Eggs in diner

[amtrak_flyer]

Did you hear the rumor fresh eggs are coming back on the breakfast menu? Was posted on Gene Poons email.

Makes me think this might actually work, if Amtrak is willing to tweak the system as needed. If every meal had one fresh entree available it wouldnt be bad.

Breakfast:

Egg dish or continental (cereal and yogurt)

Lunch:

Burger or Fresh Sandwich (not one where they just unwrap it)

Dinner:

Steak to order or the heated up vege dish.

As it is now it sounds like breakfast is a disaster, breakfast of all the meals should be the easiest to keep people satisfied. How can you screw up a continental breakfast, hot coffee and juice? If the eggs come back even better!

My point is sinplified dining should be simple food, not heated up lamb shanks for 18 dollars!

 

[Sam Damon]

Yes, Gene's sources are Very Good Indeed.

I haven't had an excuse to take the Capitol Limited to try Diner Lite for myself. Until I do, I will take the horror stories with a grain of salt. This isn't to say I don't believe them. It's just as our mighty fine President Ronald Reagan said of the Soviets at one point, "Trust, but verify."

 

[RandyJay]

Just got back from a trip on #1 and #2 and I heard the same rumor on the eggs from the LSA. Must be something to it (especially if from Gene) and I'll gladly welcome it! My thoughts on the new Simplified Dining are in the trip reports section - not ALL bad . . . . but not great by any means! Now please just tell me they're bringing back ice cream!

 

[Midland Valley]

Just got home this morning from our Philadelphia trip. As far as #29 is concerned, the Dinner was pretty good. The boys had the special, Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes and I had the braised beef and baked potato with broccoli and it was really pretty good. Breakfast I had the cheich or however you sepll it. It wasn't bad but for an over easy guy, I too would like to see real eggs come back. The guy sitting with me had french toast and he seemed to think it was all right. I heard some (loud mouth) talking about one of the other egg dishes and he said just to look at it made him sick. He must have a weak stomach to go along with his loud mouth. I had no complaints. On the #3 SWC, they still have the regularly staffed diner. It is to go Diner-lite in April. So we enjoyed real china, and ice cream on our chocholate bundt cake.

If this change will get George (I couldn't find WMD's in Iraq so I'll kill Amtrak) Bush off our backs, it will be well worth it.

 

[x-press]

My point is sinplified dining should be simple food, not heated up lamb shanks for 18 dollars!

EXACTLY!!!

I've been saying for years, before anyone ever heard of diner lite, that Amtrak dining cars often bit off more than they could chew in terms of menu items. The "pasta with light cream sauce" I saw last summer looked like dried out hamburger helper, as an example. The people who ordered it had a good laugh.

The savings from this program should be from labor, NOT ingredients. Amtrak should spiff up the salads (who eats iceberg lettuce anymore?), heat up the dinner rolls, toast the buns . . . THIS SHOULDN'T BE THAT HARD.

 

[had8ley]

Yes, Gene's sources are Very Good Indeed.
I haven't had an excuse to take the Capitol Limited to try Diner Lite for myself.  Until I do, I will take the horror stories with a grain of salt.  This isn't to say I don't believe them.  It's just as our mighty fine President Ronald Reagan said of the Soviets at one point, "Trust, but verify."

I just sincerely wish I could turn back the hands of time and prove to you just how bad #58 & 59 really were in the beginning of February...not to sound like a bad sport I will testify that the Empire Builder was one of the best trips I have ever taken and that counts the parlor cars on the Pennsy between Boston & Washinton- there was no finer service than the Merchants Limited, The Patriot, etc. Maybe almost 60 years of riding has ruined my perspective of how it should be...not as it really is.

 

[MrFSS]

Maybe almost 60 years of riding has ruined my perspective of how it should be...not as it really is.

Ah, yes - I can still remember sitting in the dome diner on the City of Denver, roaring across the countryside, having a glass of wine and a great steak, but that was 45 years ago. Oh well, at least we can still remember.

 

[Trogdor]

I just sincerely wish I could turn back the hands of time and prove to you just how bad #58 & 59 really were in the beginning of February.

What would that accomplish? Despite the feelings of those wearing the tinfoil hats thinking that everything that happens is a conspiracy by George Bush to kill off Amtrak, I really believe that Amtrak is trying to make the Simplified Dining Service work properly, with as minimal impact as possible on the passenger experience.

The fact that they instituted a pilot program on the City of New Orleans and the Texas Eagle (and at the beginning of February, they were still in the pilot phase), and made modifications before a larger-scale introduction, and are continuing to make modifications to the service in response to customer input, in my opinion shows that they are makng a sincere effort to do this right.

 

[gswager]

Maybe almost 60 years of riding has ruined my perspective of how it should be...not as it really is.

Ah, yes - I can still remember sitting in the dome diner on the City of Denver, roaring across the countryside, having a glass of wine and a great steak, but that was 45 years ago. Oh well, at least we can still remember.

Yes, you can by riding on American Orient Express. I would like to try that, but it'll have to wait until I'm retiring. Hopefully, it stays there.

 

[BillVas]

Well I am taking the Empire Builder to Seattle in May so I will let you

know how the eggs are in the diners. I never ordered the bacon anymore since I was tired of seeing thru it. I just order turkey sausage patties which are better or at least there was more to them, than the bacon.

Bill

 

[Trogdor]

The Empire Builder is one of two trains not (yet) scheduled to implement the Simplified Dining Service menu. Therefore, the eggs have been served continuously on that train. I don't know if there will be any difference in the options for SDS eggs or standard diner eggs.