Amtrak meal photos?

[amamba]

Hi- When people are concerned about the warmth of the food on Amtrak- why not have them heat it up if it isn't warm enough?

I saw someone do that on my recent SM trip.

Also, when I was on the SM, one of my tablemates ordered "toast" with breakfast. I thought that they didn't have toasters?

 

[yarrow]

.

Seriously? Possibly only the silliest thread behind the "have you found the soap in Amtrak restrooms" thread.

Nobody who has posted in here cares if this thread is personally approved by Taco Bell. Seriously.

If you took a moment to actually read carefully, you would have see that post was by a Ted Bell, not from Taco Bell.

I guess it would be fair to now say that nobody should care about posts from Texas Sunset anymore. :angry2:

i think mr sunset was being facetious regarding mr bell. mr bell and mr guest seem to have no sense of humor

 

[Ted Bell]

i think mr sunset was being facetious regarding mr bell. mr bell and mr guest seem to have no sense of humor

I thought it was funny! Well done Sunset.

 

[trainman74]

Also, when I was on the SM, one of my tablemates ordered "toast" with breakfast. I thought that they didn't have toasters?

Bread can be toasted in an oven, although I think the breakfast bread is usually just "warmed" rather than literally toasted.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

Emergency rations on a very late train (this was inedible)

Ribs for dinner on the EB

I had read your blog, and remember thinking that the chicken fricassee couldn't have been as bad as you said it was. Now, after seeing the picture, it looks worse. I can't believe they actually served that.

How were those ribs? They look good, and at least they gave you a knife you could actually cut them with.

 

[E Runs]

Seriously? Possibly only the silliest thread behind the "have you found the soap in Amtrak restrooms" thread.

I don't know about soap but I'd pay a king's ransom to find the lemon berry cake they serve for dessert.

 

[Nickrapak]

Before reading the rest of the post, I thought that was a picture of a prepackaged soft-bake cookie and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. But a pot pie? Never would have guessed that.

 

[Alexandria Nick]

Every time I'm stopped in Cumberland, I can see that Chick-Fil-A just blocks away and wish I could magically have a chicken sandwich and waffle fries teleported to me. Cumberland is my usual dining time, so it hits at just the wrong time.

Anyhow. Sure wish they had that burger on the dinner menu. Something like 85% of all my trips are WAS-PGH and back, so its always the exact same menu. I've had that roasted chicken more times than I can count or want to count.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Is the roasted chicken good at least?

 

[yarrow]

Is the roasted chicken good at least?

i think the roasted chicken is terrible. i keep ordering it on long trips after trying the other entrees as i do like chicken and i figure maybe they have improvedit. it is always dry as a bone about half way through.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Emergency rations on a very late train (this was inedible)

Ribs for dinner on the EB

I had read your blog, and remember thinking that the chicken fricassee couldn't have been as bad as you said it was. Now, after seeing the picture, it looks worse. I can't believe they actually served that.

How were those ribs? They look good, and at least they gave you a knife you could actually cut them with.

The ribs are pretty.good. That emergency food looks no good but you might as well just gobble it down and forget about it.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

Anyhow. Sure wish they had that burger on the dinner menu.

I agree with that, just on general principle. I think I'd prefer most of the lunch items over just about anything on the dinner menu, at least on all the trains I've ridden so far.

 

[Heading North]

I'll second the ribs for dinner--had them on the Silver Star last week and was quite pleased. Big portions, too.

 

[rrdude]

For those looking for a burger, DO NOT DISMISS (if it's still on the menu) the vegetarian BLACK BEAN BURGER. It is better than ANY real beef burger I have ever had on Amtrak. EVEN MY TEENAGE SON LIKED IT! Think about it, they can't "really" over-cook" it. Sometimes, you can order a lunch menu item at dinner, but it totally depends upon chef/lead LSA. I know it's not "right", but greasing the palms of those in the diner can make your dining experience go from "Meh" to "Outstanding"

 

[Alexandria Nick]

Is the roasted chicken good at least?

i think the roasted chicken is terrible. i keep ordering it on long trips after trying the other entrees as i do like chicken and i figure maybe they have improvedit. it is always dry as a bone about half way through.

