Steak Lovers Beware!

[arubafanatic]

Thanks for the quick response. Breakfast will be the tough one. I'll be in "vacation" mode and not wanting to move around too early, but my son will probably get up early. What time is breakfast? I'll try to remember to brigng some kind of travel alarm clock or set my cell phone alarm or something so that we get up on time to shower and eat. I plan on bringing a small cooler into the sleeper, and I don't want my son living on snack from the snack bar. I'm sure alot of others will have the same idea.

 

[AlanB]

Typically breakfast is from 6:30 AM to 10:00 AM, but the later you go the more likely that you might find the diner full and be placed on a waiting list.

As for the cooler, just be aware that unless you've booked a bedroom or are traveling in one of the single lever Viewliner sleepers, you'll probably be sleeping with the cooler. In a Superliner roomette, used on all trains west of the Mississipi and the Capitol Limited, once the beds are down you'll have enough floor space left to stand in. Nothing more than that. There will be no room for the cooler on the floor, unless you don't plan to stand up while changing.

 

[Upstate]

Thanks for the quick response. Breakfast will be the tough one. I'll be in "vacation" mode and not wanting to move around too early, but my son will probably get up early. What time is breakfast? I'll try to remember to brigng some kind of travel alarm clock or set my cell phone alarm or something so that we get up on time to shower and eat. I plan on bringing a small cooler into the sleeper, and I don't want my son living on snack from the snack bar. I'm sure alot of others will have the same idea.

Just have the sleeper car attendant give you a wake up knock and don't worry about the alarm.

 

[user 1215]

OK - I'm a bit of a doubting Thomas, and I suppose I'll just have to see a menu with the asterisk to be sure. The sample menus online only asterisk the fact that the FDA says you'll die from food poisoning unless you order your [put name of meat here] isn't well done.

How on Earth could they foresee the need to have shanks onboard? If they need to have shanks onboard, then they oughtta put enough flat irons on. Never been to a Waffle House that ran out of T-Bones....

If, in fact, the problem is with the supplier, then FIND A NEW SUPPLIER!

I'd like to see some more evidence that this is actually happening, and I'd love to see some emails FLY to Amtrak!

 

[ScottC4746]

Surely they should tell you exactly what it is you are being served? Granted, sometimes things run out and an alternative is offered, but if you are charging $21 for steak, then $21 for what normally becomes dog food is very underhand, and possibly illegal. In the UK the Trading Standards would be on their case.

I think the UK Trading Standards or anything in the US would turn the other cheek on this since as someone pointed out, it is marked on the menu that they have the right to substitute.

 

[RRrich]

I've been reading this thread and worrying - I've had the Flat iron Steak many times and throughly enjoyed it.

On May 18, train 30 I had a Flat Iron Steak that was just great - the next night I suggest it to someone else. HOWEVER on May 24, train 98 I had a Flat Iron Steak that tasted lousy - not bad but not the fine steaky taste I expected. It was tender but the texture was just wrong. I asked the LSA about it and she said that they had been getting the same meat for the last year and a half - but I have no reason to trust her. There was no asterisk on the menu relating to substitution of a different cut. The next morning, at breakfast I shared the table with a lady who asked me if I had had a steak for dinner - seems she was also disappointed with hers and she had been looking forward to ti as she was returning from a visit with her vegetarian daughter.

Chicken for dinner tonight!

 

[AlanB]

How on Earth could they foresee the need to have shanks onboard? If they need to have shanks onboard, then they oughtta put enough flat irons on. Never been to a Waffle House that ran out of T-Bones....

They wouldn't have them onboard just in case.

If a dining car doesn't have the Flat Iron Steak on board, then it was the supplier who made the substitute.

Why the supplier didn't have the right thing is a whole other question. But Amtrak doesn't haul around substitues just in case.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

Thanks for the quick response. Breakfast will be the tough one. I'll be in "vacation" mode and not wanting to move around too early, but my son will probably get up early. What time is breakfast? I'll try to remember to brigng some kind of travel alarm clock or set my cell phone alarm or something so that we get up on time to shower and eat.

