Lake Shore/Capitol Limited Sleeping Car Menu Refresh 1/16/19

[VTTrain]

I think you put far too much stock in how much Amtrak pays attention to complaining on Internet forums.

It wouldn't surprise me if customers were giving the attendants an earful - especially if they didn't know about the chance until they were given a menu.

 

[TinCan782]

I'm sure 1/19 is now the official start date

The "0119" in the file name is the month and year, not the day 19. This follows Amtrak's convention for naming other menus.

Capitol-Limited-Sleeping-Car-Menu-0119.pdf

Where did the 19th of January come from? Just wondering...doesn't make a difference to me as my next trip on the LSL not until next fall.

 

[Ryan]

It wouldn't surprise me if customers were giving the attendants an earful - especially if they didn't know about the chance until they were given a menu.

Customers were notified of the change, and the feedback from people that have actually experienced his has been mixed.  While some probably did give an earful, the whining and complaining of Internet Railroaders is not representative of actual customer feedback.

We've also known all along that this was something of a trial, and that Amtrak would be further tweaking things.  Adding hot meals as equipment modifications required to do so are completed makes more sense than the angry mob theory.

 

[PVD]

From the very start of the project, they solicited feedback from actual passengers, using both e-mailed surveys, and people on board "interviewing" riders. I sat with a manager on the CL and was given the opportunity to comment on what was offered, and how it might be improved. I suspect the opinions of current passengers carry somewhat more weight than the cries from the peanut gallery.  Lots of companies do pay some attention to their social media presence, but in this case they worked pretty hard at collecting info directly from the most important cohort.

 

[VTTrain]

the feedback from people that have actually experienced his has been mixed.  

Interesting.  Are you privy to Amtrak's internal information?  I'm surprised that the change would result in a generally "mixed" reaction.  I'm not saying you are wrong.  I am just curious as to your source.

 

[cpotisch]

I think you put far too much stock in how much Amtrak pays attention to complaining on Internet forums.

Obviously they could care less about angry rants on AU. But I do think that the many letters and complaints that have been sent to Anderson and the board, may have had an actual effect. Fundamentally, there is no way of knowing, but I imagine they made these changes for a reason.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Around half of the peanut gallery participants seemed to be neutral or even pro-change by my memory.  Some of them even called for the new boxed lunch menu to be brought to most/all trains before trying it.  The people who actually tried these meals seemed to have a mixed reaction bordering on thankful just to have any food at all.

 

[cpotisch]

Interesting.  Are you privy to Amtrak's internal information?  I'm surprised that the change would result in a generally "mixed" reaction.  I'm not saying you are wrong.  I am just curious as to your source.

I think he’s talking about the general stances of AU members. Many people here have said that they support “contemporary dining”, with their main points being that the meals are actually of a pretty high quality, that the unlimited soft drinks and free hard drink are an improvement, and that the breakfast box is pretty fresh/tasty and very filling. I definitely disagree that it’s an improvement as do plenty of other members (seems like it’s probably roughly 25/75 for/against it), but 1@Ryan[/USER] is definitely correct that reception here has been pretty mixed.

 

[VTTrain]

I think he’s talking about the general stances of AU members. 

I don't think so.  Here is what he said, "the whining and complaining of Internet Railroaders is not representative of actual customer feedback."  (emphasis mine)

 

[PVD]

Keep in mind that there were separate issues presented. Lack of choices, particularly at breakfast, inability of coach passengers to participate, no hot entrees, and diminution of the whole dining experience were common points. There were certainly people who didn't have a problem with one or more of those, as well as people who liked the inclusion of an alcoholic beverage.  Notwithstanding how we got there, is there now consensus that we have taken a major step in addressing the most important concerns of the sleeper passengers?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Having done a bit more investigating I can now sympathize with the disheartened wine drinkers. 

Calling a canned drink a cocktail is an insult to proper alcoholics everywhere.

If that's the direction we're going we may as well break out the tailgate tallboys.

At least we still have a Tito taster and a Maker mini...for now.

 

[VTTrain]

Having done a bit more investigating I can now sympathize with the disheartened wine drinkers. 

Calling a canned drink a cocktail is an insult to proper alcoholics everywhere.

To make matters worse, Amtrak's retail price is $10.  In the store a four-pack sells for $12.99.

