Seeking carry-on food suggestions.

[KmH]

I was thinking maybe getting a flameless ration heater was possible, but it may be considered an "incindiery" which would be prohibited. I'm sure I wouldn't be allowed to bring aboard some types of camping gear like propane or butane cylinders. I have brought chemical hand warmers on board, but those are pretty safe.

The exothermic (gets hot) chemical reaction flameless ration heaters (FRH) use to make steam (heat) produces hydrogen gas (H2) as a by product (about 1/3 cu ft). Hydrogen is flammable.

Mg + 2H2O → Mg(OH)2 + H2 [+ heat]

I'm pretty sure the US Department of Transportation does not allow the use of FRHs on public transportation.

Using a FRH in the field allows the hydrogen to disperse, unlike a confined space like a Coach car.

The odor a FRH produces that some find objectionable is from the magnesium hydroxide gas

It is sort of ironic that solid magnesium hydroxide - Mg(OH)2 - has fire retarding properties.

 

[neroden]

If you are in a roomette, the food is not THAT bad that you need to bring much - if any - back-up food unless you have food allergies

With the current cuts to the menu, it looks like we're going to have to bring our own food for lunch & dinner. For trips like Syracuse-Chicago-LA. (We both have allergies, and the menu no longer reliably has the items which we know are safe.)
This is going to be really, *really* annoying, because that's a *lot* of food to carry. Whoever's in charge of the dining at Amtrak is a moron.

 

[MARC Rider]

Here's a comparison-
Cheeseburger (microwave) - $5.75

Chips - $1.75

Drink - $2.00

Dining Car

Cheeseburger with Chips (burger is reheated in convection oven, bread is usually warmed on grill)

Served with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle.

$9.75 - includes water, tea, coffee, iced tea, or milk.

The DC also includes dessert, so if you figure in cheesecake (it would probably be $3 if they served it in the lounge car), it's about even.

IINM Deserts are Now up to $6 when Purchased as a Seperate Item in the Diner! As most of us know, Coach Passengers have to Pay Extra for Breakfast Meats, Sodas and Desert when they eat in the Diner! I question if the New Cheescake is worth $6 and don't feel that ANY of the items Sold in the Cafe Car are worth the Airport Prices???? :help:

Yeah, but is the stuff they sell at the airport worth the airport prices?

They have a captive audience. Anybody remember the Howard Johnson's restaurants on the New Jersey Turnpike? I seem to recall the Howard Jonson's off the turnpike was a better bargain. Nowadays on the turnpike, it's various chains, which also are overpriced relative to their offerings in locations with competition.

And am Amtrak steak in the dining car in 1974 was something like $8, which is like $40 today. I'm sure it was a perfectly good steak, but relative to steaks elsewhere, I'm sure it was overpriced. On the other hand, you don't get the same experience in a steakhouse that you get eating in a dining car going 79 mph watching the scenery roll by.

 

[MARC Rider]

I've had good luck with the diner and would never hesitate to eat there, especially since its included in my sleeper ticket. I do however, bring a bunch of nuts/trail mix type snacks in individual serving packs purchased from Trader Joe's or Costco. Oh, and a bottle of Jack Daniel's as well!

I have to second this. If I'm traveling sleeper, I'll bring some hard cheese and a bottle of wine. Or some Japanese rice cracker/wasabi pea assortment to enjoy with some whisky.for cocktail hour before dinner.

For the last couple of years, I've been doing a 12 hour ride on the Palmetto. That's a bot more tricky, as they don't have sleepers nor do they have a dining car. And the best cafe car items run out by the time you get to Richmond, which is dinner time on the northbound train. So I have a bagel with cream cheese and coffe for breakfast, and something from the cafe car for lunch, and I bring on items like cheese, salami, etc. for the evening. Last year, I found a single serving of Sabra Hummus in the Publix in Savannah, it was $2 as opposed to the $4 they charge in the cafe car. That was pretty good.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

As to the turnpike prices, how much more, if any, does it cost the restaurants to have those prime locations? I suspect that contributes to their prices. Plus the "captive audience" syndrome.

 

[KmH]

Carry-on meals

Breakfast:

Pack a suitable for you portion your favorite cereal in a 1 qt. ziplock bag for each on-the-train breakfast.

Buy a carton of 2% milk and a coffee from the Café/Lounge. Pour the milk in with the cereal or sip the milk as you eat.

A banana or a small box of raisins.

A bagel (w/cream cheese from your cooler)

Lunch or Dinner:

Sliced dry salami

Sliced hard cheese

Crackers or bread

Hard boiled egg (must be kept cold in a cooler)

Celery and carrot sticks (keep cold in cooler)

Soda pop from your cooler.

Dinner or Lunch:

A pop-top can of tuna in water. If you want to, drain the water out in a sink in the lavatory. (you can use a military/backpacker P-38 or larger P-51 to open a non pop-top can)

A small portion of chopped celery, carrots, onions, sweet pickle relish in a ziplock bag (keep cold in a cooler) big enough you can add the tuna to the bag.

