Buying ice / dry ice / cold packs, or refrigeration, near Chicago Unio

[Devil's Advocate]

If you have concerns with the "edibility" of the food...

Special Menus & Special Dietary Requirements (with a 72 hour notice)

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241337915248&WT.z_va_evt=redirect&WT.z_va_topic=Onboard%20Information&WT.z_va_unit=Special%20Meals&WT.z_va_group=Dining

http://www.amtrakfoodfacts.com/

1) Click on a route.

2) Click on a menu item.

3) Read a description of your selection, nutritional date and allergen information.

From the first link...

Low Fat, Low Cholesterol, Low Sodium, Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Peanut Free Meals

Amtrak does not offer meals specifically designated as low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium, gluten free, wheat free or peanut free. Most dinner entrees are not prepared on the dining car. The fat, cholesterol, sodium, gluten, wheat and peanut content may vary, and cannot be controlled or modified by the chef.

Plan for Contingencies

If you have diabetes or special dietary requirements please make sure that you carry sufficient nourishment with you to meet your dietary needs.

From the second link...

This list is compiled based on information provided by Amtrak approved food suppliers, as of 5/8/13. Ingredient changes may occur before this list is updated. Amtrak makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy of these items.

 

[TinCan782]

If you have concerns with the "edibility" of the food...

Special Menus & Special Dietary Requirements (with a 72 hour notice)

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241337915248&WT.z_va_evt=redirect&WT.z_va_topic=Onboard%20Information&WT.z_va_unit=Special%20Meals&WT.z_va_group=Dining

http://www.amtrakfoodfacts.com/

1) Click on a route.

2) Click on a menu item.

3) Read a description of your selection, nutritional date and allergen information.

From the first link...

Low Fat, Low Cholesterol, Low Sodium, Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Peanut Free Meals

Amtrak does not offer meals specifically designated as low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium, gluten free, wheat free or peanut free. Most dinner entrees are not prepared on the dining car. The fat, cholesterol, sodium, gluten, wheat and peanut content may vary, and cannot be controlled or modified by the chef.

Plan for Contingencies

If you have diabetes or special dietary requirements please make sure that you carry sufficient nourishment with you to meet your dietary needs.

From the second link...

This list is compiled based on information provided by Amtrak approved food suppliers, as of 5/8/13. Ingredient changes may occur before this list is updated. Amtrak makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy of these items.

Thanks "Advocate"!

 

[neroden]

Nathanael - I spent five years operating a cross-country ski lodge with a vegetarian menu that catered to special needs diets. It would be easier if I knew what you can't eat

Guar gum. The damn stuff shows up in the weirdest places. It shouldn't really be in ANYTHING, frankly. You'd never put it in a homemade recipe unless you were cooking gluten-free. And it was extremely rare until about 10 years ago. But since then it's been infiltrating the food supply, showing up in sauces, breads, dressings, coconut milk (!!!), ice cream (!!!!),....
Basically anything I bring with me myself is OK. And much of the cafe car food is OK because it has ingredients lists on it. Unfortunately, Amtrak also refuses to provide any list of what's stocked in the cafe cars in advance, so I can't rely on that either.

Anyway at the dining cars, at dinner I can probably have the steak (no sauce, ugh) and the baked potato. Neither of which I actually like. And the vegetables, I guess. At breakfast, if I knew that the eggs were actual eggs from a shell, I could have them, but some pre-made egg mixes have guar gum in them (yeearrrgh), and Amtrak simply refuses to document what they're providing. At lunch, there are potentially zero options, especially since I've seen them fail to stock the salad!

It's quite frustrating and I'm going to try to escalate the problem, but I don't expect any solutions within the next year.

If you have a source of dry ice where you live, I like niemi24's suggestion that dry ice will last a week. You should definitely insulate the dry ice itself, so it will not melt (vaporize) as quickly, and so it won't freeze adjacent food.

That's a great suggestion. I have little enough experience with dry ice that I didn't really know how long it would last....
We tried the typical cold packs (I've had medication shipped with them too), and they're great for about two days but not really for three (perhaps because the trains were being kept very hot, perhaps because my insulated bag isn't insulated thickly enough). I don't want to carry a larger cooler with thicker sides because of space considerations, particularly in the Viewliner.

This is why I was thinking "replenish the cold in Chicago", but if the dry ice lasts longer then I wouldn't have to.

The CVS website says that store's phone number is 312-589-8991. Why not call them and see what ice procudts they have available?

Will do this too.

I always put a wide-mouth, tight, bottle of cold water into my lunch box, no ice. Do you have a Nalgene bottle that you could obtain ice to fill on the train, then top up with water for better temperature transfer? They are guaranteed leakproof!

Also appreciated as an idea.