As much as my brain wants to tell me that this is wrong, I am struggling to see why this canned beverage is any worse than a canned mixer combined with alcohol on-site.  I have one or two drinks a month, so I am far from an expert on this.

 

[PVD]

Just to help clear up a point from a few posts back, when the change was first made, Amtrak did send e-mails to passengers who would be affected by the transition. I was notified in advance for my LSL and CL legs that I had scheduled prior to the change that were going to take place after the transition. I would guess that is no longer taking place (or reasonably req'd) since the system has been in place quite a while and should not be a surprise to anyone.

 

[jebr]

Assuming the breakfast menu allows for multiple items from the menu (for example, I can get a sandwich with yogurt and cereal) I think it's pretty close to what I'd envision for a decent meal service in this style. I was fine overall with the delivery style and the quality of the entrees on the Lake Shore and Capitol this past September/October, and being able to get some dinner going into NYC on the Lake Shore was a definite bonus. I still think the ability to pre-order from a larger selection of entrees and/or doing a more regular rotation of entrees (maybe every two weeks like on the Acela) would help with adding more variety to the menu.

I can half-see the reason for pre-mixed beverages if you're wanting to not have to stock both gin and tonic water, but with ginger ale being stocked already, it seems easier to just stock rum onboard versus having a specialized drink just for rum and ginger. That'd also allow options such as rum and Pepsi or with people to have their own mixer to go with it. Of course, that could be said for gin as well, but at least there's some small justification for it.

 

[user 14106]

press release: https://media.amtrak.com/2019/01/contemporary-dining-improvements-on-two-amtrak-routes/

 

[PVD]

Accounting and inventory control is easier with pre mixes. 

 

[VTTrain]

Amtrak did send e-mails to passengers who would be affected by the transition.

I applaud their being proactive about the changes.

 

[PVD]

At that time, it was a radical change, and I have to admit that if I was not aware in advance, I might have taken it out on the wrong people. I was particularly happy that a manager rode the CL, which was on my return trip, and she spent a good bit of time, individually, doing detailed interviews about the new service and what we as passengers, felt might make it better.

 

[dlagrua]

I applaud their being proactive about the changes.

• Lunch & Dinner, hot items: Chicken Penne Alfredo, Beef Provencal, Asian Noodle Bowl; chilled item: Antipasto Plate
  

• Deluxe Continental Breakfast, hot items: Oatmeal, Breakfast sandwich; chilled items: Muffins, Yogurt, Fresh Fruit, Hard-boiled eggs, cereals
  

An improvement but at lunch and dinner I try to avoid red meats, high fat  and high carbs. It looks like the items that I try to avoid but I guess not much Amtrak  food was ever healthy.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Canned cocktails are generally made with lower quality ingredients and suffer the same adverse reactions as canned beer.  I cannot tell you the details of what specifically happens during/after the canning process or why, I just know it tastes terrible to me.  Here in the US many canned cocktails are nothing but malt liquor trying to imitate a distilled spirit.

 

[user 14106]

I am encouraged to see they spoke to passengers about this and made improvements. The dinner entree offering seems on par with the Cardinal and the pre-contemporary Lake Shore (obviously we still don't have the traditional table service, table cloths, and some lunch and breakfast items.)

I guess if they were considering further improvements one final improvement I'd like to see would be the addition of some lighter lunch offerings possibly even just a couple of the cafe offerings such as angus burger, turkey sandwich, etc. Sure we can go to the cafe to get these but for the cost of the sleeper it would be nice to have a couple of these available in the "private dining car."

 

[VTTrain]

• An improvement but at lunch and dinner I try to avoid red meats, high fat  and high carbs. 
  

That's my only gripe.  It would have been nice if the chicken dish was a lower fat, healthier option rather than a carb and fat loaded pasta dish - especially when there is already another pasta dish on the menu.  But since I am only taking the LSL one time this year it's not that big of a deal in the long run.

 

[amtrakpass]

Still not available to coach passengers at all?

 

[VTTrain]

Still not available to coach passengers at all?

Since there are no prices listed it doesn't look like it.

 

[user 14106]

Press release states that meals can be delivered to room or eaten in the “private dining car.” So I’m guessing no coach.