Can we make "contemporary dining" better?

[neroden]

Hopefully Gardner won't turn out to be another Thomas Downs.  If he is, we have to destroy his career as quickly as possible.

 

[cocojacoby]

I would love to see Amtrak turn "Contemporary Dining" into something like the meal service with JetBlue Mint.  

With JetBlue's Mint service, you get your choice of three "tasting" sized dishes out of six different choices.  The three smaller dishes equal one meal.  Two out of the six dishes are cold.  You also get a roll and a drink of your choice.  Dinner is followed by a dessert - usually gourmet ice cream.

Here is a sample menu: https://www.jetblue.com/flying-on-jetblue/mint/menu/2018-11/MintMenu_Nov18_LD_E_LAX_V01.pdf

Here is why I like this idea: (1) You can mix and match the selections so not every meal will feel the same; (2) This is extremely easy to stock and serve.  You just need a refrigerator and a warming oven; (3) It feels much more gourmet than the current Contemporary Dining options; (4) It is a good compromise between a genuine cooked meal and something much more cost efficient.

I have been very pleased with JetBlue's product.

Here is an example:

View attachment 11515

Except for that green thing on the right which looks like something my dog regurgitated, this seems like a good concept.

 

[cpotisch]

Except for that green thing on the right which looks like something my dog regurgitated, this seems like a good concept.

Oh. My. God. Absolutely spot on.  :giggle:

 

[VTTrain]

Except for that green thing on the right which looks like something my dog regurgitated, this seems like a good concept.

The beauty of this concept is that you don’t have to pick that.  You get six choices to choose from.  You can pick multiples of the same choice if you want.  

It’s very flexible.   

 

[cpotisch]

The beauty of this concept is that you don’t have to pick that.  You get six choices to choose from.  You can pick multiples of the same choice if you want.  

It’s very flexible.   

What actually was it? Because I have never seen a single edible item in my life that looks even remotely like that.

 

[VTTrain]

What actually was it? Because I have never seen a single edible item in my life that looks even remotely like that.

It wasn’t my photo.  I grabbed it from Google.  I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve tried , fortunately.   

 

[ehbowen]

What actually was it? Because I have never seen a single edible item in my life that looks even remotely like that.

I DO NOT LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM.
I DO NOT LIKE THEM, SAM-I-AM.

A TRAIN! A TRAIN! A TRAIN! A TRAIN!
COULD YOU, WOULD YOU ON A TRAIN?

NOT ON TRAIN! NOT IN A TREE!
NOT IN A CAR! SAM! LET ME BE!
I WOULD NOT, COULD NOT, IN A BOX.
I WOULD NOT, COULD NOT, WITH A FOX.
I WILL NOT EAT THEM IN A HOUSE.
I WILL NOT EAT THEM HERE OR THERE.
I WILL NOT EAT THEM ANYWHERE.
I DO NOT EAT GREEM EGGS AND HAM.
I DO NOT LIKE THEM, SAM-I-AM.

 

[JRR]

Actually, there is a restaurant in Boca that serves a brunch on Sunday that serves “Green Eggs and Ham” and I like it!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

What actually was it? Because I have never seen a single edible item in my life that looks even remotely like that.

I've seen that sort of texture and consistency before, but mainly in the context of obscure delicacies for the adventurous and multi-course meals for the upper class.  That being said, I often feel that producers of high volume "luxury" meals are prone to overreach with their cuisine choices in an effort to make their food seem fancier or more sophisticated than it really is.  Better to focus on a simpler dish you can "knock out of the park" rather than aim so high that you're virtually guaranteed to disappoint anyone who knows how it's supposed to look and taste.

Actually, there is a restaurant in Boca that serves a brunch on Sunday that serves “Green Eggs and Ham” and I like it!

So far as I am aware "green eggs" is merely a term for what happens naturally whenever you fry eggs after bacon/ham.

 

[bretton88]

What actually was it? Because I have never seen a single edible item in my life that looks even remotely like that.

Looks like an avocado spread, which would be about that color.

 

[cpotisch]

What actually was it? Because I have never seen a single edible item in my life that looks even remotely like that.

Looks like an avocado spread, which would be about that color.

Looks more pesto-esque to me. Any half decent avocado is going to be of a much lighter color than that.

 

[JRR]

So far as I am aware "green eggs" is merely a term for what happens naturally whenever you fry eggs after bacon/ham.

The dish has pulled pork, poached eggs and chimichurri sauce on an English muffin.

 

[cocojacoby]

The dish has pulled pork, poached eggs and chimichurri sauce on an English muffin.

And you can just heat up poached eggs?  That seems rather unappetizing.  I'm guessing it just about tastes like it looks!

 

[cpotisch]

And you can just heat up poached eggs?  That seems rather unappetizing.  I'm guessing it just about tastes like it looks!

You do know that JRR isn't talking about the food in that photo, right? The photo was posted by a different member. He's talking about a dish they serve at a restaurant in Boca, not JetBlue.

