent thread regarding tipping (and posts in this thread that were solely discussing tipping on Amtrak were moved to that thread):

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/tipping-on-amtrak.79064/
Edit to add a link to another thread in the FAQ forum:

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/tips-for-meals-and-sleeping-car-attendant.76219/

 

[jis]

On 91 today, they did not ask for pre-order when taking dinner reservations. It is like old times. I am going for the Steak with some Red Wine. Nicely laid out table with a flower vase.

A quite reasonable Salad with Raspberry Dressng

An excellent Medium Steak with A-1 Sauce

A very nice White Chocolate Blueberry Cobbler Cake

And to wind it some decaf

 

[railiner]

On 91 today, they did not ask for pre-order when taking dinner reservations. It is like old times. I am going for the Steak with some Red Wine. Nicely laid out table with a flower vase.
View attachment 31873

View attachment 31874
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Is that a paper tablecloth?
Linen would be nicer, but better than just a placemat, I suppose…

 

[Devil's Advocate]

On 91 today, they did not ask for pre-order when taking dinner reservations. It is like old times. I am going for the Steak with some Red Wine. Nicely laid out table with a flower vase.

That looks good and I hope the pilot is successful enough (in whatever manner Amtrak is judging it) that it sticks and spreads to the Eaglet.

Is that a paper tablecloth? Linen would be nicer, but better than just a placemat, I suppose…

Anything that covers up McDonald's grade Formica is a win in my book.

 

[allanorn]

On 91 today, they did not ask for pre-order when taking dinner reservations. It is like old times. I am going for the Steak with some Red Wine. Nicely laid out table with a flower vase.

That salad looks sad, but otherwise it looks like a proper meal on a train.

 

[OBS]

That salad looks sad, but otherwise it looks like a proper meal on a train.

Sad? you obviously haven't seen very many Amtrak dinner salads....

 

[jis]

Is that a paper tablecloth?
Linen would be nicer, but better than just a placemat, I suppose…

It is real tablecloth with paper place setting mat

 

[pennyk]

On 91 today, they did not ask for pre-order when taking dinner reservations. It is like old times. I am going for the Steak with some Red Wine. Nicely laid out table with a flower vase.

My salad looked much better.

WOW, you received a full glass of red wine. Mine (on Monday) was more like a half glass, and I paid for a seond glass because I wanted wine with my chocolate dessert.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

@jis This looks so good! Glad to hear they didn't do the pre-order, to me there is something special about the full restaurant-style experience! Not only does that salad look much better than the flex salad.. they have returned to having the quality Newmans dressing! On Flex they give you a little ketchup size packet of High Fructose Corn Syrup that is labled either Italian or Ranch lol.

 

[Allypet]

I have to make a quick trip on the silver meteor next week from Florida to Maryland and back. I’m traveling coach because I’m traveling alone. I have been reading about flex dining service. As a coach passenger will I be allowed to buy a meal or am I stuck with cafe food? What else can I expect in terms of food? I picked the Meteor because of shorter running time now I see that the Sliver have full dining available. Did I make a mistake.

 

[jis]

I think all this is now headed in the right direction.

What we learned from Chestler is that this is pilot in name only. They just did not have enough staff trained for both trains but wanted to gey something out there sooner rather than later

They have every intention to formally launch on Silver Service as soon as they can and then follow up on the LSL and the Crescent. We did not get an opportunity to ask about the Eagle and CONO and the Card.

Later at the F&B Confab the strong hint was this will go across the board in 12 to 18 months.

I did not realize that the F&B Committee has been talking to DB to learn about their Restaurant Car Service. This is very encouraging because DB does an excellent job with their food service on their premier trains. They are also looking at introducing Cart service on the day trains in addition to standard Cafe service. All pretty encouraging.

I have to make a quick trip on the silver meteor next week from Florida to Maryland and back. I’m traveling coach because I’m traveling alone. I have been reading about flex dining service. As a coach passenger will I be allowed to buy a meal or am I stuck with cafe food? What else can I expect in terms of food? I picked the Meteor because of shorter running time now I see that the Sliver have full dining available. Did I make a mistake.

if you are in coach you are stuck with Cafe food on both the Silvers.

 

[Sauve850]

I was in V2 on 92 and V1 on 91 in bedrooms.
Toilet flushing noise is better on V1, but sliding door noise i

Usually take the Star back to Florida from DC or ALX at end of summer trips. I look forward to better food than last year. In 30+ years Ive never eaten a meal in my room.

Had a V2 bedroom last year but can no longer justify the price. Roomette for a night will work.

