Empire Builder - 2001 menu vs Today

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There was a decline in quality (due to Congressional attacks on food service), and then there was a recovery in quality (due to Congress being told "look, this is cutting into our revenues without saving much"). Most of the dishes are actually the same as dishes on the 2001 menu but with shorter descriptions. There are indeed fewer dishes than before. I believe there have been a few changes.
 
The Empire Builder, Auto Train, Coast Starlight, and Capitol Limited use Real China, linen tablecloths, and glassware. All LD dining cars use real silverware and cloth napkins.
 
Really nice menu! Great sounding meals as well. Most of us eat with our eyes. Windy City Baby back Ribs, sounds so much better than Spare Ribs. How about a Montana Porter House steak for 21 bucks. Nice. I agree, Congress helped kill Amtrak as much as cars, planes and interstates. Maybe more. Amtrak was always a good whipping post for congressmen wanting cheap attention and brag back home how they were saving money. I think the dining car food, as it is presented now, is as good as it gets for on-board service. There are exceptions, but I enjoy the Dining Car. It would be hard to live on microwave cheeseburgers and meat ball subs all the way to LAX.

We used to gripe about rubber chicken on airplanes, now there is nothing but p-nuts, even to HNL. Pony up 9-12 bucks for a cart snack now.

Nice find Andy, great presentation from Amtrak and great sounding meals, Thanks!
 
Why not bring back the neat names that they were using on that menu? As good as the food is now, it would certainly enhance the dining experience for little cost....
 
yarrow said:
although it isn't on this menu, i was a real fan of the "bob evan's scramble" for breakfast from around this time period. don't know if it was exclusive to the eb
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I remember having that on the Silvers years ago. However, it was nothing like the menu item of the same name served in actual Bob Evan's restaurants.
 
I remember that on the menu from my first Amtrak long-distance trip in 2006. Never ordered it. The Empire Builder's came with pancakes, the Lake Shore Limited (using plastic plates and cutlery by then) served it with french toast since pancakes weren't on the menu
 
The Bob Evans Scramble has come up many times here with the most in 2006/2007 discussions. Most remarks were favorable while 1 comment was really bad. I suspect is is a frozen pop out and just plated again. Just scanning, most comments were against the plastic service ware as opposed to china, glass and silverware. Plastic eliminates one dishwasher person down below and was most likely in response to a congressional mandate to cut more staff and hours. Could not tell if it is cheaper or more expensive to use plastic. It is a better plastic service and more expensive. Dishwasher chemicals are very expensive and most washers require booster heat for a hot water tank and rinse.

Congress just chops and chops Amtrak as much as they can.
 
Whpse home was the "home made bread pudding" made in?

I would guess that the difference between the fulsome descriptions and reality became too embarrassing. It's well known that blather affects your perception of the food ("farm-fresh eggs" rather than eggs; "Berkshire pork" that's actually from Georgia factory farms), but when they are blatant lies, the waitstaff get to hear the complaints.
 
I remember having a steak dinner aboard the Empire Builder back in 2001. I honestly don't remember the menu from back then, but I do remember the LSA and how good he was. Haven't not seen him since though, but I got his picture!
 
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