July Changes to Lake Shore and Capitol Limited Dining

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I believe that I had the answer a few posts back. If you must, use the Cardinal menu for the LSL and CL. One man does it all and the food while not up to par with full dining car service is far better than the boxed, high salt, high sugar, high additives crap that they are now serving to their best customers. That's cancer food..
 
Just like the Parlour Car, one attendant served 24 sit down lunches and dinners. One hot entree and one cold choice. The food was pre prepared minus some veges the attendant would dice in his down time in the afternoon. This was service on china with linen tablecloths. The attendant was also a bartender the entire time as well. He had no help from the adjoining dining car at all except they did his reservations. Supposedly Anderson road on the Parlour car and immediately ordered them parked. Ive said it before the Coast Starlight was the experimental train and Anderson killed the experiments as one of his first orders of business.

Since the dining car is headed to a sleeper only service the way the Parlour did it for its sleeping car passengers if efficient as it is/was. Its something customers could live and be happy with.

Im still interested on what Anderson wants on his experimental/experience train he talks about. My guess its all hot air hes just an ideologue that doesnt want the LD trains at all.
 
More likely carcinogens in foods are usually preservatives, food coloring, and nitrites in cured food. Too much sodium, fat, and sugar is certainly not healthy, but raising the cancer risk probably is not the top reason. A steak, (red meat in general) particularly if cooked well is considered a cancer risk, but most of us would be happy to see one again. I'm not so sure that most packaged/prepared meals make a good showing, they are generally weak on fiber, too heavy on fats, sugars and sodium. The nutrition information for the reheats was not any better. But is that radically different from what most establishments serve, and perhaps sadly, what the majority of people actually want to buy?
 
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Here is the link to the ACELA First Class menus, there are (3) that are rotated.

If this was used as the basis for LD dining service, it should be cost effective enough to pass the mandate imposed on Amtrak for it's F & B service.

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/menus/routes/Acela-Express-First-Class-Menus-0418.pdf
These menus sound very decent. I noted with interest that Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is availed on Acela. Being a Canadian Whisky drinker, it irks me that Canadian Whisky is not available on the LD trains. Anyone have an idea as to why?
Low sales.
 
Here is the link to the ACELA First Class menus, there are (3) that are rotated.

If this was used as the basis for LD dining service, it should be cost effective enough to pass the mandate imposed on Amtrak for it's F & B service.

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/menus/routes/Acela-Express-First-Class-Menus-0418.pdf
These menus sound very decent. I noted with interest that Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is availed on Acela. Being a Canadian Whisky drinker, it irks me that Canadian Whisky is not available on the LD trains. Anyone have an idea as to why?
Low sales.

So the sales of Crown Royal on Acela is better? I'd like to see the data on that.
 
More likely carcinogens in foods are usually preservatives, food coloring, and nitrites in cured food. Too much sodium, fat, and sugar is certainly not healthy, but raising the cancer risk probably is not the top reason. A steak, (red meat in general) particularly if cooked well is considered a cancer risk, but most of us would be happy to see one again. I'm not so sure that most packaged/prepared meals make a good showing, they are generally weak on fiber, too heavy on fats, sugars and sodium. The nutrition information for the reheats was not any better. But is that radically different from what most establishments serve, and perhaps sadly, what the majority of people actually want to buy?
Exactly. Just because something is unhealthy doesn't necessarily mean it'll put you at any risk of getting cancer. Feel free to claim that the meals are unhealthy or are bad for those with dietary restrictions, but making up stuff about cancer really won't help your argument.
 
Here is the link to the ACELA First Class menus, there are (3) that are rotated.

If this was used as the basis for LD dining service, it should be cost effective enough to pass the mandate imposed on Amtrak for it's F & B service.

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/menus/routes/Acela-Express-First-Class-Menus-0418.pdf
These menus sound very decent. I noted with interest that Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is availed on Acela. Being a Canadian Whisky drinker, it irks me that Canadian Whisky is not available on the LD trains. Anyone have an idea as to why?
Low sales.

So the sales of Crown Royal on Acela is better? I'd like to see the data on that.
No the sales aren't that much better, but trying to provide an upscale image and a larger selection of liquor than any other train.
 
Here is the link to the ACELA First Class menus, there are (3) that are rotated.

If this was used as the basis for LD dining service, it should be cost effective enough to pass the mandate imposed on Amtrak for it's F & B service.