 

[Seaboarder3023]

I think all this is now headed in the right direction.

What we learned from Chestler is that this is pilot in name only. They just did not have enough staff trained for both trains but wanted to gey something out there sooner rather than later

They have every intention to formally launch on Silver Service as soon as they can and then follow up on the LSL and the Crescent. We did not get an opportunity to ask about the Eagle and CONO and the Card.

Later at the F&B Confab the strong hint was this will go across the board in 12 to 18 months.

I did not realize that the F&B Committee has been talking to DB to learn about their Restaurant Car Service. This is very encouraging because DB does an excellent job with their food service on their premier trains. They are also looking at introducing Cart service on the day trains in addition to standard Cafe service. All pretty encouraging.

if you are in coach you are stuck with Cafe food on both the Silvers.

Is there going to be somewhere to get all the info from the RPA conference? I'd really like to see it.

 

[pennyk]

Usually take the Star back to Florida from DC or ALX at end of summer trips. I look forward to better food than last year. In 30+ years Ive never eaten a meal in my room.

I have only had 2 meals in my room (after over 50 years of traveling), but I had no choice. One was Amstew on a late Lake Shore Limited many years ago. I could not eat it and ditched it elsewhere. The second time was dinner on Sunday on 92. The train was running 5+ hours late and we missed our dinner Saturday night out of Orlando. Sunday afternoon, it was decided that passengers still on the train at 5pm on Sunday would get dinner brought to their rooms. The menu was limited and no alcoholic beverage was served. I dislike eating in my room because I do not want to sleep in a room where I have consumed food. This did not bother me too much because I was not going to sleep in that room that night. (I had my alcoholic beverage once I got to ALX).

 

[west point]

The crescent may be sooner as OBS comes out of NOL. Diner was on 19/27 to NOL and is returning on 20 / 29. One picture showed it next to a V-1 ?

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

I wonder if it was used for executive travel to from NOL? What other reasons could there be since service isn’t imminent?

 

[John Bredin]

Traditional dining not being imminent on the Crescent wouldn't preclude doing flex dining in a real dining car. Like the Lake Shore Limited has been. All it would take is a Viewliner Diner coming out of mothballs faster than a new dining crew being hired & trained.

 

[Steve4031]

That steak looks pretty much like the ones served out west. It is great that they are going to get full dining service back in the next 12-18 months. DB is a good model for food service. I've had some excellent meals in their restaurant cars.

 

[joelkfla]

Traditional dining not being imminent on the Crescent wouldn't preclude doing flex dining in a real dining car. Like the Lake Shore Limited has been. All it would take is a Viewliner Diner coming out of mothballs faster than a new dining crew being hired & trained.

Also one additional LSA per run (1 cafe + 1 diner).

 

[jis]

Is there going to be somewhere to get all the info from the RPA conference? I'd really like to see it.

The slides will be posted at some point at the RPA web site I am sure. However, most of the material I have been mentioning won't be published since it was not in formal meetings that we talked about these things. It was in corridor and chat over a Beer and at the Ale Nations confab on F&B which was not a formal session but an informal get together with two of the reps on the F&B Committee.

The only way one gets personal access to this stuff is by becoming a member of RPA and then attending the Spring and Fall Meetings either in person (more access to information and scuttlebutt) or via Zoom.

What I find even more interesting than the formal sessions are the Committee Meetings, specially Routes and Schedules, and Infrastructure.

 

[Hytec]

Traditional dining not being imminent on the Crescent wouldn't preclude doing flex dining in a real dining car. Like the Lake Shore Limited has been. All it would take is a Viewliner Diner coming out of mothballs faster than a new dining crew being hired & trained.

I only hope that I'll be allowed eat my meals, regardless Flex of Real, in a real diner on 20/19 over the May 14th weekend. My last trip six months ago on 20/19 being forced(!) to eat marginally warm Flex in my roomette was unpleasant. Though I was allowed to go to the snack bar for bourbon. LOL

Sorry folks, I've been riding long distance trains since 1945. Once you have enjoyed fifty-plus years of individually ordered and professionally cooked and served meals in real diners on monogrammed plates with silverware and cloth napkins on the New York Central, Pennsylvania, Rock Island, Southern Pacific, Southern, Louisville & Nashville, Illinois Central, and the first 30-ish years of Amtrak, you expect to be treated like an appreciative consumer who will pay for good service.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

The crescent may be sooner as OBS comes out of NOL. Diner was on 19/27 to NOL and is returning on 20 / 29. One picture showed it next to a V-1 ?

20(30) did not have a diner
19(31) has a deadhead diner behind the bag-dorm