History of the Cafe Car menu

[Zach]

My first trip on Amtrak was roughly 22 years ago, I vaguely remember the cafe menu but I am curious to hear from those that experienced Amtrak 1971 vs Amtrak present cafe car menu offerings and if they have improved or decreased in quality over the years

Thanks!

 

[tommylicious]

Has gone nothing but downhill unfortunately from what I understand, as has most of Amtrak!

 

[tricia]

I think I ate the worst chicken-salad sandwich in my entire life from a mid-1970s Amtrak cafe car.

Don't expect too much, and you won't be too disappointed with the National Cafe menu. You might even be pleasantly surprised, if you find yourself on one of the routes with a different cafe menu (Downeaster, Cascades, Surfliner....)

If you'll be on the train for more than one meal, or if you have strict dietary restrictions, I'd suggest carrying on some food of your own.

 

[PVD]

The menu is posted on line. Many of the items are actually pretty good, albeit expensive. There are issues that have been discussed in this forum about inventory stocking levels, and inconsistency of manner of preparation which clearly affects the delivered product. Example- a Hebrew National hot dog is generally considered a good product (as hot dogs go) but you can kill it if it is not prepared right.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Most of the Cafe items are similar to what you may pick up on the run at 7-11. In fact the service area on most Sightseer Lounges resembles a 7-11; open the glass locker, take what you want and head to the register.

 

[PVD]

Being an East Coaster, I always forget about the SSL setup downstairs. I'm almost always on a single level, where the stock is behind the counter, all my SL trips are in sleepers so I rarely patronize the service area in the SSL.

 

[Chessie]

Does anyone know if Northeast Regional have cafe cars? Slow trains, not Acelas.

 

[CCC1007]

Does anyone know if Northeast Regional have cafe cars? Slow trains, not Acelas.

As far as I'm aware of, they all do.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Does anyone know if Northeast Regional have cafe cars? Slow trains, not Acelas.

As far as I'm aware of, they all do.

While technically not Regionals, the Keystone Trains between NYP and Harrisburg don't have Cafe Cars, and the Empire Service Trains between NYP and ALB don't have Cafe Service.

 

[PVD]

Yes, but if you are just going PHL to NYP it is easy to mistake a Keystone for a NER and Keystones don't. Similar are the Empire Service trains- if they go past Albany they have service if not they don't. But the car is still in the consist on the Empires.

Guess the previous post came in while I was typing....but we are on the same page....

 

[Chessie]

Thanks all. Is there at least a working vending machine if the cafe car is not manned?

 

[railiner]

Thanks all. Is there at least a working vending machine if the cafe car is not manned?

No....better bring your own snack on board with you, if you have to have something....

 

[PVD]

Other than a Keystone or a NYP-ALB train pretty much everything out east has a cafe.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Thanks all. Is there at least a working vending machine if the cafe car is not manned?

Yeah unless you are on a Keystone between NYP and HAR or an Empire Service train between NYP and ALB you will have a cafe. If you want vending machines you have to ride the trains in NC....its all confusing if you aren't familiar with it.

Also if we are talking history there was the short lived take over by Subway in some cafe cars in some markets.

 

[Zach]

Thanks all, I'm aware of what is served currently in the National Cafe Menu and on the Northeast Regionals and Acela as that is what I take 90% of the time. I'm just curious what was served say in the 80s and 90s and if it's the same as today

 

[Thirdrail7]

Thanks all, I'm aware of what is served currently in the National Cafe Menu and on the Northeast Regionals and Acela as that is what I take 90% of the time. I'm just curious what was served say in the 80s and 90s and if it's the same as today

They have a few more "fresh" items than they did in the 90's, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is "better." Whether quality has increased or decreased is highly subjective. To me, there wasn't much better than the Pepperidge Farm Croissant Pizza. Who needs a wrap when you can chow down on this?

To answer your question, I thought the quality of the food was better in the past.

 

[Maglev]

Amtrak has come a long way in terms of freshness and food safety. In 1974 on the Night Owl from Washington to Boston, I was served a bad sandwich from the cafe car. I got a bad sandwich again in 1977 from the lounge car on the Sunset Limited, and this time it made me quite sick.

 

[Steve4031]

There was a botulism incident in the late 70s. I vaguely remember the news coverage. I suspect that after that there was an improvement in food storage practices.

I vaguely remember snacking on long haul trains in 1977-1979. Iirc there was only one or two brands of potato chips and soda.

At one point in the 80s or 90s eating microwave popcorn on the superliner trains out west. This stopped after the microwaves kept getting damaged by overcooked popcorn.

 

[PVD]

Actually the scare was in the early 70s (the 1971 Bon Vivant Soup case) which was scary because it occurred in commercially canned food where it had been extremely rare in the US. There are no shortage of food borne illnesses in the US, Salmonella, E-Coli, and Listeria have all been causes of many serious (including fatal) outcomes. Amtrak is subject directly to FDA rules and inspections, not local like most food serving establishments.

As to popcorn, that is a good point. Most establishments that sell quantities of popcorn either pop their own, or buy it in big bags and warm

it. The single serve microwave market is predominantly home/office and most of those microwaves even have a "popcorn" setting. More powerful commercial units overpower popcorn packages, often get a bad result unless you have a low power setting available. (not time, power)

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Longhai--

Although the Keystones don't have a café car, the trip is short and there is excellent food at 30th Street Station that you can pick up for the ride. Plus a newsstand in the Harrisburg station with sandwiches that are half the price and much better than what Amtrak has.

Zach--

I don't remember the quality of cafe car food in the 1970s--back then, I was usually taking the train to visit my parents or other relatives and would wait to get to my destination for a good home-cooked meal!

However, the quality has definitely gone down from several years ago. For example, there used to be a garden salad that had lettuce and veggies, with balsamic vinegar dressing given to you on the side. It was replaced with a "penne pasta salad" that has pasta and little cubes of cheese and is swimming in greasy dressing. It is terrible, and it is half the size of the other salad but costs the same.