Favorite food on Amtrak?

[Devil's Advocate]

Amtrak diners on the Viewliners are all heritage equipment that were built in the 1950's and 1960's. Those "barely functional" kitchens that you refer to were used to cook some very elaborate upscale and fancy cuisine back in the day.

There are no Viewliners within several hundred miles of here. I have ridden a few but the food seemed to be of the same quality as the rest of the system.

As for the Superliners; I've been in those kitchens and they are well equipped and of decent size.

If they have actual working grills and skillets and such but simply refuse to use them then that just makes the whole experience that much more depressing.

On the CZ's menu, many of the dinner choices come with a "vegetable medley". Can someone tell me what veggies are in it and are they mushy, soft or crunchy?

Soft and mushy in my experience, at least on the trains I ride. The specific veggies vary.

The pancakes are heated in a convection oven; not a microwave.

Either way they're both primarily used as quick-action warmers for frozen food. A convection oven is a distinctly different appliance but it still doesn't make the food taste any better than if it were cooked in a microwave. At least not in my experience.

The worst coffee that I've ever had is served at a little bagle place in LA's Union Station. I can pretty much drink anything and that was the worst ever, and the first time I ever threw away a full cup of coffee. It was undrinkable. The honor for the second worst goes to Starbucks. I won't even go into one anymore. Burnt coffee just isn't my style.

I've still yet to visit LAUS but thanks for the warning. As for Starbucks I really couldn't agree more. I don't understand why any self respecting coffee drinker would pay good money to consume that stuff. If you have to dump a lot of other crap in there to make it drinkable then it's no longer coffee at that point. It's basically nothing more than a coffee flavored milkshake by the time Starbucks has made it into something palatable.

It all comes down to the chef. Get the wrong one and it is for show. Get the right one and you'll get what you ordered.

An actual chef would not only cook the meat as requested, they would also mash up some actual potatoes and stir fry some fresh veggies. I've yet to see anything like that on my plate. I don't hold any specific resentment toward the cooks. I understand they probably feel they are doing what is best within the limitations of their specific circumstances. However, the result is generally poor nonetheless. On a network that has you stuck on a train for long periods of time it would be nice to have quality meals to go along with it. Or maybe Amtrak could allow more flexible ticketing to provide for stopovers between trains where you can take some time off between connections and try some of the local cuisine and get a good night's rest. The really sad thing is that some of the trips I've been pricing out on Amtrak lately were not that much lower in cost than what VIA charges for some of their much higher rated trains.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Amtrak diners on the Viewliners are all heritage equipment that were built in the 1950's and 1960's. Those "barely functional" kitchens that you refer to were used to cook some very elaborate upscale and fancy cuisine back in the day.

There are no Viewliners within several hundred miles of here. I have ridden a few but the food seemed to be of the same quality as the rest of the system.

As for the Superliners; I've been in those kitchens and they are well equipped and of decent size.

If they have actual working grills and skillets and such but simply refuse to use them then that just makes the whole experience that much more depressing.

On the CZ's menu, many of the dinner choices come with a "vegetable medley". Can someone tell me what veggies are in it and are they mushy, soft or crunchy?

Soft and mushy in my experience, at least on the trains I ride. The specific veggies vary.

The pancakes are heated in a convection oven; not a microwave.

Either way they're both primarily used as quick-action warmers for frozen food. A convection oven is a distinctly different appliance but it still doesn't make the food taste any better than if it were cooked in a microwave. At least not in my experience.

The worst coffee that I've ever had is served at a little bagle place in LA's Union Station. I can pretty much drink anything and that was the worst ever, and the first time I ever threw away a full cup of coffee. It was undrinkable. The honor for the second worst goes to Starbucks. I won't even go into one anymore. Burnt coffee just isn't my style.

I've still yet to visit LAUS but thanks for the warning. As for Starbucks I really couldn't agree more. I don't understand why any self respecting coffee drinker would pay good money to consume that stuff. If you have to dump a lot of other crap in there to make it drinkable then it's no longer coffee at that point. It's basically nothing more than a coffee flavored milkshake by the time Starbucks has made it into something palatable.

It all comes down to the chef. Get the wrong one and it is for show. Get the right one and you'll get what you ordered.

An actual chef would not only cook the meat as requested, they would also mash up some actual potatoes and stir fry some fresh veggies. I've yet to see anything like that on my plate. I don't hold any specific resentment toward the cooks. I understand they probably feel they are doing what is best within the limitations of their specific circumstances. However, the result is generally poor nonetheless. On a network that has you stuck on a train for long periods of time it would be nice to have quality meals to go along with it. Or maybe Amtrak could allow more flexible ticketing to provide for stopovers between trains where you can take some time off between connections and try some of the local cuisine and get a good night's rest. The really sad thing is that some of the trips I've been pricing out on Amtrak lately were not that much lower in cost than what VIA charges for some of their much higher rated trains.

