Best bets in the cafe car?

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M

MARC Rider

Robber Baron
AU Supporting Member
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Apr 5, 2011
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Baltimore. MD
So last month, I was riding coach on a sold-out Silver Star, and about 5 PM, I was up in the cafe car, getting a drink when I heard the announcement that there were no more reservations in the diner available for coach passengers. Fortunately, I was still in line, so when it was my turn, I ordered a pizza with the bottle of wine. The pizza was perfectly edible, but it was just a basic supermarket style frozen pizza.

This got me thinking about what the cafe car has to offer, as I will be riding the Palmetto next month from Savannah to Baltimore, and will thus be on the train for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and won't be in a position to bring any of my own food aboard. I've never had much more than a drink, or a bagel when I use the cafe car, the few times I've had lunch, I buy the Hebrew National hot dog, which is quite good if you can get the cafe attendant to toast the bun instead of microwaving it. When I was hanging out in the cafe car of the star on the northbound trip waiting for lunch in the diner (I had a sleeper for that segment), I saw a guy eating the Hamburger, and it looked pretty good, actually. Who knows how it tasted.

So I'd like to know what your favorite (or unfavorite) cafe car items are, and what you would eat if you were riding the Palmetto during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Anyway, it's a shame that they don't have enough diners to put some on the longer day train runs (like the Palmetto, the Carolinian, Vermonter, Pennsylvanian, etc.
 
I have always enjoyed the Grilled Cheeseburger that actually goes in the microwave on the Heartland Flyer and the Breakfast Sandwich is pretty good too. And when I was on the Missouri River Runner I ate the Meatball sub and that kept me held over well into the night. Do stay away from the White Castle Cheeseburgers-those things are just outright NASTY-the only place to get proper White Castle is AT White Castle.
 
I have never had anything that was exceptional and my opinion is you can get better food at a conveniance store (maybe a hint for Amtrak to copy some local conveniance store for cafe cars). The hot dogs are edible but I would rather a hot dog from the corner conveniance store that sells them 2 for 2.22 and you can choose hot dog, cheeseburger dog, smoked sausage, italian sausage and a few other varieties. I have heard some people rave over the cheese tray but it reminded me of the crappy stuff you get in a gift basket. Would much rather some of the individual cheese sticks you can buy in the grocery store.
 
OlympianHiawatha said:
I have always enjoyed the Grilled Cheeseburger that actually goes in the microwave on the Heartland Flyer and the Breakfast Sandwich is pretty good too. And when I was on the Missouri River Runner I ate the Meatball sub and that kept me held over well into the night. Do stay away from the White Castle Cheeseburgers-those things are just outright NASTY-the only place to get proper White Castle is AT White Castle.
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Damn straight....nothing like a Whitey fresh from the griddle! Worked for White Castle for about 6 years...I know...I made the best sides of WC's!

Ouch, strained my arm patting myself on the back!
 
I travel mostly on the regionals so these may not be on the Palmetto menu...

While certainly not gourmet (and not everyone's cup of tea) I've had the chicken Caesar salad and it's pretty good, (better with a beer!)... I'd also check for some kind of hot sandwich (might be turkey and cheese or something like that). I still miss the bratwurst... Mornings I've had the Entenmann's Danishes or the bagels (cinnamon raisin is better but you may have to ask). I've had the Breakfast Sandwich a couple times and it's doable but not great. If there's any way you can bring your own sandwich/snack on board you'll be glad. When I took the Maple Leaf years ago I brought big sandwiches each way and it's nice to have something you know you like for one meal.
 
The burger is pretty good, actually. The ham sandwich is pretty tasteless, however. I ate one and got full just in time to hear about some delicious specials in the diner and kick myself.
 
Burnt loves the Meatball Sub (heated up) and I'm a big fan of the Ham & Cheese sandwich (also heated up). The sandwich is always a lot more filling than I think it's going to be. They put a lot of meat on it, and they use ciabatta bread.
 
Sorcha said:
Burnt loves the Meatball Sub (heated up) and I'm a big fan of the Ham & Cheese sandwich (also heated up). The sandwich is always a lot more filling than I think it's going to be. They put a lot of meat on it, and they use ciabatta bread.
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WOOOOOOOOOOOAHHHHH!!! There's a meatball sub in the Midwest Sorcha?? There used to be one in the NEC and it was my favorite!!! They took it off the menu during the spring or summer of last year I think...
 
I always enjoyed the Cup of Noodles (Ramen here in the states), as it was quite filling and definitely the cheapest 'meal' there. Sadly I haven't seen it on the menu now for a while.

peter
 
My favorite sandwich currently found in Northeast cafe cars (not sure if the Palmetto has it) is the honey mustard baguette sandwich, heated. It has a healthy slice of brie which tastes great when slightly melted. The bread is sufficiently crusty to not get all soggy in the microwave.
 
I've enjoyed the buffalo wings on a couple of occasions. They are quite messy, but that's to be expected. I have to admit, though, their presentation is not too appealing... sauce-covered wings swimming around in a microwavable bag.
 