I would agree with that too. I keep wanting to try the steak but it always sells through. The Special has yet to tickle my eating bone on any trip.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

I tried the "veggie" burger in the cafe car and it was like chewing on carpet. I hope the one in the diner is better than that.

Those ribs do look good. I hear the meatloaf is pretty good as well.

 

[ScottRu]

Good idea, DP (but now I'm hungry!)

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Is the roasted chicken good at least?

i think the roasted chicken is terrible. i keep ordering it on long trips after trying the other entrees as i do like chicken and i figure maybe they have improvedit. it is always dry as a bone about half way through.

I've had the Roasted Chicken several times and almost always found it to be moist, tender and most importantly filling, especially if I get a big Baked Potato with it It can be a little messy to eat unless you go in and rip it apart, trying not to growl at it. The one time it came out on the dry side, I quickly fixed that by "marinating" it in a little Italian Dressing. Those little Dressing Packets can really kick up a Potato or other side dish as well.

 

[EB_OBS]

For those looking for a burger, DO NOT DISMISS (if it's still on the menu) the vegetarian BLACK BEAN BURGER. It is better than ANY real beef burger I have ever had on Amtrak. EVEN MY TEENAGE SON LIKED IT! Think about it, they can't "really" over-cook" it. Sometimes, you can order a lunch menu item at dinner, but it totally depends upon chef/lead LSA. I know it's not "right", but greasing the palms of those in the diner can make your dining experience go from "Meh" to "Outstanding"

I'll second that. I'm a carnivore for sure but I genuinely thought this burger was very tasty. So much so that I've enjoyed it a dozen times or more when on the train for lunch.

 

[TraneMan]

I'm like EBS_OBS, I am a big meat eater, and I really do enjoy the Black Bean Burger is great! I buy it now for ourselves at home.

I've had the roasted chicken this past summer, and it was very good.. full of season. Our table mate had the ribs, and he shared that with me, and that was super tender, the knife wasn't needed!

The steak was a big flop for me this year. :-(

 

[TVRM610]

I tried the "veggie" burger in the cafe car and it was like chewing on carpet. I hope the one in the diner is better than that.

The veggie burgers on the cafe cars are microwavable gardenburgers like you can buy in the grocery store. The entire burger (bun and patty) is frozen and then microwaved.

The black bean veggie burgers on the dining car are totally different. I'm not sure where they come from but they are much better quality and larger patties. The patties and the buns are warmed separately (I'm not sure how the patty is warmed but I'm guessing in the convection oven, you can choose to have cheese on it and the cheese is melted nicely usually). The buns are full size hamburger buns and they sometimes even come toasted. To top it off you get lettuce, tomato, pickle, and red onion on the side to dress your burger according. I always order the veggie burger for lunch in the diner.

 

[TVRM610]

http://picpaste.com/IMG_2640-pHyLDrPb.JPG

Here is a picture of my pancakes on the Capitol Limited. They were delicious. The main reason I took the picture was because it's the first time in years and years I've been on an Amtrak Train that was using China, Glassware, and Linen Tablecloths.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I remember one time when they were offering crab cakes for breakfast. That was actually decent.

 

[amamba]

The ribs were really quite good! I really liked them. We liked them so much on the EB that we both had them again on the SM over Thanksgiving, and again, we were very pleased. It is also a LOT of food. The sauce on them is pretty good, too.

I almost threw up a little after eating the chicken fricasse. It was disgusting. That KFC that we had for dinner (after the chicken fricasse) was like the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. However, I do partly blame myself - I should have picked up snacks at the grocery store when we stuck in Glasgow overnight. We were able to walk around the town, and I went to the grocery store and got some drinks and magazines. I should have grabbed some granola bars or something to stave off the hunger. It just never occurred to me that we were going to miss lunch and then be served half portions for dinner that same day. Followed by a day of inedible offerings until we got the KFC.

Now I know better - we came prepared with snacks on the SM just in case - and it was good we had them since we missed lunch on our second day (delayed into lunch but no lunch in the diner)

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Thanks for the info about the black bean burger in the diner, I will have to try it next time.