If not allergic, you can take seeds, nuts and dried fruit, no refrigeration needed. Then some yogurt, or cheese and crackers (yogurt & cheese really only need to be cool, if you are going to consume fairly quickly). Raw vegetables (replenish the stock whenever possible, carrots, sweet peppers, kolrabi sticks...cool is best, cold not necessary). I've also been known to open a small can of smoked oysters or tuna. And some organic chocolate...

Tried this and other "no refrigeration required" food but it was getting pretty unsatisfactory by the third day!
Anyway, thanks to everyone for very helpful suggestions.

 

[neroden]

I wonder where the disconnect is occurring. It's not as though Amtrak is constantly restocking the kitchen with random goods that would require substantial effort to republish on a regular basis.

The commissary is currently claiming to Customer Relations that they get completely different recipes at different times and places (i.e. the seemingly identical dinner rolls fall off the back of an unmarked truck ), and therefore cannot provide ingredients for anything. They may be lying, of course.

Several members have compared Amtrak to Applebee's but in reality Amtrak has among the most limited and regimented menus I've seen outside of a theme park concession stand. Seems like this information should be easy to confirm and disseminate.

Yeah, it does, doesn't it? I've gone through quite a lot of trouble to get ingredients information from quite a lot of restaurants, but I have never had so much stonewalling as I've gotten from Amtrak. I've been to one place *supplied by Aramark* which literally emailed Aramark to ask for their recipes and got replies within 2 hours featuring the exact product information sheets!
Anyway, thanks to everyone, I've got several new things to try!

 

[tricia]

If you find yourself short of time in Chicago, and are traveling in a sleeper (before and/or after Chicago), remember that there's an ice/soda machine in the Metro Lounge in Union Station. I re-upped ice in a cooler there once myself, when delayed train shrank my connection time to practically nothing.

 

[KmH]

FWIW - Amtrak carry-on baggage personal item size limits:

• Coolers, purses or small bags no larger than 12” x 12” x 12”

 

[oregon pioneer]

FWIW - Amtrak carry-on baggage personal item size limits:

• Coolers, purses or small bags no larger than 12” x 12” x 12”

I've seen people with *much* larger coolers, and I think there is definitely a case to be made for medical necessity here, so should not be a problem! After all, D.A. cited Amtrak's own text as saying "If you have diabetes or special dietary requirements please make sure that you carry sufficient nourishment with you to meet your dietary needs."

 

[guest]

Tricia is ahead of me: What if your arrival into Chicago is too late for you to make it to CVS and back in time for your connection?

 

[Metra Electric Guest]

Also a Wal-Mart with groceries is near Union (closer than Whole Paycheck I think) - can't remember address off hand, as well as Jewel and Mariano's (local grocery stores) on Halsted.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

The commissary is currently claiming to Customer Relations that they get completely different recipes at different times and places (i.e. the seemingly identical dinner rolls fall off the back of an unmarked truck ), and therefore cannot provide ingredients for anything. They may be lying, of course.

Not lying just using multi-venders for the product. Commerical kitchen cooking a 10,000 meals for Amtrak, then prepares 10,000 meals for the next customer. When you need a resupply the meal make come from a different plant in a different state. Quality control could be maintained between plants for a price. Which it seem is not getting done.

 

[neroden]

Even if it's from different plants they should have standard nationwide recipes. Suppliers like Aramark generally do.

 

[Ryan]

He opened with the premise of "Amtrak does not provide edible food." His words. So he opened the door to this fair criticism and the defense of Amtrak's food.

No. He opened with the premise of "Amtrak does not provide edible food FOR ME. Fortunately most folks were able to get past that and are actually trying to be helpful.

Not lying just using multi-venders for the product. Commerical kitchen cooking a 10,000 meals for Amtrak, then prepares 10,000 meals for the next customer. When you need a resupply the meal make come from a different plant in a different state. Quality control could be maintained between plants for a price. Which it seem is not getting done.

Amtrak knows who these vendors are, yes? So reach out to all of them and get ingredient lists. Some foods may be safe regardless of where they come from. If the offending substance is in the steak sauce from Vendor A, but not in the steak sauce from Vendor B, then Nathaniel can make an educated decision (or ask the kitchen staff what the packaging says perhaps).

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

No I don't think Amtrak is spending the time and money on watching, supervisor the food service.

Should it be done? Yes

Can it be done? Yes

Will it be done? No

I think Amtrak is just trying to save money. If it taste close to the mark, do you think they care what in it. They should, but money is the driver now.

 

[neroden]

Well, I suppose it depends on what sort of money is the driver. If they're interested in revenue, they need to clean up their act. If they're mindlessly focused on cutting costs and don't mind if they cut revenue too, then that's different (I've seen a lot of businesses destroy themselves that way).