Cardinal Menu

[Pullman]

What kind of meals would we expect traveling first class on the Cardinal? The dinner menu on the Amtrak website looks the same as the Silver Service lines but I thought the Cardinal did not have a 'full service' diner?

 

[rrdude]

What kind of meals would we expect traveling first class on the Cardinal? The dinner menu on the Amtrak website looks the same as the Silver Service lines but I thought the Cardinal did not have a 'full service' diner?

Surprisingly, "OK". And I am NOT a fan of the Cardinal. Just have to tell you that they make every effort to put out a good meal, given the inventory they have, and the equipment to use.

I was very pleased with the dinner I had back in July.

 

[Shanghai]

I took three trips from New York to Indianapolis on the Cardinal this year and found the meals

to be good. The diner attendant worked hard and did a good job. I hope you have an enjoyable trip.

 

[pennyk]

I was on the Cardinal in August (right after traveling on the Silver Meteor). The food was very similar EXCEPT the turkey sandwich on the Cardinal looked awful. The meat was grey. I had a hamburger for lunch and it was fine. The dining car staff was not as competent as the staff on the Silvers, but they tried a lot harder and they were extremely pleasant.

 

[Ryan]

Some of the meals are a little different to account for the fact that they're just warmed in a convection oven, but they are certainly tasty.

 

[jim hudson]

:hi: When I rode the Cardinal in May to the NTD in Philly I thought the server/cook (it's one person on this train, a diner-lite is NOT a good place to eat/ride)did a really good job, the food, as others have said, was OK, nothing bad, just think that for the prices charged on this basically SOLDOUT/HIGH BUCKET Train a real heritage diner could be attached and a cook added with an LSA and servers like on a regular train. Of course this would mean that the much needed second Viewliner would need to be added since the crew takes up so many rooms but taking one from the Silver trains would work even if the Florida members dont like this idea! This train seriously needs Superliners back with a Sight Seer Lounge!

 

[guest]

This train seriously needs Superliners back with a Sight Seer Lounge!

That'll be when I start riding the Cardinal again. It used to be my favorite train CHI-WAS. Now I stick with the Capitol Limited, for the diner and SSL. I might consider the Cardinal again if it had a diner, though.

 

[greatcats]

I travelled on the Cardinal this past April from Chicago to Washington. Beautiful ride, for sure, although the train is rather bare bones. I requested the salmon for dinner, which had not been stocked in Chicago, so I had the pasta dish, which was quite good. I recall I had the French toast the next morning for breakfast, which was fine. For lunch, the bistro sandwich, whatever it was, was dry and not very tasty. There were three working the Diner Lite, two behind the counter and a lady who was the server. She took awhile to get the sleeper passengers served, but she did have a system and was really quite pleasant. I certainly am not a fan of this dining car setup, but for the most part is was pretty good. What I did not like was that I was seated at a backwards facing table for two. On the other side of the table was a garbage can where the food scraps were dumped - not appetizing.

 

[Shanghai]

I travelled on the Cardinal this past April from Chicago to Washington. Beautiful ride, for sure, although the train is rather bare bones. I requested the salmon for dinner, which had not been stocked in Chicago, so I had the pasta dish, which was quite good. I recall I had the French toast the next morning for breakfast, which was fine. For lunch, the bistro sandwich, whatever it was, was dry and not very tasty. There were three working the Diner Lite, two behind the counter and a lady who was the server. She took awhile to get the sleeper passengers served, but she did have a system and was really quite pleasant. I certainly am not a fan of this dining car setup, but for the most part is was pretty good. What I did not like was that I was seated at a backwards facing table for two. On the other side of the table was a garbage can where the food scraps were dumped - not appetizing.

I sat in that seat for one of my meals. It felt like I was being punished!!

 

[greatcats]

I travelled on the Cardinal this past April from Chicago to Washington. Beautiful ride, for sure, although the train is rather bare bones. I requested the salmon for dinner, which had not been stocked in Chicago, so I had the pasta dish, which was quite good. I recall I had the French toast the next morning for breakfast, which was fine. For lunch, the bistro sandwich, whatever it was, was dry and not very tasty. There were three working the Diner Lite, two behind the counter and a lady who was the server. She took awhile to get the sleeper passengers served, but she did have a system and was really quite pleasant. I certainly am not a fan of this dining car setup, but for the most part is was pretty good. What I did not like was that I was seated at a backwards facing table for two. On the other side of the table was a garbage can where the food scraps were dumped - not appetizing.

I sat in that seat for one of my meals. It felt like I was being punished!!

Hi Shanghai - I think Chatham, NJ station would be a better place to be served a meal!

 

[the_traveler]

The menu is basically the same as you would find on any other Amtrak train - except everything is pre-packaged and reheated in a convection oven. There is no grill, so there are no choices like cooked to oder steaks or eggs.