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I want to thank everyone for the replies. I will definitely order the crab cakes and the chocolate mousse. I am on a diet, but I can't resist while I'm traveling on a train.
 
I'm on the southwest chief now and find the food abysmal after getting sick yet again from the dinner last night.

Fortunately we were 45 minutes early into Albuquerque so I ate in a restaurant there and skipped lunch and I'm skipping dinner.

I'm in a bedroom and really wish they'd decouple the prices for the meals. I'd happily opt out of them.

This is my fifth long distance trip this year and there's not enough variety nor is the quality very good. It's all cheap ingredients from what I can see.
 
blondninja said:
I'm on the southwest chief now and find the food abysmal after getting sick yet again from the dinner last night.

Fortunately we were 45 minutes early into Albuquerque so I ate in a restaurant there and skipped lunch and I'm skipping dinner.

I'm in a bedroom and really wish they'd decouple the prices for the meals. I'd happily opt out of them.

This is my fifth long distance trip this year and there's not enough variety nor is the quality very good. It's all cheap ingredients from what I can see.
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So what do you think made you sick?
 
D.P. Roberts said:
RSG said:
So what do you think made you sick?
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Food poisoning seems unlikely in this scenario. With only 3-4 options per meal, a whole bunch of people would have been sickened if there was something wrong with the food.
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That's why I asked...it seems more like a potential food allergy or intolerance than anything systemic. While I won't dispute the overall decline of onboard dining, I've always found it interesting that personally I have fewer incidents of gastrointestinal distress while on the train than I do in day-to-day life. I always pack Tums, Pepto-Bismol, and Zantac or Pepcid as part of my travel survival kit, but I've rarely had to use them when on the train.
 
No not food poisoning. There is something in their food offerings. Msg perhaps, preservatives to keen the veggies fresh. Who knows. I get horrid migraines where I'm down 24 hours even with taking migraine meds.

I don't appreciate at all that Amtrak food facts is a total waste of time. Read the entree salad. "Marinated vegetables". In what? It's never mentioned. Soy sauce maybe? Which I'm allergic to.

The angus beef is labeled as 100% angus beef but that is a lie. It says no allergies noted. That's a lie. I get sick on those burgers and I've seen the empty box outside Portland union station and reported it to them. Their feeble excuse is that suppliers change. It's full of fillers and msg.

At this point, I've just got to accept I can't eat what they pass off as food. I'm happy if 95% of passengers have no issues but believe you me, 30 minutes of dining pleasure isn't worth 24 hours of pain.

This doesn't happen in regular restaurants and I don't eat fast food. And at least with processed food at the store I see the ingredient list so I can make an educated decision.

Now I just have to determine is my love of train travel is worth the cost in sleepers if I opt out of partaking in meals.
 
I agree glomor. For dinner I actually had a bag of lay's and a hot tea since the coffee is now dry in the sleepers after noon. I'm fine today. But of course I paid for it.
 
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Yeah, I have some food intolerances and I have to be careful. I won't eat anything that's red unless I'm sure it doesn't contain Red 40, as that apparently upsets my stomach. I get hives from celery but I usually just have to live with that because it's in EVERYTHING that has broth or something in it. Fortunately the other things that bother me (mangoes, cashews, cucumber) are easy enough to spot and avoid. And it's not like an allergy: if I get a fruit salad with mango in it, I can pick the mango out and eat the rest and have no problems, whereas someone with a full-on food allergy would have to avoid everything the mango touched.

I find the dining car food no worse than many of the restaurants I've eaten at, and far better than the "rubber chicken" I usually wind up being served at conference banquets and the like. (And it's better than college dining hall food). Maybe some of y'all have really outstanding restaurants and are spoiled but I really don't.
 
Yeah, I live in Los Angeles (lots of great restaurants) and usually eat in non chain restaurant fine dining and buy organic for home groceries so even when it doesn't make me sick, I find Amtrak food not very good.

I wish they'd disclose all ingredients though. The food facts web site is half Assed at best as it doesn't contain all known allergies and is dishonest.
 
blondninja said:
Yeah, I live in Los Angeles (lots of great restaurants) and usually eat in non chain restaurant fine dining and buy organic for home groceries so even when it doesn't make me sick, I find Amtrak food not very good.

I wish they'd disclose all ingredients though. The food facts web site is half Assed at best as it doesn't contain all known allergies and is dishonest.
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It would be very nice for folks such as yourself if Amtrak would disclose their ingredients. Those with food allergies shouldn't have to guess whether they will be able to eat the food. As for me I live in a town of 2800. The restaurant choices as you might expect are few and far between. I don't mind AmChow though it is to me overpriced for what you get.
 
fillyjonk said:
I find the dining car food no worse than many of the restaurants I've eaten at, and far better than the "rubber chicken" I usually wind up being served at conference banquets and the like. (And it's better than college dining hall food). Maybe some of y'all have really outstanding restaurants and are spoiled but I really don't.
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I was thinking about that myself. Most consumers don't realize how pre-prepared most restaurant meals are. There are some national chains which prepare most everything fresh, but most is prepackaged and basically assembled on site. And if you're talking foodservice for the masses (like, ahem, colleges) that's even more true.
 
I would think it would be fairly easy for Aramark (or whoever is providing the chow) to offer ingredients listings, especially since the menu is so standardized. Then Amtrak can print those on a laminated sheet and have them available to anyone who wishes to look.
 
OK, I just returned from a Trails and Rail volunteer trip on 19/20 ATL-NOL and back:

  • The chicken has changed for the half roasted to a good sized boneless roasted piece. Much easier to deal with and diner LSA said they were happier also since there was less waste.
  • The steak was quite good and well prepared. The baked potato that comes with it is thankfully not huge and also well prepared.
  • The BBQ pork shank lunch selection is meaty and satisfying.
  • My only real complaint is that the same mixed veggie medley is served with everything, lunch and dinner.
  • Has anyone had the veggie enchiladas at dinner?
 
I understand the Enchiladas are provided by Amy's, and you can purchase those at Walmart or other groceries. I have some in the Freezer right now.

Bring back the Titanic Baked Potatoes! On one trip, the Steak showed up with a Baker that filled over half the plate. The kitchen elevator strained to get that bad boy to the serving deck and other pax and the server gasped in amazement. 30 minutes later, I turned back a plate cleaner than a whistle. The stunned server asked where did that monster potato go, and I calmly explained where all good potatoes, hide and all, go!
 
OlympianHiawatha said:
I understand the Enchiladas are provided by Amy's, and you can purchase those at Walmart or other groceries. I have some in the Freezer right now.

Bring back the Titanic Baked Potatoes! On one trip, the Steak showed up with a Baker that filled over half the plate. The kitchen elevator strained to get that bad boy to the serving deck and other pax and the server gasped in amazement. 30 minutes later, I turned back a plate cleaner than a whistle. The stunned server asked where did that monster potato go, and I calmly explained where all good potatoes, hide and all, go!
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Sometimes ya just gotta have a JUMBO baked potato! Pounds of whipped butter, 5 pounds of sour cream and a whole bunch of chives! Not to mention the steak!
 
A baked potato without all the butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon is not bad for you unless you need to monitor your complex carbs for blood sugar insulin reasons. I actually like a properly cooked baked potato plain with my meal. I don't eat the monster ones, that is just too much. I prefer the size Amtrak is serving now.
 
I've always tended towards the rice as a matter of course, but that's really down to rarely being able to get enough sour cream mixed in with the potato to like the flavor.
 
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