amtrak desserts

[CHamilton]

In general, I give the new desserts:

• Four stars for taste. They're not quite what they were, but they're still pretty good.
• Three stars for plentifulness. They are definitely smaller than they used to be, although frankly, no one needed the huge servings we used to get.
• Zero stars for presentation. Right "out of the box" they look terrible. Some dining car crews take the trouble to try and make them look better by, for example, removing the cheesecake from its container and adding fruit topping if desired, while other crews don't. It would be interesting to compare whether tips improve with better presentation of desserts.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Justin was super cool, he looked the guy in the eye, face to face and stated he was sorry for providing such a crappy train and he had already had the car attendant pack his bags in his room and they will be getting off in Klamath Falls Oregon and them with the bags. He would not make them endure any further issues from Amtrak and there would be no refunds. Justin then invited them to sit down and try to enjoy the rest of the trip. Klamath Falls in two hours. Be ready. Was there ever silence after that.

Justin and the older passenger walked into the sleeper car and chatted for a bit, only the passenger came back to the table and he and the wife both left for their sleeping car. I suspect they remained on the train to their final destination. The lady at my table needed oxygen and, even though I am not goody two shoes, I had not heard such language since I saw Saturday Night Fever!

This could only have been southbound in the middle of the Oregon Cascades, so I see that Justin was pretty humane, and did not threaten to put them off on the platform in Chemult! :giggle: Not a soul there to complain to... just get on the shuttle bus to Bend, or sit down in the truck stop (where the food is much worse than on any Amtrak train I was ever on!). Do you think they were on some kind of bad medication? If the tilapia was that bad (and I've heard that it almost always is), why order it a second time?

 

[zepherdude]

Chemult would have been a real eye opener for them. No, I think they were just cranky, obstinate people. The older guy started all of this. It had been going on before we took notice at our table. A four letter explicative is a showstopper anywhere and that is when we noticed there was bitterness in tilapia land. Conversely, the lady at my ordered the seafood as well and she complimented the server on its quality.

 

[AlanB]

I've had the Tilapia a few times myself and never thought it horrible. A few pieces were just so-so, but a few were rather nice. And I'm a guy who likes his seafood fresh!

 

[tonys96]

Big KUDOS to the conductor! Offering to allow the pax to deboard his crappy train so they would not have to endure it anymore was a priceless response!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

In general, I give the new desserts:

• Four stars for taste. They're not quite what they were, but they're still pretty good.
• Three stars for plentifulness. They are definitely smaller than they used to be, although frankly, no one needed the huge servings we used to get.
• Zero stars for presentation. Right "out of the box" they look terrible. Some dining car crews take the trouble to try and make them look better by, for example, removing the cheesecake from its container and adding fruit topping if desired, while other crews don't. It would be interesting to compare whether tips improve with better presentation of desserts.

I would give you a bit more tipping if you took the trouble to take the cheesecake out of its container then add more fruit topping. The EB might have better desserts because it has enhanced service overall, or maybe the Diner crew on that particular train was just one of those nice ones that "improved" the cheesecake.

Right now I have no idea what the new desserts look like, so could someone post a picture?

 

[Linda T]

I got my cheesecake in the plastic containers both on the Coast Starlight and the Empire Builder. I asked our server why they went to these desserts instead of the slices of cheesecake, and he said that the full size cheesecakes would crumble and fall apart in transit, and that if they were not pretty they couldn't be served. These in the small round container hold together much better and are less wasteful. Dunno if that's the whole story, but I've now heard that from three different waiters on three different trains. So go figure. :giggle:

BTW, it wasn't till I sat with a couple of guys from overseas that I discovered that one can ask for a brownie with vanilla ice cream on top. They bring the brownie and an entire little container of vanilla ice cream. I started asking for that during my trip, when I didn't want the cheesecake with fruit topping.

 

[SarahZ]

Big KUDOS to the conductor! Offering to allow the pax to deboard his crappy train so they would not have to endure it anymore was a priceless response!

That part made me laugh.