If you want better food in the diners, write your Congressman. For it was Congress - in its almost constant micromismanagement of Amtrak - that mandated, beginning with FY 2006, that Amtrak reduce the costs associated with food service aboard long distance trains, or have funding cut off for both food service and sleeping cars. The result is what we have today: "Simplified Dining Service," as it is known by. This means onboard kitchens that are underutilized, with usually only one cook in the kitchen. Under these circumstances, Amtrak has actually done amazingly well to keep food as good as it is. To read more about this debacle follow this link: http://www.trainweb.com/sds/

 

[rtabern]

The best meal I ever had on Amtrak was the past 2 times I rode on the Coast Starlight... the Eggplant Parmesan I had for lunch was EXCELLENT. It was so good I asked the LSA if there was enough... could I also have it for dinner? (and yes, they did honor my request!) I guess they load it on in Oakland and its made my a special company or something. I am not even a big egg plant fan and it was very good.

The worst meal I had would have to be last fall when the Great Dome was on the Cardinal. The "egg" for breakfast was like a badly heated center part of an Egg McMuffin patty. Blah! If the Dome make a repeat performace on the Cardinal this fall... I'm going to do it... but pack some PB&J for the trip. Hahaha.

 

[Shanghai]

I call the omlet served in the Cardinal dining car, Rubber Eggs!! Add to that the horrible

Turkey Sausage and I only drink the orange juice and coffee, then go to my room and wait

for lunch!!

 

[GlobalistPotato]

A question about the Railroad French Toast: Is it sugary enough to make someone have a sugar crash?

 

[amamba]

What exactly is served in the PPC?

And does anyone have an opinion on the food aboard Acela?

I actually enjoyed the food in the PPC. I had the ancho-chile beef and the lamb shanks that was mentioned by a pp. Both pretty tasty. I also have some eggplant parm for lunch.

In my first post I said that my favorite meal on amtrak so far was on the acela - the grilled chicken tandoori ceasar salad was exceptional. It had big chunks of paneer (indian cheese), fresh chicken, and lots of yummy romaine lettuce - which is almost always absent from the salads in the diner.

Here is a picture of it:

I also had these really yummy sausages one day, although the accompanying "sauce" was really oily and gross.

 

[me_little_me]

The coffee. The coffee. The coffee.

Is the worst part of the whole "dining experience" in my view. I've had lots of bad coffee in hotel lobbies all over the country and all over the world, but I feel Amtrak takes the cake when it comes to truly bad brew. Frankly, I've had better canned coffee for Pete's sake.

Guess we drink different Amtrak coffee. I've taken LD trains since the '70s and have always enjoyed its excellence.

I agree with others' comments about Starbucks but when you put milk and sugar in, anything tastes good. It's like veggie burgers - with lettuce, tomato, bacon and ketchup, you don't taste the burger anyway. Starbucks customers drink double mocha, cappufrappachinos with extra milk. You couldn't even tell if the coffee were left out!

 

[RailFanLNK]

I've always enjoyed Amtrak's coffee. I'm a member of a 12 Step support group and have drank awful coffee for about 25 years, so it really takes something very lousy (coffeewise) for me to tell.

My favorite meal on any train is the Flat Iron Steak. I have yet to have a crappy one and to this day my stepdaughter Jenna still raves about that "steak we had on the CZ" over 3 years ago.

Close runner up for me is the made to order omelette. I love having those for breakfast. And yes, the French Toast is a very close 3 place for me. I've not really had any bad meals on Amtrak, just the service can be uneven from time to time.

 

[train person]

Sam Adams or Sierra Nevada is always pretty good.....

 

[TVRM610]

I agree with others' comments about Starbucks but when you put milk and sugar in, anything tastes good. It's like veggie burgers - with lettuce, tomato, bacon and ketchup, you don't taste the burger anyway. Starbucks customers drink double mocha, cappufrappachinos with extra milk. You couldn't even tell if the coffee were left out!

This starbucks customer drinks a latte which is espresso and milk. While not the best I've ever had, Starbucks is far from the worst and provides a fairly consistent product. I do agree that the straight coffee that starbucks serves is quite bitter.

 

[TVRM610]

I'm not sure if it's available system wide but the "Cheese and Cracker Plate" from the Cafe car is quite nice. 4 types of cheeses (gouda, sharp, cheddar, etc.) and a couple different cracker packs makes a pretty nice snack in my book.

 

[The Journalist]

I'm not sure if it's available system wide but the "Cheese and Cracker Plate" from the Cafe car is quite nice. 4 types of cheeses (gouda, sharp, cheddar, etc.) and a couple different cracker packs makes a pretty nice snack in my book.

I enjoy these as well.

I had buffalo meatloaf on the Zephyr last year on one of my Reno-Salt Lake trips. Excellent stuff. This may cause some facepalms, but the blue cheese salad they served that trip was easily my favorite, ever-and I don't like salad usually.

 

[chandj]

Breakfast omlette is usually good, and the desserts are fine. Otherwise, unless there's a special, I think the food is pretty average-to-grim. I don't eat meat, but my companion does and he says the lamb is very good when you can get it. The dining room experience is a highlight for us, but that's because of the people we meet and very seldom because of the food we eat!

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

When I do my day turns on the Heartland Flyer, I always start the journey with a Sausage and Egg Biscuit and Mountain Dew and on my way home, relax with a "Grilled" Cheeseburger and Microbrew (soda if I'm not in a beer mood) as the train courses through the Arbuckles. While the sandwiches are no better than something I can grab at 7-11 (and on the HF they run about a buck less than the regular Amtrak pricing)they sure taste a lot better since they're on a train