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The last time I took a train to New Mexico(SW Chief/ Coast Starlight). Amtrak was implementing simplified menus and dining car service. I was wondering since February 2007 did they do away with this and return back to the "full dining car service" with china and cutlery and cook the meals the same way they did prior to the change. I imagine there were so many complaints that Amtrak switched back to the normal service stopping the use of convection ovens.
Thanks for your response.
mgt Member # 5479
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I am sure your US colleagues will be able to give you a complete update on dining-patterns. Suffice it to say, since SDS was introduced there have been on-going developments in menus, seating arrangements and timings, dependent on the route you are travelling. Have a look on the Amtrak web-site for a sample menu. For a time all grilled steaks disappeared. These have returned. Best dining is certainly on the Empire Builder which returned to a a full dining-service when it was refurbished a few years ago. My wife and I experienced this a couple of years ago and the food was really good. Fried eggs for breakfast continued to be cooked to order and grits were back on the menu. The success of this lead to a proper dining service being returned on the Coast Starlight. Since this train has been upgraded there is an option for sleeper passengers, of dining in the Parlour Car. I have not experienced this , yet. I suppose for regular travellers the menu on other routes could become somewhat tedious after a while but in our experience Amtrak dining-car food certainly surpasses that supplied by airlines and also that by Via on their Montral/Toronto service. Eating on the train is one of the reasons why we travel by Amtrak when we visit the US. That supplied on Acela is also very good but not quite the experience of the Empire Builder, but then Acela is catering for a different type of traveller.
graynt Member # 17
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Full dining is back on all the LD trains, from what I hear. We took the Zephyr in January and steaks were on the menu. SDS never caught on and the complaints were many. If you dine in the Parlour Car on the Coast Starlight, there is a limited menu, but its worth it at least once.
MGT, I noticed you reside in Northumberland in The UK. We live in Northumberland in Pennsylvania, obviously named for your city. A lot of towns around here are named for UK cities.
mgt Member # 5479
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Just an aside, graynt. Northumberland is a county in the north-east of England. We live about 12 miles rom that hotbed of railway history and engineering Newcastle on Tyne. Most of the south-east of the county is steeped in railway history, including the sites of early waggonways dating back to the 1600s. We also have a village close to us called New York and about 10 miles to the south is Washington Old Hall in the former mining village of Washington which is reputed to have family connections to you first president.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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SDS is still alive and well on Amtrak (except for the Empire Builder, and last I heard, the Auto Train as well).
Simplified Dining (SDS) encompasses many things---not just what you see on the menu. Everything on the table, except for the silverware and salt and pepper shakers, are disposable. Part of the implementation of SDS was to reduce costs, and by using disposable dishes, they eliminated the occupation of "dishwasher". SDS had numerous failures when it was first launched, but they have made lots of improvements these last few years. For example, a decision was made to bring back cooked-to-order steaks as well as scrambled eggs (the omelettes are still pre-packaged). They also offer grits in the morning, and you can't pre-package grits but of course boiling some water and throwing the dry material in with the water is pretty easy. Amtrak still uses an off-site catering company (I understand that there is another one now in addition to Gate Gourmet) to prepare the foods. When you order most of the items off the menu (cheeseburgers, lasagna, french toast, etc), all they are doing is heating them up in a convection oven. There is no "cooking" involved.
I know I complain about Amtrak a lot (LOL!), but they did a fairly decent job in making improvements from the disastrous SDS that they started with. If I knew how to post pictures on this forum, I could show you what the food looked like the first week they switched to SDS---it tasted God-awful and the food looked like refrigerator magnets. It was pure crap. But today's food actually isn't too bad. Although I must say, I have now tried the flat iron steak three times, and I have yet to have a good one. Some will disagree, but I know what a steak should look like and taste like, and they just can't seem to figure it out for some reason. Ruth's Chris it ain't.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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While likely correct 99% of the time, Mr. Smith, I would bet "$$$ to donuts" that a purveyor dropped off at Sanford an order intended for Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse located in Daytona Beach - a Cleveland based chain that, if not quite Morton's, beats Ruth's IMHO (says he who expects to be at a Ruth's before month's end).
The steak that evening on Auto Train was simply "not the usual Amtrak fare".
sojourner Member # 3134
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The really bad menus of last year have been improved back to what they were 2-3 years ago on the Silver Service. This is still simplified but not quite AS simplified. Last year you couldn't even get a baked potato! My FL train also had good breakfast choices and half chicken back, and there was a steak (though not the delish NY strip steaks of 5-6 years ago, alas). And the strawberry topping for French toast and cheesecake was back as well. For more details, see my last trip report (I'm not sure how to find it, but it was in late January, for FL/Columbia/Richmond.
I will report on my upcoming train travel on the Cap Ltd, City of NEw Orleans, and Crescent in a few weeks.