You can ask the sleeping car attendant to wake you up as well, though having your own alarm clock as a backup is not a bad idea. If you are going to have the cell phone with you anyway, it's probably best to just use its alarm in order to minimize the amount of stuff you have to bring.

I plan on bringing a small cooler into the sleeper, and I don't want my son living on snack from the snack bar. I'm sure alot of others will have the same idea.

My experience has been that when I'm in a sleeping car, simply eating the food that's available in the dining car ``for free'' is plenty.

 

[Shanghai]

Some trains begin breakfast early. I was on the Capitol Limited one week ago from WAS to CHI. Breakfast was to have started at 6:30am. I walked to the diner at 6:25am to find it nearly full. I saw a man that I had eaten dinner with the previous evening and there was a free space at his table. He told me that the train was running early, so the diner opened at 6:00am. I was lucky because shortly after I arrived there was a line from both the sleepers and coach cars.

I'd suggest you tell the car attendant to wake you 30 minutes before breakfast begins.

 

[guest 001]

Thanks for the quick response. Breakfast will be the tough one. I'll be in "vacation" mode and not wanting to move around too early, but my son will probably get up early. What time is breakfast? I'll try to remember to brigng some kind of travel alarm clock or set my cell phone alarm or something so that we get up on time to shower and eat.

You can ask the sleeping car attendant to wake you up as well, though having your own alarm clock as a backup is not a bad idea. If you are going to have the cell phone with you anyway, it's probably best to just use its alarm in order to minimize the amount of stuff you have to bring.

I plan on bringing a small cooler into the sleeper, and I don't want my son living on snack from the snack bar. I'm sure alot of others will have the same idea.

My experience has been that when I'm in a sleeping car, simply eating the food that's available in the dining car ``for free'' is plenty.

Not quiet free considering the price of the sleeper or bedroom. Just might need to be a bit flexible and try to enjoy it. Your other choice is to go to the snack car and pay for something else.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

How on Earth could they foresee the need to have shanks onboard? If they need to have shanks onboard, then they oughtta put enough flat irons on. Never been to a Waffle House that ran out of T-Bones....

They wouldn't have them onboard just in case.

If a dining car doesn't have the Flat Iron Steak on board, then it was the supplier who made the substitute.

Why the supplier didn't have the right thing is a whole other question. But Amtrak doesn't haul around substitues just in case.

The problem is you can't substitute shank meat for steak and call it "steak" because it is against USDA and FDA regulations. See above posts from my experience in a packing house.

 

[AlanB]

How on Earth could they foresee the need to have shanks onboard? If they need to have shanks onboard, then they oughtta put enough flat irons on. Never been to a Waffle House that ran out of T-Bones....

They wouldn't have them onboard just in case.

If a dining car doesn't have the Flat Iron Steak on board, then it was the supplier who made the substitute.

Why the supplier didn't have the right thing is a whole other question. But Amtrak doesn't haul around substitues just in case.

The problem is you can't substitute shank meat for steak and call it "steak" because it is against USDA and FDA regulations. See above posts from my experience in a packing house.

And I wasn't arguing that. I honestly have no idea what can or can't be done. I just wanted to point out that it's the supplier that's making the substitution, not Amtrak.

 

[Neil_M]

I think the UK Trading Standards or anything in the US would turn the other cheek on this since as someone pointed out, it is marked on the menu that they have the right to substitute.

Do they though? If they are offering X on the menu and they don't have X, then what they should do is tell the customer they don't have X but have Y instead. If Y is a much lessor quality than X then it certainly shouldn't be sold at the same price.

 

[user 1215]

I'm still wondering about the validity of an asterisk. IF what seems to so far be an urban legend is true, then we agree that Amtrak's supplier relationship is questionable. Asterisk or not, I cannot believe that AMTRAK would substitute (because they weren't provided with enough real steak) shank AND CHARGE THE SAME PRICE.

