New Amtrak Food Contract

[jim55]

Sorry if this was mentioned befor. I just got off train 5 & 6, Chi-Den round trip and my wife remarked about poor food quality on this trip. Another passenger web sight mentioned poor food quality as the only drawback to an other wise upbeat trip report. This thread got several responces and it seems that Gate Gourmet was replaced with Aramark Food service for Amtrak trains. Gone is the "angus burger" replaced with a cheeseburger, with a bun that had to have been made years ago put into a freezer till nuked and served ( don't expect bacon anymore). Chicken fried steak is back and is "nasty" as ever. I had the crab cakes but wont do that again. Chicken fingers got a bad grade and I'm not sure about the french toast. Maybe I just got a poor example or it needed more time in the oven. The steak was cooked to my request and tasty but tough. Anyone else notice the change? The food and our sleeping car attendent(all talk no service)were the only drawback to a fine trip. Jim

 

[MrEd]

Just off the crescent this week, food was good. Burger - no cheese, pancakes, steak for the 3 meals - all good, service excellent. Might have better food contract on this train.

 

[PRR 60]

Aramark has been the food supplier for Amtrak for several years now.

 

[jb64]

I was on the CZ a few weeks ago and had the angus burger, with bacon. I also had the french toast. I did not notice any difference in the food from my trip last summer, except the addition of crabcakes which I thought were pretty good. Overall, the only food that I had that was not good on four different trains was the Cardinal, but that was not surprising.

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

Sorry if this was mentioned befor. I just got off train 5 & 6, Chi-Den round trip and my wife remarked about poor food quality on this trip. Another passenger web sight mentioned poor food quality as the only drawback to an other wise upbeat trip report. This thread got several responces and it seems that Gate Gourmet was replaced with Aramark Food service for Amtrak trains. Gone is the "angus burger" replaced with a cheeseburger, with a bun that had to have been made years ago put into a freezer till nuked and served ( don't expect bacon anymore). Chicken fried steak is back and is "nasty" as ever. I had the crab cakes but wont do that again. Chicken fingers got a bad grade and I'm not sure about the french toast. Maybe I just got a poor example or it needed more time in the oven. The steak was cooked to my request and tasty but tough. Anyone else notice the change? The food and our sleeping car attendent(all talk no service)were the only drawback to a fine trip. Jim

I read your post over on TO and appreciated the field report on your California Zephyr runs. Unfortunately, as happens on most sites, people chime in pseudo-authoritatively and spread misinformation as if it were gospel. And it becomes a real disservice to other readers who come along and get lulled into thinking that the information being asserted is actually correct.

The change to Aramark is not new and is in no way associated with some demise of the "angus burger" as one poster seemed so intent on declaring ("Unfortunately, yes, the Angus Burger is no more. That disappeared when they stopped using Gate Gourmet."). That claim is nonsensical to anyone who has ridden LDTs in the last several years. Angus burgers are alive and well, as is the option to add bacon and/or cheese. I dunno why you were unable to get bacon on your burger, but it wasn't attributed to a changeout of Amtrak's commissary. Maybe they ran out, or maybe Aramark sent them on the road without any. FWIW, an LSA on the Zephyr last month went out of his way to offer the bacon topper to all those who ordered the angus burger throughout our trip. Inconsistencies strike again.

Insofar as the consistency of food service across all trains on any given day, there does continue to be inconsistency out there as reported by many of us including you. In the past few years, I have had mostly good dining experiences, punctuated by some really lousy ones where the food and/or its preparation were poor. Aramark was providing the food for all of these meals. Another poster in your thread deemed Aramark as the Walmart of food service, and I don't disagree with her characterization.

I suppose one question could be whether or not Aramark's food service to Amtrak is beginning to show signs of trending decline. But it's also just as likely that you experienced the ongoing inconsistency issues that occur in Amtrak's Dining Cars. Just in the last six months, I would say that my good dining experiences have outnumbered my bad ones by a 5-to-1 margin. Yet a recent dinner on the Sunset Limited was a total disaster on all fronts: food quality, food preparation, and the service it was provided with. We'll just have to keep reporting from the field on what we're finding out there on the rails. Thanks again for your reports as I find field observations to be one of the best ways to remain an informed Amtrak rider.

