Menu Item Must-Haves and Must-Not-Haves

[AmtrakBlue]

I like chicken and am glad that many who have posted find it to be a good choice. But, trying to eat a half chicken on a train, isn't that a bit messy?

Only if you have to chase & catch the chicken first...

 

[SarahZ]

I like chicken and am glad that many who have posted find it to be a good choice. But, trying to eat a half chicken on a train, isn't that a bit messy?

Nope. It's juicy and tender and practically falls off the bone. I use a fork and knife.

 

[SP&S]

I like chicken and am glad that many who have posted find it to be a good choice. But, trying to eat a half chicken on a train, isn't that a bit messy?

Nope. It's juicy and tender and practically falls off the bone. I use a fork and knife.

I think the chicken is more hit or miss. I sat across from a coach passenger this week who ordered it and her meal redefined dry and stringy. Mrs SP&S wasn't too hungry and gave the poor lady part of her steak.

Personal favorites: Railroad French Toast, Steak, and when it shows up on special, anything with crabcakes. Sorbet or cheesecake too.

 

[zepherdude]

Has anyone ever been to the Amtrak Boneless Chicken Ranch? The train runs right next to it and the chickens are all just lying around with tubes in them. They get real fat for boneless chicken breasts.

 

[crescent2]

Jack Prelutsky wrote "Ballad of the Boneless Chicken," which I used to read to my second graders. For those who aren't familiar with the boneless chicken, they lay little scrambled eggs.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

These are my personal opinions of several of the suggestions given above...

French toast - Sometimes hit or miss but generally pretty tasty in my view. Try it!

Pancakes - Truly terrible. McDonald's frozen pancakes are better. Avoid them.

Angus burger - Precooked, frozen, dry, bland. Some cooks do a better job with it than others. Avoid it.

Steak - Hit or miss results make the price borderline unacceptable. Recommended for sleeper pax only.

Roasted chicken - Really salty, somewhat messy and sometimes dry. Avoid it.

Cheesecake - As far as prepackaged frozen cheesecake goes this is pretty good. Try it!

Smoked grilled cheese sandwich - Surprisingly good when you can find it. Try it!

Short ribs - Tasty and flavorful and just plain good. Try it!

Salad - Nothing but lettuce and a couple cherry tomatoes.

Chocolate cake. - Not impressed at all. Avoid it.

Omelet - Used to avoid them but they've improved substantially over the last couple years. Try it!

Croissant - Sometimes dry and usually pretty bland but better than the biscuit.

Bacon - Preferable to sausage at this point.

Sausage - In the past it was just like McDonald’s sausage patties but now it's much worse. Avoid it.

Ice cream & sorbet - Not a fan of the new brand and I miss the Häagen-Dazs.

Veggie burger - Somewhat tastier than the Angus burger but even more dry.

Pasta - Amtrak has no idea how to cook pasta. Avoid it.

Baked potato - Hard to screw up a baked potato.

Bratwurst on pretzel - Surprisingly tasty and flavorful with fresh trimmings. Try it!

Mixed vegetables - Generally mushy, flavorless, and overcooked. Avoid them!

Amtrak's dining care offering are, IMHO, right about where Denny's or Applebees food is.

Although it's important to realize that you can ask Denny’s to make your eggs a certain way and add this or remove that and so on. Amtrak doesn’t care how you want your eggs. You get them how Amtrak feels like making them. The honest truth is that even the most generic chain restaurant can do more to make your meal the way you want than Amtrak can (or will).

 

[Dennis Morrison]

My wife and I just got back home and rode the EB from Seattle to Chicago. They offered the Brat Wurst sandwich and it was so good I had it everyday for lunch!! I really liked the bun, (pretzel Roll ), and the veggies were also a great treat, Oh, the Chips are always good!

 

[PRae_Train]

Last year and the year before they had some dessert with both peanut butter and chocolate that I found very good. Was it an ice cream or a torte, I don't remember.