If they want to run out of Flat Iron, fine. But offer the shank for 1/2 price or something. That is Amtrak's call, not any two-bit supplier's. Asterisks are not the caveat to allow anything. You cannot put an asterisk on something to say you're not liable and expect not to be held liable if it is your fault. They are a contingency at best and immoral marketing at worst. Who's to say that on any given day, there is NO flat iron steak delivered and therefore ALL steak served for three days is shank? You talk about cost cutting measures, there you go! Advertise Filet Mignon and then wrap a piece of bacon around a rib eye and say "Sorry, we're out. That'll be $34."

Again, I smell an urban legend at best and a Tony Soprano at worst...

 

[AlanB]

We don't know what price Amtrak charged.

 

[stlouielady]

OK - I'm a bit of a doubting Thomas, and I suppose I'll just have to see a menu with the asterisk to be sure.

I was on the Eagle in March, and I snagged a menu. I just looked at it now, and here is what it says on the bottom on the entree page; not with an '*', but actually with a '+' mark next to it:

'In peak travel season, a braised beef entree may be substituted for flat iron steak'

There is NO mention anywhere of it being beef shanks, but, it doesn't specifically mention WHAT braised beef entree it is.....

If I did it right, here is a picture of the menu; sorry, you'll have to blow it up about 1000%; it is in the lower right hand corner.

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If the picture doesn't work right, here's the link: Texas Eagle Menu. I have the other side of the menu posted there also, if anyone wants to see the entire thing.

 

[user 1215]

We don't know what price Amtrak charged.

True. I'm under the assumption that the OP mentioned that the steak tasted different and the only the asterisk clued him into the switcharoo - not the bill (sleeper or not), nor the SA seemed to make any mention.

 

[catblue]

Someone mentioned lowering the price and do you really seeing them do that? Wouldn't that open them up to every one who paid for a sleeper and ordered the Flat Iron but was served possibly a Flank or Shank to request a refund of the difference since they assumed the cost of their ticket entitled them to a Flat Iron Steak? Can you even imagine the mess that would cause? Not going to happen!

How many times have you ordered a steak at the steak house restaurant of your choice that you had ordered many times before and this one time it was not as good as it usually is? Does that mean they were giving you a different cut of meat? Probably not.

They might have been served something else or might of been a bad Flat Iron. Do we know for sure?

It has been mentioned several times already the proper thing for the server to do is inform you when you order what they are serving if it is different than what is on the menu. Then if you choose the steak you at least would be getting what you ordered.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

OK - I'm a bit of a doubting Thomas, and I suppose I'll just have to see a menu with the asterisk to be sure.

I was on the Eagle in March, and I snagged a menu. I just looked at it now, and here is what it says on the bottom on the entree page; not with an '*', but actually with a '+' mark next to it:

'In peak travel season, a braised beef entree may be substituted for flat iron steak'

There is NO mention anywhere of it being beef shanks, but, it doesn't specifically mention WHAT braised beef entree it is.....

If I did it right, here is a picture of the menu; sorry, you'll have to blow it up about 1000%; it is in the lower right hand corner.

[/url][/img]

If the picture doesn't work right, here's the link: Texas Eagle Menu. I have the other side of the menu posted there also, if anyone wants to see the entire thing.

There we go:

It reads that a "braised beef" dish may be substituted. Braising is usually the method of cooking shank meat and in the converse the most often braised beef portions are flank, brisket, and shank (the last of which is not a steak)--braising allows the fatty tissue to break down over time and, in truth, can be better after spending hours in warming trays than other dishes because it gives it more time to cook and break down. it does not claim to be a steak. Furthermore that is the same dish they offer on the diner-lites which have no grill to cook flat irons...

If you got braised beef on your plate, you would know. There is NO way to confuse a flat iron steak and braised beef shank... They don't look similar at all, they don't taste similar, and they are prepared totally differently.

People can stop saying that they got a substitution because they thought something was wrong when they bit into their steak... they just got a bad steak. Braised beef cannot be confused, it is just impossible.

