Boxed Meals Get Good Grades.
What follows is a first-hand report on Amtrak’s “contemporary dining” option from what can be described as a very credible source. This report was for the dinner meal aboard the Capitol Limited en route from Washington to Chicago about a week ago.
Food Quality: “A”
[My wife] had the cold Chicken Caesar Salad and rated the fresh quality an “A”. I had the hot entree, Braised Beef, and rated it a “B”. It would have been an “A” if the meat was fully hot throughout and did not require a second trip to the LSA to nuke it further. Other passengers with the hot entree had the same issue.
Salads were fresher with more variety than in the regular dining car service (the seals around the salad packaging were hard to remove).
Stronger disposable tableware is required, especially for the knife.
The hot entree came with a table mat; the cold entree did not.
Dessert was a smashing success.
The first adult beverage “on us” was a pleasant bottle of red.
The box itself was a bit unwieldy if you were seated four to a table.
We did sit in the dining car on the Capitol Limited. Could you imagine two people in their roomette, each with dinner boxes on the little fold out table? No way. The meals were handed out at timed intervals just like the regular staffed dining car.
We sat by ourselves with plenty of room at a table as did most people. We did chat across to another table.
Frankly, the quality was as good or better that some of the meals we’ve had on international business class flights.
mr loomis.
there are presently sleeping cars and dorm/baggage sleepers complete at the elmira ny by CAF. If you look on google maps at the factory you can see the completed cars on their sidings. count em up.
I talked to Amtraks robert dorsch in april and he assured me that the new dining cars were being delivered and that the Lakeshoere limited had them already in service.
This was just days before amtrak announced the abandonment of the dining car on the lake shore.
He must not have even known himself about the cuts.
I have tried to email him to respond, but no result.
art
Bought and paid for by you and I but never delivered.
I talked to
As a retired chef who has been in the business for many years, I am very familiar with food costing, waste percentages, portion size and cost per meal. Amtrak is in the unenviable position to have to carry a multitude of food items at enough quantity to make sure there is enough to feed the passengers.
They are at the whim of the passenger in terms of what they want. I imagine many things go unsold and consequently are wasted at the end of the trip.
Being that Amtrak is in this unique situation a somewhat simple solution can be had. When people purchase tickets in advance…they are given the food choices that come with that level of ticket.
For example, sleeper car passengers could order various hot dishes, reserve coach and business class, maybe choice of one hot dish and a few cold dishes, and basic coach settles for whatever is available.
The key to making this a success is that they place their food orders when they purchase their tickets. This way, the exact food in the proper quantity is carried on the train with minimal waste.
I realize I am oversimplifying it a bit but it is certainly doable.
An interesting approach and, I’m sure, one that could work. Personally, I don’t like the idea of having to decide today what I’m going to have for lunch day after tomorrow. And whoever is responsible for stocking each dining car cuts it pretty thin. Getting towards the end of a trip, it’s often the case that we hear from our server that they’re out of some of the options, both main course and desserts.
And I get not wanting to choose today what you may eat tomorrow but the situation at AMTRAK is dire. With all of the losses they claim to be suffering due to food waste, employee theft, and undoubtedly poor purchasing methods, strong measures are needed…that is if they truly wanted to solve the problem.
And at worst we are talking one or two breakfasts, lunches or dinners. Another advantage is that there would be no money exchanged on the train if the meals were already paid for and pre-selected.
I know, its a pipe dream that AMTRAK truly wants to solve these issues, and a lot of that is due to putting the wrong people with the wrong experience in decision-making roles.
To each their own I guess. I know that many times when researching a restaurant or hotel through a site like Trip Advisor it is found that a decent place will have maybe 45 % superb, 25% very good, 10% good, and of course the balance somewhere between fair and poor or unacceptable. Personally I would regard the type of positive comments on contemporary meals as coming from somebody in the 20% category as in my example. That is why when we want a decent meal we go to a decent restaurant or diner and not fast-food. Besides even intended hot food at fast-food restaurants is usually hot. I am convinced that there will always be somebody who actually likes “contemporary food”.
Personally, I would sacrifice a little quality of the food if the traditional dining car experience can be retained; ie: being seated by the LSA, server taking the order, chatting with the couple seated at your table. etc. Losing most of that is the problem … at least in my mind.