 

[printman2000]

Good to hear. I read that thread over at TO as well and started to get concerned. Good to know it was some incorrect info.

 

[Steve4031]

Just returned from a trip that included the eb, cs, and swc. The food and service were excellent on all three trains. The diner opened on time for every meal.

The LSA on 4, freida, is a hall of famer. She had laringitus but did not let that stop her. Without a voice she RAN that diner like clock work. The entire trip she smiled and was pleasant. By lunch the 2nd day i was greeting her by saying "hey all world LSA. ". She made a bug difference.

I'm spoiled now. The next time I get a bad crew, it will be a slap in the face. Lol.

 

[the_traveler]

Unfortunately, as happens on most sites, people chime in pseudo-authoritatively and spread misinformation as if it were gospel. And it becomes a real disservice to other readers who come along and get lulled into thinking that the information being asserted is actually correct.

WHAT?

If it's on the internet, it HAS to be true! The internet never lies!

 

[the_traveler]

She made a bug difference.

You mean your sleeper was "bugged"?

Was it CIA or KGB that bugged the room?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I actually find Amtrak food to be amazingly consistent. Unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that I've had consistently better meals at Denny's. Seriously, how can you be worse than Denny's?

 

[RedSquirrel]

I had the crabcakes on 5 a couple of weeks back. They were excellent.

 

[Blackwolf]

Seriously, how can you be worse than Denny's?

I would LOVE to see how the fry-cook from a Denny's adapts to the environment of a moving kitchen! :excl:

Though I absolutely loathe Denny's, it would be an interesting experiment to see if the restaurant chain could operate on a train. Have them occupy two diners, one Superliner and one Single-level, and trial run the operation with the same menu as a normal Denny's for six months. Move the diners around the system, trying them on several different routes one after the other, and then report back on how things went. I personally would like to see a better establishment than Denny's if Amtrak were forced to contract out their food services (as was brought up recently by a congresswoman) but they would still be a tiny bit better than a McDonalds! :huh:

 

[OBS]

The thing to remember is that Aramark ( and Gate Gourmet) just manage the procurement and stocking of the trains, with the exception of Acela First Class meals. All food items are selected, and specifications written, by Amtrak F&B dept. Thus if there was a problem with the food, the only way Aramark would be responsible is if, for example, something was not rotated in freezer and was 2-3 years old. If the quality is not good, ie tough steaks, it has to do with the purveyor or the food specs. established by F&B dept. The quality (or Lack) of a Chef's skills is the other variable in the scenario. But lounge car cheeseburgeers, for example are made by a company under contract with Amtrak. Aramark just orders to supply quantities needed for the train.

 

[dlagrua]

Food preparation is largely a product of who the chef is on the train. Meals on a number of trains have all ranged from good to very good. IMO the Autotrain cuisine is the best followed by the Crescent, Capitol Limited and LSL. We've never taken the EB or CZ so we can't comment on the Western routes nor have we yet to take the Silvers. Amtrak can do better in the food department but diner car kitchens that once featured three chefs now only have one. That limitation probably explains the food quality but getting back to the Autotrain, I believe that they have three dining cars and all have two or three chefs working in each of them. Perhaps my theory holds some validity.

 

[leemell]

I actually find Amtrak food to be amazingly consistent. Unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that I've had consistently better meals at Denny's. Seriously, how can you be worse than Denny's?

Well I can't speak for anyone else, but we (my wife, sister-in-law, her husband and I) stopped at a Denny's for dinner (we were on the road much later than planned), about 50 miles north of Phoenix. Each of us had something different ( I had a skillet dinner) and they were all just about a good as you ever find in a road side diner and many "restaurants" not of the chain variety anywhere.

 

[clearfork]

Was on 05 Saturday the 31st and 1st; same equipment and crew from Glenwood Springs to Chi on Wednesday and Thursday the 4th and 5th. Amazing diner crew. Made several announcements asking sleeping car passengers to not go through the diner during dinner service (on 05), directed specifically at some out-of-control children. Didn't work. Anyway, the food was superb, including the crabcakes....and I go to Maryland often....for crabcakes.