 

[wayman]

Ok, here's some extremely current info, since I'm posting from the Silver Star in northern Florida, having just eaten the Flatiron Steak

First, there's no asterisk, star, or footnote on the current menu about beef entrée substitutions. Single asterisk is about alcohol and appetizer not being included for sleeper class passengers. Double asterisk is the FDA warning about rare steak. I can't speak for menus before Friday, or in the near future, but right now there's no such note.

Second, my server (an excellent 20-year veteran adept at carefully serving coffee over some of CSX's worst track) said steaks would be changing in June. They'll still be Flatiron, same caterer, but Amtrak has requested that the caterer do some pre-cooking to the steaks. This is temporary, just for the summer. The reason is that most people order steaks medium to well, and cooking them all that way takes a lot of time; they don't feel like they can handle that amount of cooking time per steak with only one chef during peak season. Steaks will still be "cooked to order" on board; but unfortunately, for lovers of rare steak, this means we may be out of luck for a few months. Nobody else should notice a difference. Again, this is a temporary measure for peak season, starting within the next month and probably lasting three or four months, according to my server.

Third, I had the steak tonight, prepared rare, and it was quite good. I think the other entrées are better nowadays, but I was very satisfied with my steak. It's no Peter Luger, Chicago Chop House, Amarillo Big Texan, etc, but that's fine by me--diner 8551 has better ambience, friendlier staff, and nicer scenery The corn and pepper vegetable medley was what shocked me--I'm used to the vegetables being dreadful, and these were tasty. And the baked potato was fluffy. It's nice that they're putting some care into the entire meal now.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Ok, here's some extremely current info, since I'm posting from the Silver Star in northern Florida, having just eaten the Flatiron Steak
First, there's no asterisk, star, or footnote on the current menu about beef entrée substitutions. Single asterisk is about alcohol and appetizer not being included for sleeper class passengers. Double asterisk is the FDA warning about rare steak. I can't speak for menus before Friday, or in the near future, but right now there's no such note.

Second, my server (an excellent 20-year veteran adept at carefully serving coffee over some of CSX's worst track) said steaks would be changing in June. They'll still be Flatiron, same caterer, but Amtrak has requested that the caterer do some pre-cooking to the steaks. This is temporary, just for the summer. The reason is that most people order steaks medium to well, and cooking them all that way takes a lot of time; they don't feel like they can handle that amount of cooking time per steak with only one chef during peak season. Steaks will still be "cooked to order" on board; but unfortunately, for lovers of rare steak, this means we may be out of luck for a few months. Nobody else should notice a difference. Again, this is a temporary measure for peak season, starting within the next month and probably lasting three or four months, according to my server.

What bloody idiots. Anybody who orders a flat iron above medium is insane and doesn't know how to eat meat. Furthermore almost every cut of beef is best served medium rare. Flat irons are specifically best rare to medium rare because they are thin cuts that don't take a lot of time to cook in the first place!

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

they don't feel like they can handle that amount of cooking time per steak with only one chef during peak season.

So why not create another job?

 

[catblue]

Thanks Wayman. I had about talked myself out of ordering the Flat Iron Steak because I do order my steak well done. I will give it a try and yes ALC_Rail_Writer I will order it well done. After all isn't it a choice? Maybe not yours but still a choice I and some more might make. To each their own!

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

they don't feel like they can handle that amount of cooking time per steak with only one chef during peak season.

So why not create another job?

Or should we say, "re-create" it... Damn SDS, we're supposed to be creating jobs this would be a nice way to get a hundred more people employed.

 

[PetalumaLoco]

... They'll still be Flatiron, same caterer, but Amtrak has requested that the caterer do some pre-cooking to the steaks. This is temporary, just for the summer. The reason is that most people order steaks medium to well, and cooking them all that way takes a lot of time; they don't feel like they can handle that amount of cooking time per steak with only one chef during peak season. Steaks will still be "cooked to order" on board; but unfortunately, for lovers of rare steak, this means we may be out of luck for a few months.

Really? Most of the people I hang with go from rare to medium rare. A well-doner is rare in my circles.

Doesn't sound "cooked to order" if they're medium to well done.