>be me>ride Amtrak for cross-country tour across the United States>have lunch>can't have a burger and friesExplain yourselves Americans.
What's a hebrew national all-beef hot dog?A regular hot dog with the tips cut off?
what do you think an angus burger is...
>>2006872What the shit? Amtrak has a fixed menu? You eat the same shit every day on a multi-day trip?Took VIA Rail's transcontinental, and every day on the train had a completely different menu. And on top of that, the staff were open to preparing custom meals from what they had available, because I had food restrictions.I sure paid for that fucking trip, but the food was no complaint. You should come to Canada instead.
>>2006897>Took VIA Rail's transcontinental, and every day on the train had a completely different menu. And on top of that, the staff were open to preparing custom meals from what they had available, because I had food restrictions.What food did they have? I've been thinking of taking The Canadian.
>>2007360It's been a while and there were a lot of different meals over 7 days (because the menu was different every single day). Each meal had at least 3 options. I think the breakfast menu rotated slightly less, but that's because there's a certain type of person who only has grains/cereal for breakfast and so I think they were catering to that.Some items I specifically remember were: a pulled pork open-face sandwich, a chunk of roast beef with a very rich sauce, some absurdly good cake (pro-tip, you can ask if they have ice cream to go with your cake/pie), the usual chicken/fish dishes in the rotation, a bacon and pancakes breakfast (and when we arrived at the final stop, the last breakfast continued until everyone had a chance to eat), stretching my memory a bit but I had a pasta at least once.Overall, I'd say the meals were like eating at a nice, "middle class" sit down restaurant. They weren't superlative like an expensive (let alone famous) restaurant. But it was a great experience because you probably aren't eating every single meal for a solid week in a "middle class, sit-down restaurant" unless it's on a train or a cruise.Of course, if you go for the prestige class service, then I'd have all confidence they would be delivering an expensive restaurant experience. But even if I can afford it, I don't know that I'd do that tier without bringing someone else/a family along to fill out the cabin. And if you were comically rich, Canadian Pacific offers truly absurd luxury trips.
>>2006872Are you really complaining that your burger came with chips instead of fries?
>>2006890No fries
I'm on Amtrak right now. Delayed for 1 hour because the engine overheated. Then a crackhead died on the train so we were delayed for another two hours. Going hungry because the food is outrageously overpriced. 20 dollars for a basic ass breakfast?? Next time I'll have to bring my own.
>>2007386oh i thought terra chips was a fancy name for fries and not a literal bag of chips
>>2007398>he doesn't have a room with meals includedshiggy diggy
>>2007398I'm also on Amtrak right now. Was running a couple hours late, and I was sitting in a car for six hours with no AC in this lovely 39°C heat. Our engine ALSO just overheated and we died in the middle of the tracks. They've given up on fixing it so now we're getting dragged by another train that happens to be going the opposite way (that is only able to grab us because its running two hours late). All-in-all probably about nine hours in this oven. Glad I'm not old or a crackheadThis is not the first time I've had an engine die, though this is the first time I've seen them not get it started again. Ive lost count of the times there's been no AC or power.
>>2006875It's a brand of hot dog.
>>2006872The true American trip is and has always been the open road.>chance to try regional cuisine>any cuisine you want>anywhere from fast food to nice restaurants, or visit supermarkets as well, which often have prepared foods (or at the very least, sandwich ingredients)
>>2007480>hey've given up on fixing it so now we're getting dragged by another train that happens to be going the opposite way (that is only able to grab us because its running two hours late).Can they not just uncouple the engine and hook up a new one?
>>2007512>Can they not just uncouple the engine and hook up a new one?Sure, but the nearest available engine could be hundreds of miles away
>>2007537If it's on a Class I railroad, I imagine they always have a few spare locomotives handy at any given moment.>inb4 not Amtrak>inb4 no HEP>inb4 no steam generatorWhile that is true, the train is stuck on their tracks so they have an incentive to at least pull it to the next station where they can put it in a siding.
>>2007398My pro-tip is to grab a six-pack of liquid meal replacement when taking the train. If you end up with a meal you dislike, just down a bottle. If the food is great, then it's not like that stuff goes bad.
>>2006872In these glory days of rail safety, nobody wants a vat of hot oil sloshing around in a confined space
>>2007663For a moment i thought you were talking about beer...Then i realized there was no sarcasm... and i felt really horrified.
