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  • Amtrak Diner and Food Service Discussion

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1610997  by Nightjet
 
andrewjw wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 1:29 am Yeah, hard to understand why anyone would upgrade to first on Acela on their own dime.
It was $50 more between NYP and BOS when I did it. A single seat (no neighbor), free drinks and lunch. Why anyone would NOT do that is beyond me.

The main downside is that first class is not a quiet car, so paying more to be stuck with people yapping on their cell phones is annoying. A first class quiet car would be great, as I understand that the new Acelas will have more than one first class car (maybe I am wrong?).
 #1611164  by Tom V
 
STrRedWolf wrote: Sat Oct 15, 2022 2:44 pm Dec 2022 issue of Trains came in email recently, and it has an article on Amtrak's issues and how they're trying to fix them. On the section of food (the article quotes current Amtrak President Roger Harris):
That is great news they are going to split the Silver Service trains again, hopefully via the FEC.
 #1616568  by FatNoah
 
That is great news they are going to split the Silver Service trains again, hopefully via the FEC.
I'm pretty sure this was in reference to the fact that the Silver Meteor and Silver Star were combined for most of last year and that they're now split back into their normal routes.

In any case, hopefully traditional dining will have returned to the Silver Service by mid-April. After last year's odyssey to get to Florida via Delta Airlines, the family was all-aboard for taking the train this time around. The one and only other time they consented was before the dining changes, and meals in the diner was their favorite part of the trip.
 #1616642  by Jeff Smith
 
One would assume "long time ago" means they were likely heritage diners. Today's View Diners are efficient albeit not nearly as cool as yesterday's romance of the rail type equipment.
 #1617670  by Jeff Smith
 
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... ng-trains/
Amtrak coach passengers now can buy meals on western ‘traditional dining’ trains

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has begun offering coach passengers on the Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Coast Starlight, and Sunset Limited the opportunity to buy meals in those trains’ dining cars, a practice that began March 1.

Since mid-2021, these are the only long-distance trains offering breakfasts, lunches, and dinners prepared to order for sleeping-car passengers; the cost of food and one alcoholic and all non-alcoholic beverages are included in the price of each ticket.

Now, a “limited number of seatings” for breakfast, lunch and dinner are being offered to coach travelers on those trains at a fixed price: $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, $45 for dinner, and $20 for all kids’ meals. Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods tells Trains News Wire, “The onboard purchase comes with the full traditional dining experience —including a complimentary alcoholic drink, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages as well as the bar selection.”
...
 #1617680  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Since it appears that with the obversion to having Amtrak become a "cash free zone", they will likely accept that stuff from Coach passengers in the Diner.

To my knowledge, all airlines are now cash-free - definitely in-flight and pretty sure for point of sale on the ground as well.

Two major brand hotels at which I have booked for upcoming trips have clearly noted they are cash free in their confirmations. If that applies to just these properties or if chain-wide, I know not (I was in college when I last paid cash for a hotel room).
 #1618008  by Maverickstation1
 
Here is the full article about Amtrak opening some of the west of Chicago trains Dining cars to coach passengers.

The last paragraph sums up the questions of Traditional Dining car service returning to Florida trains.


WASHINGTON — Amtrak has begun offering coach passengers on the Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Coast Starlight, and Sunset Limited the opportunity to buy meals in those trains’ dining cars, a practice that began March 1.

Since mid-2021, these are the only long-distance trains offering breakfasts, lunches, and dinners prepared to order for sleeping-car passengers; the cost of food and one alcoholic and all non-alcoholic beverages are included in the price of each ticket.

Now, a “limited number of seatings” for breakfast, lunch and dinner are being offered to coach travelers on those trains at a fixed price: $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, $45 for dinner, and $20 for all kids’ meals. Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods tells Trains News Wire, “The onboard purchase comes with the full traditional dining experience —including a complimentary alcoholic drink, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages as well as the bar selection.”

Gradual downgrades to dining
Full-service dining cars offered individually priced meals to all passengers since Amtrak’s 1971 inception. In response to concerns from Congress and the Reagan Administration that the company was losing too much money on food service, in the 1980s Amtrak began including meals in the price of all sleeping-car customers’ tickets, an accounting practice known as “first class transfer.”

After former Delta Airlines chief executive Richard Anderson was hired by Amtrak’s board of directors as president and CEO, in May 2018, onboard meal preparation and staffing was dropped on the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited in favor of pre-packaged food available only to sleeping-car passengers and served in balsa-wood boxes.

Baked potato covered with toppings in bowl
A “loaded baked potato” at lunch on the Empire Builder is a relatively recent offering. Bob Johnston
“Flexible dining” meals-in-a-bowl, along with the policy of limiting coach passengers to cafe cars, spread to the Crescent, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, City of New Orleans, and Cardinal in October 2019. It was implemented on the Texas Eagle and other western long-distance trains in the summer of 2020, justified by management as a health precaution during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic when no vaccines were available.