Did notice something interesting. My wife's scrambled eggs appeared the same as my omelet...without the fixings. In other words, it looks like they have "squares" of eggs that they either stuff with cheese and veggies as an omelette or just serve up as scrambled eggs.

On another note, found it interesting that Glenwood Springs station is entirely run by one person....quite well I might add....

 

[Henry Kisor]

I believe Glenwood Springs Amtrak is actually staffed by three people -- the agent (a woman), the baggage person (also a woman), and a swing baggage/agent (either gender) who subs during vacations and sometimes on days off when the station loads are particularly heavy. (On occasion only one staffer is present, but this is comparatively rare.) This I learned during a recent visit there with Sandi, the agent. She was the baggage person in 1991-2 when I first met her during my research for "Zephyr" and took over when Mike, the agent then, retired. Those folks, in my opinion, are among Amtrak's best employees.

 

[PaulM]

On another note, found it interesting that Glenwood Springs station is entirely run by one person....quite well I might add....

Are you sure you don't mean that there is only one agent on duty at any one time?

The reason given why baggage service was discontinued at my CZ stop, Mount Pleasant, during a cost cutting move a few years ago was that there was now only one agent. No agent on duty on weekends, holidays, or vacation time - thus no baggage service.

 

[Anderson]

The food on the Cap is, without a doubt in my mind, the best that I've had. I'll get to compare it to the Crescent this fall. After that, I'd give the Silvers and the Lake Shore the next slots, followed by the SW Chief and the CA Zephyr. Still, none of them have ever been generically bad unless there was a lousy chef on board or something went wrong.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

For some reason, I have found CZ service, including food, to be "a tier below" service on most other LDs. The other bad service I have encountered was on the Crescent. The Cardinal was not that bad.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Still, none of them have ever been generically bad unless there was a lousy chef on board or something went wrong.

If you pull a precooked meat patty out of the freezer and throw it in a convection-wave oven you are not a chef.

You're a cook.

A short order cook at that.

Over time I've found common ground with other members on a surprising number of subjects, but the general quality of precooked/frozen/powdered AmChow still isn't one of them. Maybe it's the routes I ride on, or maybe I'm just a lot more picky.

 

[PRR 60]

Still, none of them have ever been generically bad unless there was a lousy chef on board or something went wrong.

If you pull a precooked meat patty out of the freezer and throw it in a convection-wave oven you are not a chef.

You're a cook.

A short order cook at that.

Over time I've found common ground with other members on a surprising number of subjects, but the general quality of precooked/frozen/powdered AmChow still isn't one of them. Maybe it's the routes I ride on, or maybe I'm just a lot more picky.

No, you're not picky. I've found some of the main dinner courses pretty good (had the fried catfish last summer, and that was great), but everything else is Denny's, at best. The sides, the salads (Fresh Express bag salads would be better), cold rolls, the desserts, the lunches (ugh), and last, but not least, the breakfasts (ugh, ugh).

Have you looked at the latest Amtrak dining car menu? They now price the steak dinner at $26. Seriously? Twenty-six bucks for that? That is, of course, a ploy to claw more money from the sleeper revenue account into the food and beverage account, but pity the poor coach passenger who wants to have dinner in the dining car and has to pay those inflated prices. For $26 I would like to get a pretty good dinner, from salad to dessert. That's not what I get on Amtrak.

 

[IowaGirl]

A side note about "Angus" burgers..

I am involved in the beef industry as a producer and I can tell you that the "Angus" label is one of the biggest jokes and ripoffs going. The ONLY qualification for that beef is that the hide is predominately black. It does not have to be a pure bred Angus animal. I have seen the MOST beautiful red Angus (yes, there are other colors of Angus) rejected and an old black canner cow go down the "Angus" line.

Remember that when you are paying a premium price for your Angus beef.

Ripoff!

 

[hessjm]

Nice to see someone else throwing the flag on the Angus beef marketing promotion. Sorry to see that the old Black Angus couldn't even muster standard grade! I learned how to grade all meat products by belonging to FFA, way back in time!

 

[white rabbitt]

ok i think if ya'll let me i'll jump in on this here horse

i am going to be on the texas eagle rt chicago -austin in 2 weeks i got a sleeper

so my meals are included, since u chow hounds know the food

what do ya'll recamend i order