HillsideStation Member # 6386
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While some dining choices are disasters, ie LSL and Cardinal, others are outstanding, ie EB and CS. Last spring on the CS we were pleasantly surprised with the meals served in the Pacific Parlor Car. The first day we had Pacific bay scollops in creamy Chardonay sauce with rice and vegetable medley. We looked forward the lunch the second day and the escape from dreary "Caesar" salad with "Classic Chef's Salad". Unfortunately all they had as the dreary "Caesar". The ambiance of the Pacific Parlor Car enhanced the dining experience as did the service provided by the car's staff. Best regards, Rodger
travelplus Member # 3679
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How about the SW Chief with regard to simplified dining?
DeeCT Member # 3241
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SWC --- has an improved version of simplified dining. Improved choices better prepared. Many of the worst menu items have vanished and it appears that they have paid attention to customer feedback.(My suspicion is that Amtrak also did some additional training of the cooks - little things like "it goes into the convection oven NOT the microwave oven".) Dee
Hoop Member # 4607
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Lunch is still an absolute disaster.
I recently rode the Zephyr and their "special" was a "chicken and cheese" sandwich. You could not request "no cheese" as it was "already prepared". When served, it was two nasty lunchmeat style pieces of chicken between two pieces of burnt bread smothered in nasty cheese. All the burgers and sandwiches are of the 7-11 convenience store heat it up in the microwave variety. Whatever you do, don't look at the sodium content on the package!! They come with ruffles potato chips. No fries. The salads are weak. The special entree was some spicy chile verde thing that no one who ordered it liked.
If you're going to eat in the diner, skip lunch. Eat in there for either breakfast or dinner instead.
Bill-n-SEA Member # 14417
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Next week we will be taking the EB from SEA to CHI. A few days later, the CZ to EMY. Is there a big difference in dining quality between the two routes? It sounds like we will be dissapointed on the CZ.
DeeCT Member # 3241
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Biil,
I have had no problem either time I traveled on the Zephyr.
Not sure but it sounds like Hoop ate in the lounge car not the diner. Never is a sandwich served in the package in the diner. (So no way you could read the sodium content.) The lounge car does have a counter on the lower level that has soda, candy, bags of chips, cookies and such for sale along with a few pre-packaged sandwiches similar to that available in 7-11 type establishments.
The Chicken Sandwich in the Dining Car, which I have had several times, is Bre*st of Chicken served on a Kaiser roll (or similar). It is available with or without cheese. Lettuce, tomato and onion are served along side so you can "construct" your sandwich with as much or as little "veggies" on it as you want.
Most everyone will find something on the menu to their liking. (And most of us have something we do not care for.)
By the way the the CZ has the most spectacular scenery of any route in the USA. Be prepared to be mesmerized by the sheer beauty of it all. (I have still to ride the City of New Orleans - but have ridden all the rest at least once.)
Enjoy your trip - and be sure to stop back here and give us your take on the Amtrak experience.
Dee
Bill-n-SEA Member # 14417
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Thanks, Dee! I have traveled on the Coast Starlight several times and loved it! That prompted my upcoming trip to CHI and back. I'm sure we will be fine with the food, since half the experience is the company, and we've yet to have bad company in any dining car. I will let you know how it goes! I'm very excited! Thanks.
Bill
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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Bre*st of Chicken? ****** of Chicken? This naughty-word filter is a little too enthusiastic, isn't it?
Ocala Mike Member # 4657
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Yes, it goes way beyond George Carlin's list of seven verboten words, doesn't it? Guess Amtrak should change the menu to "Best of Chicken" or, for leftovers, "Rest of Chicken."
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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"The moon on the ****** of the new fallen snow, Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below . . ."
Utterly absurd!
(I like that "Rest of Chicken"!)
Hoop Member # 4607
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To clarify my post a little bit, I *did* eat in the sit down *diner* both times.
What I am saying is that the hamburgers/cheeseburgers served in the diner are the exact same ones served in the cafe car. I've boughten them both, and they're the exact same product! It's just that in the diner, you don't see them taking it out of the microwave package downstairs in the kitchen before they put it on your plastic plate with ruffles potato chips.
Second, the chicken sandwich served in the diner is now completely different. The one from before, which Dee is referencing was not bad, an actual chicken bre*st served on a kaiser roll. The one I was served in the diner recently was literally two pieces of Oscar Meyer processed chicken lunchmeat dripping in cheese goo between two burnt Panini bread slices (as if the Panini bread tried to make it look elegant and hip). AWFUL!!
smitty195 Member # 5102
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The caesar/chicken salad available at lunch in the dining car is the identical one for sale in the lounge car. You can also buy these identical salads at Safeway. It amazes me when they run out of things like this---it's like it's a shock to Amtrak that people eat, and it always catches them by surprise. Just like winter in Chicago.
PaulB Member # 4258
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I rode the Sunset Limited during the "heyday" of SDS-those tumultuous first months. I can confirm that the Caesar/chicken salad in the dining car was the same as in the lounge...all they did was open the container, dump said contents onto a plastic plate, and charged you $1 extra. Also, the sandwiches were exactly the same as in the lounge-cold, soggy bread, and lunchmeat quality ham.
Pre-SDS, the sandwiches were actually made to order. I remember ordering a roast beef on rye sandwich on another Sunset trip. The rye consisted of real slices of bread, and the roast beef was nice and cool, with fresh lettuce. On my upcoming trip I'll do some investigative journalism and report my findings.
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