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/menus/routes/Acela-Express-First-Class-Menus-0418.pdf
These menus sound very decent. I noted with interest that Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is availed on Acela. Being a Canadian Whisky drinker, it irks me that Canadian Whisky is not available on the LD trains. Anyone have an idea as to why?
Low sales.

So the sales of Crown Royal on Acela is better? I'd like to see the data on that.
On LD's you have to pay for your booze and on Acela first you don't. Probably not enough people are paying for it on the LD's.
 
Could you explain your last statement please? It seems contradictory.

I also thought that there was a free drink--which might be liquor--in the new set-up, no?
 
The LD comp drink is only on the CL and LSL. Whiskey went away well before that change regardless. Crown Royal is the best selling CW in the US so that is not a bad choice. The Acela and LD travlers are probably pretty different in what they would buy, but variations of Martinis and Tequila drinks have become very popular and they are not available in either situation.
 
Here is the link to the ACELA First Class menus, there are (3) that are rotated.

If this was used as the basis for LD dining service, it should be cost effective enough to pass the mandate imposed on Amtrak for it's F & B service.

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/menus/routes/Acela-Express-First-Class-Menus-0418.pdf
These menus sound very decent. I noted with interest that Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is availed on Acela. Being a Canadian Whisky drinker, it irks me that Canadian Whisky is not available on the LD trains. Anyone have an idea as to why?
Low sales.
OK, I'm confused... how does one compare sales of Crown Royal between LD trains, on which it is not offered for sale, and Acela first class, on which it is offered for free? Seems like sales would be zero by definition in both cases...

Ainamkartma
 
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Of course you can't. I just looked at it as "not enough people wanted it to make it worthwhile" But the Acela F/C spirit offerings are different in general. They believe it is a different clientele. Is that 100% true, of course not, but it certainly is to a great extent.

I feel like we are straying from the topic of the thread and moving to an interesting and worthwhile but separate discussion. I'm going to drop off of this, and will gladly rejoin the discussion if perhaps it morphs into a standalone item.
 
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In a similar vein I wonder which group is particular enough to prefer a Scotch whiskey and yet not particular enough to care that it's Dewar's White. Contradictions like this indicate that the menu is probably based on supply side economics rather than actual consumer preferences.
 
This was brought up in another thread about this topic

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2018/07/17/amtrak-improves-food-menus/790961002/

From the article:

Bob Dorsch, vice president of the Amtrak Long Distance Service Line, said in a written statement. “This contemporary style of service has been well received by customers, with meals of their choice and at times they choose.”
Why can't they just shut up about the "contemporary," and stop lying about how much passengers love it? These press releases and claims are getting tedious.
 
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A press release is always 100% positive spin, but the writer could have done more than rewrite a press release.
 
A press release is always 100% positive spin, but the writer could have done more than rewrite a press release.
There's spinning something positively, and then there's just blatantly saying that everyone loves that thing. They weren't even trying to spin it. They just made up some nonsense about passengers loving the changes.
 
This was brought up in another thread about this topic

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2018/07/17/amtrak-improves-food-menus/790961002/

From the article:

Bob Dorsch, vice president of the Amtrak Long Distance Service Line, said in a written statement. “This contemporary style of service has been well received by customers, with meals of their choice and at times they choose.”
Why can't they just shut up about the "contemporary," and stop lying about how much passengers love it? These press releases and claims are getting tedious.
What is your basis that they are lying? Oh, social media. Well, I doubt that's a good source because you know that people who don't have complaints are less likely to post online how they feel about something.
 
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A press release is always 100% positive spin, but the writer could have done more than rewrite a press release.
There's spinning something positively, and then there's just blatantly saying that everyone loves that thing. They weren't even trying to spin it. They just made up some nonsense about passengers loving the changes.
"has been well received by customers," does NOT say "everyone loves it". You're the one spinning things.
 
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A press release is always 100% positive spin, but the writer could have done more than rewrite a press release.
There's spinning something positively, and then there's just blatantly saying that everyone loves that thing. They weren't even trying to spin it. They just made up some nonsense about passengers loving the changes.
"has been well received by customers," does NOT say "everyone loves it". You're the one spinning things.
It could just mean that, so far, nobody has taken the dinner box and thrown it back in the crew member's face with an angry tirade which begins, "What the hell is this crap?!" Or at least not more than a half-dozen or so....

Edit To Add: If 10% of their customers did so, I believe Amtrak would spin it as, "90% customer satisfaction...!"
 
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