30th street updates (lounge and food)

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I was in 30th Street yesterday--I hadn't been there for a while, and I noticed the lounge has new furniture (much needed--the old stuff was comfortable but getting very worn)--both comfortable and practical. Also, it looks like a Pret a Manger is going to go in where Cosi was (still being worked on--it's not open yet).

And, wandering farther into town, Market Street is getting a Panda Express (somewhere between 7th and 9th Street--I was on the bus and not looking carefully at the cross-street numbers). It says "Coming Soon," but of course who knows how long that will be.

I saw both a Pret a Manger and Panda Express for the first time when I was in Chicago, and liked both of them--not like Philly needs even more places to eat, but these will be nice additions!
 
Panda Express??

You should try Jade Island; its at the north end of the 206/130 convergence. You have to be coming from 130 South and take the jug just past Mastoris and toward 206 north first commercial property past the turn, of you actually enter 206 youve gone too far. That is good Chinese food.

Also they have a bar.
 
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GML--

I know where Jade Island is, but it won't help me when I'm traveling! (Besides, I don't drink, so the bar wouldn't be a draw for me.)

I like Panda Express because it has a nice logical way of ordering in steps. And also when I told them in Chicago I had never been to one, they gave me a bag of fortune cookies as a present, and that saved me when I was on the Cardinal that hadn't stocked any desserts (except for the diet thing) because the incoming one was hours late and they had to turn around so fast.
 
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Unrelated to anything except the mention of Pret a Manger, I was bemused to note that the receipt from the establishment in Washington Union Station identified the store as Pret Manager. Perhaps this registers more discordantly with those who have spent a significant portion of their lives proofreading.
 
I was in PHL last week and was unimpressed with the food selection. Aside from an expensive Grilled Cheese shop, an Irish Pub, and Beck's Cajun Cafe, everything else was a chain restaurant. There is a pronounced lack of local flavor and offerings in the NEC stations these days. I guess this is what happens when the operating companies price out the local establishments. You get "blah."
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I was in PHL last week and was unimpressed with the food selection. Aside from an expensive Grilled Cheese shop, an Irish Pub, and Beck's Cajun Cafe, everything else was a chain restaurant. There is a pronounced lack of local flavor and offerings in the NEC stations these days. I guess this is what happens when the operating companies price out the local establishments. You get "blah."
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You should have come down to WIL.Yeah, there’s not much in WIL, but about 2 blocks west is a “food court”.

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Amtrak 30th station is where we begin all of our LD trips. Ted one of lounge managers is a very nice guy and has been very welcoming and helpful. We will be there in May to see the new furnishings. The best thing about the Acela Lounge at PHL is that the elevators that take you directly down to the station platform. As for the food, there are only drinks and a few snack there but the station is full of food vendors.
 
Amtrak 30th station is where we begin all of our LD trips. Ted one of lounge managers is a very nice guy and has been very welcoming and helpful. We will be there in May to see the new furnishings. The best thing about the Acela Lounge at PHL is that the elevators that take you directly down to the station platform. As for the food, there are only drinks and a few snack there but the station is full of food vendors.
Tad is a nice guy. I had a nice conversation with him Saturday about working at Amtrak etc.

As for the food selection the OP was talking about the Food Court, not the selection in the lounge.
 
Whenever I mention "the wonderful lounge attendant in Philly," it's Tad I am referring to!
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He is both professional and pleasant. I really like it when I leave on a trip from PHL and he is the lounge attendant. I'm so glad others on here have run into him--he is a wonderful example of the type of employee Amtrak should have.

I also really like the elevators that go directly down to the platform. Even I can't get lost when they put you on the elevator with the redcap and the redcap walks along the platform with you and says, "The train will come in on this platform and your car will stop right about here."
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Well, at least they got rid of the McDonald's that time forgot. I've left there with no food and no refund after waiting 20 minutes.
 
I went to the 30th Street lounge today.

Good news: Tad (my favorite attendant) is still there :) . And Saladworks is open on Sundays (which I didn't remember), and I took a salad into the lounge and told Tad I was sneaking it in, and he just asked me what kind I got :) . (They are very flexible in Philly about food in the lounge, as other people have mentioned elsewhere.)

Other than that, I am sorry to say the rest of the lounge news is not good. The beautiful lounge has gotten the fresh and contemporary treatment.

In other words, they've removed the closets where you could put your stuff (yes, I know about security, but you have to check in there anyway, so I don't think a closet in a secure lounge is much of a threat), and they have changed the lovely new furniture (which was there for just over a year?).

The fresh, new, contemporary furniture resembles some kid's fond memories of cheap do-it-yourself furniture in a preschool. Probably whoever came up with it has put it on their development plan and gotten a raise for it at their review for forward thinking. :angry:

Even worse, if Amtrak is trying to save money, why are they replacing just-replaced furniture?

It doesn't match the atmosphere in the main hall, which is now much nicer than the lounge. In fact, I'm not sure I'll even bother going in there even if I'm in a sleeper--I'll just relax in the main hall and get one of the nice red caps to take me down to the train.

Do not get me started. :angry:  

Oh, never mind--too late! :rolleyes:
 
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In other words, they've removed the closets where you could put your stuff (yes, I know about security, but you have to check in there anyway, so I don't think a closet in a secure lounge is much of a threat)
Thanks for the update. I will certainly miss the closets.  I have previously used them many times after checking out of a hotel, checking into the lounge, then going out to lunch while waiting for the Silver Meteor.  :(
 
Why on earth would they replace comfortable and relatively new furniture with some cheap and unpleasant furniture? Just...why?
Exactly :unsure: .

By the way, I was just guessing "security" as the reason for no more closets--no one told me why, so I don't know the official reason.
 
I saw pics of the new lounge furniture on FB a while ago and I believe my comment was an emoji depicting "gross"
 
Why on earth would they replace comfortable and relatively new furniture with some cheap and unpleasant furniture? Just...why?
They have new furniture in Washington. too.  To my mind, it looks like they used the same procurement people that the United Federation of Planets used when outfitting the original series USS Enterprise.  

However, talking to the lounge attendant explained all.  What they were looking for was the ability to clean the furniture by a simple wipe-down, and not have to worry about spills staining the fabric.  And to tell the truth, the old furniture was getting pretty grungy.
 
They have new furniture in Washington. too.  To my mind, it looks like they used the same procurement people that the United Federation of Planets used when outfitting the original series USS Enterprise.  

However, talking to the lounge attendant explained all.  What they were looking for was the ability to clean the furniture by a simple wipe-down, and not have to worry about spills staining the fabric.  And to tell the truth, the old furniture was getting pretty grungy.
How recent was this change?
 
They have new furniture in Washington. too. 
When did they get the new furniture in WAS?  I was there a week ago today and the same (very stained) furniture was there.  In fact, I witnesses, in real time, some of the furniture getting stained by fellow passengers.
 
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