Once Amtrak brought back dining-car meals on the western trains (except the Eagle) the following year, the company began a “pilot” project of offering Coast Starlight business-class patrons the opportunity to buy meals at a fixed price. With a limited pool of prospective diners and thin dining car staffing, the Los Angeles-Seattle train’s experiment was designed to begin re-establishing what Amtrak had previously hosted before Anderson’s cost cutting.

Some questions remain
While the Coast Starlight template has been extended, exactly how the “limited number of seatings” will be offered could vary on a train-by-train basis. Amtrak’s Woods would only say that “the dining experience for coach passengers will be based on availability.”

Assuming sleeping car travelers get the first pick of lunch and dinner times, it isn’t clear whether coach patrons would be offered vacant early slots or only seats at the last seating. The same is true at “first come, first served” breakfast. How this is handled likely depends on how each train’s dining car lead service attendant assess passenger load and dining car staffing.

As for the possible expansion of traditional dining to the single level New York-Miami Silver Star and Silver Meteor or other trains that still offer only “flexible” meals to sleeping-car passengers, Woods says, “We’ll let you know about changes to dining on the Silver Service should we have something to announce.”

Ken
 #1624791  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Lord, I think this is a case of "best enjoy it while you got it".

Even though with the absurd fares that Amtrak commands, and apparently gets, for First Class Private Room accommodations, Traditional Dining should be here to stay. But there is certainly a history of one "Critter on The Hill" or the other proclaiming "Amtrak will cut (or lose their funding)" and throwing some charade (burning $$ bills on the Congressional floor) for good measure. Food & Beverage, Amtrak finds, is a convenient place to start. As a result, they have a history of restoring such amenities so they can cut them again.
 #1625111  by STrRedWolf
 
So I’m on 42(4) and figured I’d give folks an update here:

Coffee: Starbucks brewed in a BUNN coffee maker. It’s not burnt… and somehow isn’t prototypical Starbucks darker roast. I dare say this is more of a medium or even (GASP!!!!) a light? It’s definitely not a blonde (read: brunette) roast. There’s little flavor but you’d swear they shoved a GG1 through the coffee maker, and it’s trying to make the land speed record.

Food: Apparently no longer Aramark! Food is marked as “fresh creative cuisine” (yes, it’s capitalized that way) and is out of Halethorpe, MD. I have to admit, the food passed the 7-Eleven quality mark. I had the “grilled” cheese sandwich on 43(29) which was decent, and the ham, egg, & cheese on bialy bread breakfast sandwich. I can’t knock them.
 #1625115  by Gilbert B Norman
 
STrRedWolf wrote: Tue Jul 04, 2023 6:59 am Coffee: Starbucks brewed in a BUNN coffee maker. It’s not burnt… and somehow isn’t prototypical Starbucks darker roast.....Food: Apparently no longer Aramark! Food is marked as “fresh creative cuisine” (yes, it’s capitalized that way) and is out of Halethorpe, MD.
Mr. Wolf, you have become "the Pete Wells (Times' restaurant critic) of Amtrak cuisine" :P :P.

For me, however, "Coffee is Coffee". The only time I've been in a Starbucks is overseas in Salzburg where €9 beats €30 for Breakfast in the hotel at which I stay - and the 1.6 klick hoofing to it and return beats a six floor ride in a Schindler for keeping the kilos off of me.

But then, if you resided out here, sounds like you'd be like several of my neighbors, who said that, when the Starbucks here in town closed up (they didn't have a drive-up was the reason I've learned), they have had "withdrawal symptoms".

Finally, and back on the rails, it will be interesting to learn to what extent this apparent change Amtrak has made with a caterer in the Northeast will extend to elsewhere on the System.
 #1625163  by STrRedWolf
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote: Tue Jul 04, 2023 7:36 am Mr. Wolf, you have become "the Pete Wells (Times' restaurant critic) of Amtrak cuisine" :P :P.

For me, however, "Coffee is Coffee". The only time I've been in a Starbucks is overseas in Salzburg where €9 beats €30 for Breakfast in the hotel at which I stay - and the 1.6 klick hoofing to it and return beats a six floor ride in a Schindler for keeping the kilos off of me.

But then, if you resided out here, sounds like you'd be like several of my neighbors, who said that, when the Starbucks here in town closed up (they didn't have a drive-up was the reason I've learned), they have had "withdrawal symptoms".

Finally, and back on the rails, it will be interesting to learn to what extent this apparent change Amtrak has made with a caterer in the Northeast will extend to elsewhere on the System.
There's coffee, and then there's stuff that lands me back in bed (Dunkin' Donuts). On the flip side, there's good coffee blends. Starbucks... well, I don't go to Starbucks for just coffee -- I will order a peppermint mocha that is made so that your face is punched in the face with a truckload of mint. Most places will have good coffee. Wawa has serviceable coffee (stuff that you can say "This will do"). But I've had off-the shelf coffee that landed in my trash can, including a military themed coffee that rightfully earned dishonorable discharge papers.

I would expect some regional caterers to be supplying food now. I doubt anyone has the reach of Aramark, but most of that stuff you could get at Costco or Sams Club. Midwest may be a different caterer, but similar offerings. Still, it's better.
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