TampAGS said:
I've enjoyed the buffalo wings on a couple of occasions. They are quite messy, but that's to be expected. I have to admit, though, their presentation is not too appealing... sauce-covered wings swimming around in a microwavable bag.
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Had them last time on the SS. As an After Dinner snack. I don't really remember much except that. It was way to messy, overheated and had to let them sit for 30 minutes to cool down to be at my "normal" wing temperature, they were about 2 on my spice level. (I'm very very very picky) To a normal person I'd say a 5. But they were the thing I would get if I was desperate for wings.. Which at the time I was.. I'm a diehard wing guy, and at that point I hadn't had wings in about 10 days.. My normal rate is about once a week. Local bar up the street. Where I ironically got a job. So now I eat wings once a week for free!! They get about a 7. :)

I'd say currently in the cafe car the one thing that I get one a constant basis is the EggMcAmtrak as I call it. So whatever the Breakfast sandwich is on the Regional trains are. Whether it's ham, sausage, bacon. I'll take it. That a cheese danish and a Apple Juice. That's the one thing that is consistent with my cafe car purchases. If they get Scrapple then we got a DEAL!!! :D
 
It's a shame that more trains don't adopt the method the Downeaster uses - they outsource the menu items to local companies, and promote "Made in Maine" items (though admittedly this train has a far, far easier time of customizing its product than other trains might). This makes it (in my opinion, at least) a cut above the cafe menu present on the rest of the system. I'm not sure if any other train does anything like this, though I did notice that the Pacific Surfliner stocks Stone.

As for the standard cafe menu, I've had nothing outstanding and nothing terrible (though I will say that Amtrak's coffee is quite good compared to most airline coffee). I've found the pre-packaged sandwiches to be passable, but just ever so slightly below the cold sandwiches one can purchase in a diner. I've certainly gone the ramen route as well.
 
Acela150 said:
Sorcha said:
Burnt loves the Meatball Sub (heated up) and I'm a big fan of the Ham & Cheese sandwich (also heated up). The sandwich is always a lot more filling than I think it's going to be. They put a lot of meat on it, and they use ciabatta bread.
Click to expand...
WOOOOOOOOOOOAHHHHH!!! There's a meatball sub in the Midwest Sorcha?? There used to be one in the NEC and it was my favorite!!! They took it off the menu during the spring or summer of last year I think...
Click to expand...
It's on the SWC. I'm not sure if it's offered on the Wolverine or Blue Water (we don't buy food on those trains since our trips are always 2-3 hours at most).
 
For the price, a burger in the diner at lunch is a better value than what you get in the cafe car. Of course, the Palmetto doesn't have a diner, so I dunno... I've enjoyed most everything the cafe car has to offer.
 
Sorcha said:
Acela150 said:
Sorcha said:
Burnt loves the Meatball Sub (heated up) and I'm a big fan of the Ham & Cheese sandwich (also heated up). The sandwich is always a lot more filling than I think it's going to be. They put a lot of meat on it, and they use ciabatta bread.
Click to expand...
WOOOOOOOOOOOAHHHHH!!! There's a meatball sub in the Midwest Sorcha?? There used to be one in the NEC and it was my favorite!!! They took it off the menu during the spring or summer of last year I think...
Click to expand...
It's on the SWC. I'm not sure if it's offered on the Wolverine or Blue Water (we don't buy food on those trains since our trips are always 2-3 hours at most).
Click to expand...
Well... That's a bummer.. I love that sandwich.. Was veryyyyyyy upset when I found out they took it off the menu. :(
 
A few years ago, I had a Chicken Sandwich on the Pacific Surfliner to LAX from SLO. I had been on a bus all night and was about to eat my luggage. This sandwich was To DIE FOR!

It was just regular airline rubber chicken, but the cafe attendant had heated it just right and the Swiss Cheese was melted perfect. Wanna know something else, the second one was just as good! That was a great trip along the Coast, we do not discuss that service often, I did enjoy that trip and the cool passenger cars.
 
I've enjoyed the teriyaki rice bowl several times and the snack pack w/tuna, crackers, cheese and cookies was pretty good. Ham and cheese sandwich was OK, but stay away from the veggie burger.

Terry
 
While the menu has improved GREATLY over the years, it's still just "heat-n-serve".

The key is the preparation. If the attendant puts the sandwich, INCLUDING THE BREAD, in the nuke, then your sandwich is gonna suck, or at least not be as good as it could be. Some LSA's just don't care, it's much FASTER to throw the whole things in there. But if you can get them to take the meat out, and heat it first, then put the meat (hot dog, burger, ham, etc.) back with the bread, and finish it up for 10-20 seconds, you'll get a better sandwich. Some LSA's will claim, "can't do that against FDA rules". BS. They have sanitary gloves, tongs, and plates to work with.

Mind you, you cannot get a "write home about it" sandwich, but if you are hungry, have the LSA prepare correctly, and then you doctor it up with mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, etc., etc., you can at least get an edible sandwich.
 
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