 

[OBS]

I got my cheesecake in the plastic containers both on the Coast Starlight and the Empire Builder. I asked our server why they went to these desserts instead of the slices of cheesecake, and he said that the full size cheesecakes would crumble and fall apart in transit, and that if they were not pretty they couldn't be served. These in the small round container hold together much better and are less wasteful. Dunno if that's the whole story, but I've now heard that from three different waiters on three different trains. So go figure. :giggle:

BTW, it wasn't till I sat with a couple of guys from overseas that I discovered that one can ask for a brownie with vanilla ice cream on top. They bring the brownie and an entire little container of vanilla ice cream. I started asking for that during my trip, when I didn't want the cheesecake with fruit topping.

Well, the waste part would be true, in that at end of the trip, any partially served whole cheesecakes are then thrown away, so single servings would eliminate any waste...

 

[tricia]

I got my cheesecake in the plastic containers both on the Coast Starlight and the Empire Builder. I asked our server why they went to these desserts instead of the slices of cheesecake, and he said that the full size cheesecakes would crumble and fall apart in transit, and that if they were not pretty they couldn't be served. These in the small round container hold together much better and are less wasteful. Dunno if that's the whole story, but I've now heard that from three different waiters on three different trains. So go figure. :giggle:

BTW, it wasn't till I sat with a couple of guys from overseas that I discovered that one can ask for a brownie with vanilla ice cream on top. They bring the brownie and an entire little container of vanilla ice cream. I started asking for that during my trip, when I didn't want the cheesecake with fruit topping.

Well, the waste part would be true, in that at end of the trip, any partially served whole cheesecakes are then thrown away, so single servings would eliminate any waste...

Unless we count the waste of all that packaging for individually wrapped desserts.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Well, the waste part would be true, in that at end of the trip, any partially served whole cheesecakes are then thrown away, so single servings would eliminate any waste...

If I was on such a train I would do my best to make sure there is no partially eaten Cheesecake left to throw away :huh: ^_^

 

[yarrow]

BTW, it wasn't till I sat with a couple of guys from overseas that I discovered that one can ask for a brownie with vanilla ice cream on top. They bring the brownie and an entire little container of vanilla ice cream. I started asking for that during my trip, when I didn't want the cheesecake with fruit topping.

iirc, some amtrak manual says sleeper passengers may have ice cream with their cake or whatever without being charged for an extra dessert. in my experience, some servers are not familiar with the policy or don't want to fool with it.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I got my cheesecake in the plastic containers both on the Coast Starlight and the Empire Builder. I asked our server why they went to these desserts instead of the slices of cheesecake, and he said that the full size cheesecakes would crumble and fall apart in transit, and that if they were not pretty they couldn't be served. These in the small round container hold together much better and are less wasteful. Dunno if that's the whole story, but I've now heard that from three different waiters on three different trains. So go figure. :giggle:

BTW, it wasn't till I sat with a couple of guys from overseas that I discovered that one can ask for a brownie with vanilla ice cream on top. They bring the brownie and an entire little container of vanilla ice cream. I started asking for that during my trip, when I didn't want the cheesecake with fruit topping.

Well, the waste part would be true, in that at end of the trip, any partially served whole cheesecakes are then thrown away, so single servings would eliminate any waste...

Aren't the slices cut totally separate from the rest of the cake when they are prepped for serving? Any leftover untouched parts of the cake could just get eaten by the crew.

The airlines often throw away leftover meals on international flights before landing. The crew could very well just eat it themselves or offer extras to any hungry passengers.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Aren't the slices cut totally separate from the rest of the cake when they are prepped for serving? Any leftover untouched parts of the cake could just get eaten by the crew.

The airlines often throw away leftover meals on international flights before landing. The crew could very well just eat it themselves or offer extras to any hungry passengers.

If Amtrak is like many airlines they may have very strict and bizarre regulations regarding left over foodstuffs. I recall a case a few years ago where a Stew on an international flight took a couple single serving cartons of milk at the end of the flight; they were going to be disposed of otherwise. When her Supervisor saw this, she was immediately charged with theft of company property and unceremoniously fired with cause. Interestingly, because this had to formally take place on American soil, she was flown back to America First Class.

 

[benjibear]

Getting slices of cheesecake out can be tricky. If it is a little warmer, they start getting mushed together.

I see the point of throwing out the food. On a train, it is uncertain if things were kept had the proper temperature.

If you want to see food waste, go to my wife's school. The kids need to take everything and throw out what they don't want. About half the milk goes into the trash and nobody is allowed to use it.