Ok, I just finished lunch on my train to Ottawa. Thoughts:
1) I really like the seats. The "slide reclining" gives you a better recline than Amtrak has. Point to VIA.
2) The 2-2 seating gives you a bit less room on the sides. Not much of a big deal, but I do enjoy the ability to sit on my own on occasion. Point to Amtrak. I do wish there was a footrest, however.
3) The OBS on VIA kicks Amtrak's butt. The meal format, the hot towel before the meal...it's all just a step above what Amtrak manages in the same situation.
Yes, VIA costs more, but I find the cost to be worthwhile. Amtrak really ought to consider adapting seats that are more like VIA's, and the OBS practices do seem to be a bit nicer. I really wish the Regionals were like VIA's corridor operations...but even adjusting the Acela's seating setup would be fine. I understand the preference for 2-1 seating (hey, I like it more as well), but I'm at least as comfortable on the corridor train I'm on now as I would be on the Acela. Even if they just cut it back to 15 rows from 16 (which would probably only drop the BC capacity to 56 or 54) and slipped in a small footrest, that's all you'd need to smash the Acela in terms of quality.