Need dining tips for Coast Starlight

My wife and I will be traveling via coach on the Coast Starlight between Los Angeles and San Jose this summer and have already ready some complaints on Yelp about the quality of food in the dining car.

Is it really as bad as portrayed by the complainants? If so, can anyone suggest alternatives such as bringing your own food along? Or some other alternatives?

Any or all will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Brett

others will differ with me. for a day trip from la to san jose in coach i would bring my own food and drink. the snacks in the lounge car are overpriced and not too good. if you want to splurge and have a meal in the dining car i would suggest lunch. it is, imho, overpriced but a fun experience. the scenery for the whole trip is great however

Aloha

I have always enjoyed eating in the diner. The diner compares to an Olive Garden, Denny's or similar.

Honestly it depends on your expectations. Members of this board will tell you it's worse than you could ever imagine, and some will say it's wonderful.

I would expect food on a Perkins / IHOP level. Some of it is indeed better, but that will give you a good idea of where to set your standards (and hopefully it will be better).

I'm one of the people who loves eating in the dining cars, I've never had anything terrible, but yes some of the dishes can be a bit bland, depending on which dishes and how they are prepared.

Here are some photos taken from the Coast Starlight Dining Car from my trip this January -

Salad & Bread, Salmon with Mashed Potatoes and Veggies, and Cheesecake for Dessert.

Food tasted as good as it looked, nothing exceptional, basic flavors, but good none the less.

Can you please provide a link to the Yelp reviews?

If this is your 1st trip, eat in the diner. It is a little pricey, but wont break ya! I enjoy the food,atmosphere & meeting othwer travelers!!!

RF

ps: the veiw is good thru both sides also!!!

Lots of haters here. Some highlights:

"I sensed his anger/sarcasm I actually was unsure which, and tried to play along with his unusual behavior as I sensed it was escalating and I said jokingly "at least they are nice to me in there with a smile." My attempt to joke was taken even more poorly as my request for a menu. He said a bunch of other ridiculous things that I "should be nicer" etc etc all while his face was 2 inches from mine, he was standing I was sitting. I was so unnerved I just got up and left. He said "good riddance, don't come back." I went straight to my room and cried."

" They bombard you over the loudspeaker with useless info about the diner car, wine tasting and random stupid jokes but when the train comes to a complete stop and just sits there in the middle of nowhere or is a hour behind schedule no one seems to want to say anything."

"The dining car supervisor droning on repeatedly about how she has to take her union specified breaks in the middle of the busy meal times; the lounge car steward complaining about the high price of the mediocre but not terrible wine; the lazy sleeping car attendant who is not to be found for hours."

Has anyone encountered Marshall in the Diner?

VentureForth said:

Has anyone encountered Marshall in the Diner?

Click to expand...

Maybe, I can't remember the guy's name. We had someone like him on the SWC, but he said he rotates to the Starlight sometimes. He was very in-your-face and had a remark to say if you asked for anything, like silverware :huh: . He became my best friend the second time we had him, for some reason. He sat and talked to me practically the whole meal, neglecting the rest of his patrons. Made meals very awkward.

Here's the Yelp link requested by Service Attendant:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/amtrak-coast-starlight-los-angeles