Nothing Could Be Finer Than Dinner In The Diner

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Bob Dylan said:
Train2104 said:
PVD said:
Hopefully, they will return to the LSL soon. Even with the Chef, losing the food specialist position makes it harder to get the food out when it's busy, and appearance and consistent presentation do matter. To most diners there is a psychological function that makes good looking food seem better than the same food sloppily presented.
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Do most trains still have a Food Specialist? I thought it was one person downstairs.
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None in the case of the Lake Shore and Silver Starvation which have no Diner and the Cardinal and CONO which have no Chef, just Heat and Eat food warmed up in Convection oven by one person who is also the Waitperson and Busser!
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I know this has been discussed, but, I used to ride the LSL a lot and it was packed. Why would they pull the diner off of that train. Seems like such a waste. I have been on it when food was sold out in both cars. That make no sense.
 
Frame deterioration on Heritage Diners became a safety concern, creating a major shortage of usable dining cars. LSL serves less meals than Crescent or Meteor so it got the short end of the stick. Supposedly the diner comes back when the new ones show up. As with all things Amtrak, the operative word is supposedly.
 
PVD said:
Frame deterioration on Heritage Diners became a safety concern, creating a major shortage of usable dining cars. LSL serves less meals than Crescent or Meteor so it got the short end of the stick. Supposedly the diner comes back when the new ones show up. As with all things Amtrak, the operative word is supposedly.
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Understand, Thanks!
 
As promised here are some meals from our trip on the VIA rail Canadian #1 last week....all the food and wine was deee-lish better than many restaurants. Last photo is a veal chop.

IMG_20161017_174713.jpg

IMG_20161017_124055.jpg

IMG_20161017_181411.jpg
 
The 2 Via trains that offer dining cars clearly provide a higher end service. An important question though is what is the average fare price per mile for those trains, and what is the cost of providing the service, in terms of subsidy? Of course Amtrak lags far behind VIA in food service quality, but would a more mass market service be able to sustain a much higher cost structure?
 
I know that most things cost more in Canada, (except Prescription Drugs!) but VIA Employees make about the same as Amtrak Employees, so the costs to run a Diner shouldn't be that dis-similar.

I've ridden Amtrak since A-Day and during the Rainbow Train days the Food and Service was excellent on most LD trains.( you Paid for all food and beverages then).

A downward spiral began when the Carter cuts started in the 70s, then sort of leveled off. ( don't remember when the meals started being included in the Sleeper Fare, early 90s???)

The Simplified Menu Fiasco in the 90s was another disaster.

Then about 2012 the Menus once again started going more upscale with the Excellent Chef inspired meals and with good deserts.(the Veggies and Rolls still Sucked!)

For about two years things were really good in the Diners until Boardman made his ill advised and impossible promises to Mica and the Congressional Mica Managers.

Once the nickel and dime cuts began, things went downhill quickly and we ended up with the current bland, generic "National" Menus,Diner-Lites and No Diner at all! ( partly due to the extremely delayed Viewliner Order) .

Hopefully the New CEO will reverse this sad state of affairs and once again make "Dinner in the Diner" a pleasure that all LD riders look forward too! YMMV
 
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Palmetto said:
Yep, nothing could be finer than dinner in a Canadian diner!
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Just to clarify, you have to be on The Canadian, in Prestige, or Sleeper Plus class to enjoy the level of dining service pictured here.

Coach class on The Canadian is limited to a cafe car menu year round, and a diner with a more basic menu during the summer peak only.

The diner on The Ocean features catered food cooked off board (reheated and prepped on board), and a cafe car for coach passengers.

Ken
 
Off board catered meals, reheated on the train/plane can be pretty good if you want them to be. ACELA first class, VIA, and airline first class, particularly international flights, can be pretty good. What I'm trying to ascertain, is the impact better quality meals would have on service costs, in other words : all of us pretty much agree food could be better, but does that affect ridership to the point where the improvements would at least pay for themselves through better sales and ridership, or could you get a better fare yield.. We all seem to agree that service ranges from excellent to an occasional poor. That's a separate issue, it's true in many Amtrak areas outside of food service. Does it cost you customers and sales, and assuming it does, enough to offset the cost difference or not. Most of us have an opinion on the subject, and would like to see better food, but is that a sound business decision? (I hope so, but other than supposition have no real way to support my feelings)
 
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turkey breast lunch on northbound coast starlight Nov 24, 2016

1480204292237.jpg lamb shank dinner on northbound coast starlight parlour car 24, 2016

1480204368449.jpg chicken pasta dinner on northbound coast starlight parlour car Nov 24, 2016

1480204489755.jpg ham and cheese lunch on northbound coast starlight parlour 25, 2016
 
Bob Dylan said:
I know that most things cost more in Canada, (except Prescription Drugs!) but VIA Employees make about the same as Amtrak Employees, so the costs to run a Diner shouldn't be that dis-similar.

I've ridden Amtrak since A-Day and during the Rainbow Train days the Food and Service was excellent on most LD trains.( you Paid for all food and beverages then).

A downward spiral began when the Carter cuts started in the 70s, then sort of leveled off. ( don't remember when the meals started being included in the Sleeper Fare, early 90s???)

The Simplified Menu Fiasco in the 90s was another disaster.

Then about 2012 the Menus once again started going more upscale with the Excellent Chef inspired meals and with good deserts.(the Veggies and Rolls still Sucked!)

For about two years things were really good in the Diners until Boardman made his ill advised and impossible promises to Mica and the Congressional Mica Managers.

Once the nickel and dime cuts began, things went downhill quickly and we ended up with the current bland, generic "National" Menus,Diner-Lites and No Diner at all! ( partly due to the extremely delayed Viewliner Order) .

Hopefully the New CEO will reverse this sad state of affairs and once again make "Dinner in the Diner" a pleasure that all LD riders look forward too! YMMV
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I don't understand why the blame for this falls on Boardman. The requirement to cut food and beverage losses is enshrined into federal transportation law so Amtrak has little choice.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
snvboy said:
Davids said:
Dinner and desserts on the hoosier state south bound #850 train on Nov 28, 2016
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Is that "pie?" I don't think it is - pie comes in a little round plastic container with a cellophane peel-off top.
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I'm sure that one did too.... Iowa Pacific is just smart to plate it and serve it with some class!
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Along that lines there was a time not too long ago when Amtrak Cheesecake actually came from large pies that often sat on one of the supply tables in the Diner and were portioned off as needed.
 

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