 

[west point]

Our group feels that Amtrak should keep diners open 24 hours That would probably increase revenue enough to pay for the extra DC personnel   ?  The biggest [problem we see is the need to restock at intermediate stations.

 

[Anthony V]

Hopefully Gardner won't turn out to be another Thomas Downs.  If he is, we have to destroy his career as quickly as possible.

Who is/was worse? Downs or Anderson/Gardner?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The dish has pulled pork, poached eggs and chimichurri sauce on an English muffin.

Sounds interesting.  Not sure I would like it but I would probably try it.  The first time I had conventional "green eggs" cooked in pork grease was at a summer camp in Iowa.  I was a little confused by the odd color but the taste was excellent.

 

[jebr]

Our group feels that Amtrak should keep diners open 24 hours That would probably increase revenue enough to pay for the extra DC personnel   ?  The biggest [problem we see is the need to restock at intermediate stations.

I doubt there's near enough business to justify staffing the diner 24/7; the extra crew members (you'd likely need a full second crew, after all) would almost certainly bring in less revenue than what they cost to employ.

It might make sense to add a second person in the cafe car to cover breaks and the overnight hours. That at least has a chance of being net profitable, and would be a lot more sensible than keeping the diner open 24/7.

 

[JRR]

You do know that JRR isn't talking about the food in that photo, right? The photo was posted by a different member. He's talking about a dish they serve at a restaurant in Boca, not JetBlue.

Correct!

 

[west point]

Amtrak had a test for a while on the Sunset for 24 hour dinning car service.  Do not remember details but it was reported to be revenue positive !  That is revenue covered extra costs.

 

[cocojacoby]

Amtrak had a test for a while on the Sunset for 24 hour dinning car service.  Do not remember details but it was reported to be revenue positive !  That is revenue covered extra costs.

Yes, I posted that article.  I think that if it did better than broke even on the Sunset it would do very very well on the Lake Shore Limited especially if something like a simplified Jet Blue concept is offered.  That train has people getting off and on all night long at decent population centers.

 

[jis]

Was that article the Andrew Selden claim? Or was it some other article from a different independent source?

 

[neroden]

Who is/was worse? Downs or Anderson/Gardner?

Downs was certainly the most incompetent Amtrak CEO ever, and probably caused more damage than any other Amtrak CEO.  Frankly, Downs turned everything he touched to trash. 

Before Amtrak, he mismanaged the Washington Union Station restoration project causing massive cost overruns and requiring a bailout and a redesign.

Before that, he mismanaged New Jersey Transit. 

After Amtrak, he got on the board of Washington Metro and proceeded to help sleepwalk it into signal failures and financial disaster.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/mutual-disdain-split-metro-board-youve-got-your-head-in-the-sand/2016/01/28/3ce852fa-bfcd-11e5-9443-7074c3645405_story.html?utm_term=.bf1f5845915b

At Amtrak, he first concealed losses until Amtrak needed an emergency infusion of cash from the DOT (which was delivered by one of the lower-down executives), infuriating DOT and Congress because he hadn't talked to them earlier.  Then he eliminated the Heritage cars but didn't order enough Viewliners to replace them.  He then implemented the idiotic Mercer consulting "three a week everywhere" plan at Amtrak, apparently actually believing that it made sense. This blew the biggest hole ever in Amtrak's budget.  Amtrak ran out of cash a second time and needed another emergency infusion from the government, includingh the Penn Station mortgage.

Remember, this was during the early 1990s, which were a booming time for rail ridership.  The fundamentals were good; riders were banging on their door.  Downs managed to screw up everything, and I mean everything.  He's frighteningly incompetent.

You could argue that Roger Lewis's very early testimony to Congress where he said he didn't know what they'd do with a billion dollars and didn't want it was the biggest single damaging move Amtrak ever made.  But the rest of his term was much better than Downs.

Some other people's ratings, with politically incorrect nicknames:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4110939

----

The jury is still out on Mr. Anderson.  Lunatic, idiotic proposals like replacing the SW Chief with a bus fall in the "Thomas Downs" level of stupidity. On the other hand, the upgrade to the cafe car menu + removal of dining cars is far more sensible than anything Downs ever did.  He's probably going to be a bad Amtrak President, but you have to try really hard to be as bad as Mr. Downs was.

 

[neroden]

I doubt there's near enough business to justify staffing the diner 24/7; the extra crew members (you'd likely need a full second crew, after all) would almost certainly bring in less revenue than what they cost to employ.

It might make sense to add a second person in the cafe car to cover breaks and the overnight hours. That at least has a chance of being net profitable, and would be a lot more sensible than keeping the diner open 24/7.

On the LSL, it would make sense to run the dining car as a second cafe and serve both legs (Alb-Bos and Alb-Nyp) as well as having one or the other open during all of 24 hours.

 

[cocojacoby]

Was that article the Andrew Selden claim? Or was it some other article from a different independent source?

This is it: https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/getting-there-is-half-the-fun/?RAchannel=home