Not this year, though.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

For a while they had Tiramisu for Desert; it came in a square plastic tub and was amazingly good, especially considering I have no desire for coffee! Now they have some kind of Mousse in that tub, though it is quite good as well.

 

[zepherdude]

Amtrak does not advertise as a full service Denny's. The omelets are pre-made as is the French Toast and Pancakes. It is what it is and no more. It is ok by me as I am not looking for over easy eggs or a pancake house. I think the food is good for the venue it serves. I always did like the train food and service as well.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Omelets are fresh made last I checked.

 

[Herb]

The menus on every Amtrak route I've take serve the same items. I'd love to see Restaurant Impossible take on Amtrak's menu and service. That said, I believe firmly that the dinning car, view car/cafe, and the parlor car ( this line up is from the Coast Starlight) should be on every long distance route of Amtrak. As a coach passenger the dinning car is as needed as the toilets rooms are!! As a sleeper passenger the parlor car just adds so much comfort and pleasure to the trip!

 

[Richard McCormick]

Steak with baked potato and veggies topped off with the strawberry cheesecake. yum!!

Chicken with rice is usually good

Angus burger for lunch and sometimes more cheesecake..

Cheese omelet, croissant , pancakes are usually o.k.

Stay away from veggie burger (yech!!)

Fish has not been a good choice for me, but others say theirs was o.k.

Short ribs can go either way as well.

General trend is: if its a special..its not

Ya know, this just goes to show, it's all a matter of taste. RR Bill hates the Chipotle Black Bean Burger, I prefer it...... go figure.

I understand that both 50/51 Cardinal are not equipped with stoves,meaning all their food is prepared elsewhere and simply reheated on board with convection ovens or microwaves. Sounds to me like having leftovers for each and every meal on this trains.The totally different and more limited menus on those trains would seems to back up this assertion.

 

[rrdude]

Steak with baked potato and veggies topped off with the strawberry cheesecake. yum!!

Chicken with rice is usually good

Angus burger for lunch and sometimes more cheesecake..

Cheese omelet, croissant , pancakes are usually o.k.

Stay away from veggie burger (yech!!)

Fish has not been a good choice for me, but others say theirs was o.k.

Short ribs can go either way as well.

General trend is: if its a special..its not

Ya know, this just goes to show, it's all a matter of taste. RR Bill hates the Chipotle Black Bean Burger, I prefer it...... go figure.

I understand that both 50/51 Cardinal are not equipped with stoves,meaning all their food is prepared elsewhere and simply reheated on board with convection ovens or microwaves. Sounds to me like having leftovers for each and every meal on this trains.The totally different and more limited menus on those trains would seems to back up this assertion.

Correct, whatever you order on the Card, make sure it "reheats well". In six or seven trips on the Card, I did have one decent/average meal. Think it was a stew or something, of course the veggies were so overcooked, it was laughable.

Look forward to riding the Card when they have a FULL diner, and additional sleeper(s). (oh yeah, a REAL lounge car, with BIG windows would be nice too, DREAMER)

 

[tommylicious]

Restaurant Impossible would be brilliant, plus free publicity!

The menus on every Amtrak route I've take serve the same items. I'd love to see Restaurant Impossible take on Amtrak's menu and service. That said, I believe firmly that the dinning car, view car/cafe, and the parlor car ( this line up is from the Coast Starlight) should be on every long distance route of Amtrak. As a coach passenger the dinning car is as needed as the toilets rooms are!! As a sleeper passenger the parlor car just adds so much comfort and pleasure to the trip!

 

[andersone]

I would rather see Ramsey tackle it as "Kitchen Nightmare"

some of the staff would have a lesson,,,,

some wouldn't ,,,, I am not knocking all staff

just those with poor customer service attitudes

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Ramsey bankrupted one of my favorite restaurants because he didn't bother to do any research. F him.