If desired, an individual portion of mayonnaise (maybe from the café/lounge) or some other sauce for making tuna salad.

Pita bread or crackers.

Sliced hard cheese

Mixed nuts or trail mix (gorp).

Handy cooler accessory - http://www.gofastandlight.com/Ultralight-Portable-Backpack-Refrigerator/productinfo/P-U-S-9908/

If you don't want to eat out of a ziplock bag - http://www.gofastandlight.com/Silicone-Squishy-Cup-and-Bowl-Set/productinfo/C-P600/

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Carry-on meals

Breakfast:

Pack a suitable for you portion your favorite cereal in a 1 qt. ziplock bag for each on-the-train breakfast.

Buy a carton of 2% milk and a coffee from the Café/Lounge. Pour the milk in with the cereal or sip the milk as you eat.

A banana or a small box of raisins.

A bagel (w/cream cheese from your cooler)

Lunch or Dinner:

Sliced dry salami

Sliced hard cheese

Crackers or bread

Hard boiled egg (must be kept cold in a cooler)

Celery and carrot sticks (keep cold in cooler)

Soda pop from your cooler.

Dinner or Lunch:

A pop-top can of tuna in water. If you want to, drain the water out in a sink in the lavatory. (you can use a military/backpacker P-38 or larger P-51 to open a non pop-top can)

A small portion of chopped celery, carrots, onions, sweet pickle relish in a ziplock bag (keep cold in a cooler) big enough you can add the tuna to the bag.

If desired, an individual portion of mayonnaise (maybe from the café/lounge) or some other sauce for making tuna salad.

Pita bread or crackers.

Sliced hard cheese

Mixed nuts or trail mix (gorp).

Handy cooler accessory - http://www.gofastandlight.com/Ultralight-Portable-Backpack-Refrigerator/productinfo/P-U-S-9908/

If you don't want to eat out of a ziplock bag - http://www.gofastandlight.com/Silicone-Squishy-Cup-and-Bowl-Set/productinfo/C-P600/

Yes. that is a healthy option but it would keep me full for all of about 45 seconds

 

[KmH]

No problem.

Eat as much of each menu necessary for you to feel full.

The fat content in the bagel, cream cheese, salami, hard cheese, tuna, and mixed nuts helps make us feel full.

 

[neroden]

Somebody mentioned a "cooler backpack" (insulated backpack which works as a cooler) a while back... anyone got the link to that?

 

[Shawn Ryu]

If you are in a roomette, the food is not THAT bad that you need to bring much - if any - back-up food unless you have food allergies

With the current cuts to the menu, it looks like we're going to have to bring our own food for lunch & dinner. For trips like Syracuse-Chicago-LA. (We both have allergies, and the menu no longer reliably has the items which we know are safe.)
This is going to be really, *really* annoying, because that's a *lot* of food to carry. Whoever's in charge of the dining at Amtrak is a moron.

Pay peanuts you get monkey, garbage in garbage out

 

[jphjaxfl]

The last thing I want to do when I travel is bring food. That's why they have dining cars or lounges with snack bars. While they are not as good as they once were, they still provide decent meals.

 

[neroden]

Unfortunately, Amtrak DOES NOT provide decent meals any more -- not if you have dietary restrictions. The menu's simply gotten too small, and more importantly, too unpredictable.

I used to be able to look up the menu in advance and check on the ingredients of some of the dishes, and worst case, the salads were always OK. Now, the menu has very few items, the website which had the ingredients is not up to date, and even the things on the menu may simply be completely absent.

I was relying on the salads. On the last trip, they had *no salad* at the *first seating* of the *first meal*.

The cafe car meals have their ingredients listed on the package, and there might still be salads (some days), but there's no way to find out in advance what will be sold in the cafe car on a given train!

I agree. The last thing I want to do is bring food along.

Unfortunately, Amtrak's gross incompetence in dining car management means that now I HAVE TO bring all my own food along. Otherwise I may find that I'm allergic to everything available on the train.

I am frankly disgusted. I've already complained to Amtrak but I'm trying to figure out if there's some way I can escalate the complaint further. It isn't rocket science to publish the menus in advance and have them actually stocked on the train, but it seems to be beyond Amtrak's current management.

So. I'm going to have to bring enough meals to cover all lunches & dinners. No choice about it. A cooler/backpack will probably be a necessity, so I hope I can find it again (and rush-order it).

----

Got this one:

http://www.ebags.com/product/picnic-plus/tandoor/127455?productid=1330687&rlid=DETAIL_AI

Mixed reviews but should be enough to hold four meals for two people. Have to refill at Chicago... if someone has another recommendation I might get something else as well (people say this one is not necessarily that durable, but I needed something for my trip in 3 weeks).

 

[KmH]

The last thing I want to do when I travel is bring food. That's why they have dining cars or lounges with snack bars. While they are not as good as they once were, they still provide decent meals.

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/62585-employee-undermining-amtrak-revenue-efforts/

From my backpacking and climbing days - "Plan for the worst, hope for the best."