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Just got in from Chicago this morning on train 3 on the Southwest Chief. The food was incredibly good and the cook did a great job on the desserts, everything. Kudos to you, whoever you are!!!
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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I sure hope that Amtrak management reviews this site (I think someone in Public Affairs does) and learns that, amongst the few bad apples, there are many more conscientious and dedicated "public contact" employees. "Mr. Chief's" experience is certainly indicative of that.
reggierail Member # 26
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I'll second that motion. I've traveled almost 200,000 miles on Amtrak & VIA Rail in the past 10-12 years. My good experiences have far outweighed the bad ones. What makes this even more impressive is the fact that there are fewer Amtrak employees assigned to do more work on more cars than ever before. My experience in the last several years has also been one of increasingly better service from most of the employees I have had contact with. This coupled with the fact that these same employees are under the increasing insecurity of their future job outlook. Reggie
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CHIEFAN Member # 1593
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Train 3 from Chicago to Fullerton leaving Union Station on Tuesday afternoon had the best crew too. Despite the constant issue of their jobs, the entire train's staff was a joy. No regimented direction of who to sit with in the dining car, no pushiness. Wonderful!
Eric Member # 674
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The Chief's crew are some of the best around. And the French toast is ALWAYS excellent!!! http://www.crewten.com features one of the SW Chief train crews.
[This message has been edited by Eric (edited 04-25-2002).]
Amtrak207 Member # 1307
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Well of course the food was great. I've noticed a steady improvement in crew courtesy. Too bad you guys out west never see your chefs. Those (beautiful!) Heritage diners have recently had some of the walls knocked out in their overhauls so you may have an opportunity to see the chef and company at work, either from your seat or on your way in. On my most recent trip, I still loved the french toast. Thank you, Santa Fe. The portions got a bit smaller this time around, though. Next time I'll remember my own syrup, having been spoiled on the real stuff. Too bad a train traveling through New York (and pretty close to Vermont and Canada) doesn't use anything but that prepackaged corn syrup stuff you see rolling by in tank cars. I know, I know, it's the cost. Does anyone know if Amtrak still sends its chefs to the Culinary Institute of America? My dinner on my last trip was great. I expected nothing less from the dining car staff. No real improvement in the Chef, still perfect. The greatest experience was our server. Every trip before this year it always seemed that the server was there to check on your order, collect the money, and refill your water once. This time he was actively conversing with all the passen, uh, guests, in his spare time, and he was GREAT at it! Our AM server also was well-fit for the job. If I ever get that blasted trip report written up, I'll put the section about dinner in here. #@%$^@ engineering school.
------------------ F40PH #757099-8 March 29, 1976-November 18, 2001 P42DC #53063 November 18, 2001-???
[This message has been edited by Amtrak207 (edited 04-26-2002).]
Silver Star Member # 1570
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My trip on the SW Chief in February was just like the ones noted above. The crew was super and the dining car experience was my best ever on Amtrak...delicious food, awesome desserts, freedom to choose seats, and soft background music. Also they were ready to serve soon after we left LA unlike train #97 which takes 2 hours out of New York to get going (at about 9pm!) Our lead chef on the Chief was a woman and she came upstairs a couple times during our trip.
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