>>2007604The freight lines and Amtrak only fool with each other's equipment out of absolute necessity. Otherwise it opens up liability that the freight carriers do not want. If an Amtrak train can limp into a siding, yard, or some other place where it's not tying up the main, the freight railroad is content to let them rot there.No one uses steam generators anymore though
>>2007691>In these glory days of rail safety, nobody wants a vat of hot oil sloshing around in a confined spaceI mean, you can literally make fries in a pan. If nothing else, you can use butter or even bake them.
>>2007882If nothing else there's the air fryer
>>2007885Amtrak is buying new long-distance rolling stock in the 2030s and should bring updated kitchens
>>2007691>In these glory days of rail safety, nobody wants a vat of hot oil sloshing around in a confined spaceMcDonald's was briefly contracted to handle catering for Deutsche Bundesbahn in the early 90s and they did manage to rebuild a pair of surplus dining cars into restaurants that offered the full McDonald's menu, using custom-built deep fryers similar to the ones used on ships.From a technical standpoint, the project was a complete success. It only failed due to poor sales, poor logistics (restocking had to be done with McDonald's restaurants along the route instead of from fixed mid-journey stops), and the fact that the 90kW power consumption was very taxing on the cars.https://www.thedrive.com/news/38221/the-mctrain-the-rise-and-fall-of-mcdonalds-ambitious-plan-to-conquer-the-railroads
>>2007901They didn't do much with the Viewliner II procurement in the mid 2000s, but this round is supposed to be the single largest rolling stock purchase in amtrak's history, so we could see some push for real dining innovation.We will see.
>>2007935Interesting
>>2006897>Amtrak has a fixed menu?Even worse, that's the NATIONWIDE menu. Meaning that basically every overnight passenger train in the country serves it. The cafe cars are even worse.
>>2007398i always bring fancy instant coffee and get a cup of hot water (still cheaper and better than amtrak coffee) for breakfast along with quaker bars. lunch and dinner are microwave indian food packs heated with mre heaters (i feel sorry for whoever cleans the bathroom). never been bothered about heating meals in my seat.
>>2007404It's called splitting hairs. Nigger wants a oil fryer on a train....a midevil siege fan he is not....
>>2007385Fatboy is a sadist and wants the cooks who are already crammed into the small kitchen, to have to worry about a deepfyrer on a moving train.
>>2007663>>2007709I misread it as liquid metal, I was really confused at first
>>2007485>The true American trip is and has always been the open road.For at least 150 years it was by foot, boat, donkey, if you were really lucky, horse with your stuff in a wagon walking next to it.I have a bad attitude today. It's crucial that I'm right and you need schoolin'.
>>2007691>lory days of rail safetyIs that your way of saying microwave oven?
>>2012103> US rail routes are not electrifiedThe engines are diesel-electric. Diesel engines drive electric generators up to 4700 amperes that power electric motors to the tune of 60,000 hp. There is a secondary diesel engine and generator to provide electrical power for the rest of the train. This generator is called the head-end power unit, producing between 500 and 700 kilowatts (kW) of electrical power.It's not India. We don't need a portable generator strapped on the dining car.
>>2013770why is drawing power from overhead electric somehow worse than burning diesel that you have to cart around with you?If you have the ability to electricity your rail, it's much cheaper and more efficient in the long run.
>>2013768>by foot, boat, donkey, if you were really lucky, horse with your stuff in a wagon walking next to it.Yes. On a road, as I said.
>>2007901>Amtrak is buying new long-distance rolling stock in the 2030s and should bring updated kitchens
>>2013770>60,000 hp.What are you smoking?
>>2016125largest rolling stock purchase in a generation, and they're putting an emphasis on longer service routes, especially with the renewed popularity from a bunch of bigger YouTubers doing various amtrak trips cross country over the last year or two.So yeah, Amtrak has real reasons to invest in their new long distance rolling stock and to invest in the food/dining service.
>>2006872Dining in LNER First Class is pretty good ngl
Travelled first class LNER after completing my exam re-sits (the ticket was only 10 bob more) absolutely mint experience, plus there is so much champagne offered I dozed off
>>2016178Does Bong rail actually still do proper dining service or is this food that was prepared at the terminal and simply re-heated?
>>2016170>especially with the renewed popularity from a bunch of bigger YouTubers doing various amtrak trips cross country over the last year or two.t. travelet.I've only done a couple of trips involving hotels and it was a whole shitshow making sure the plane lined up with the hotel booking and there were literally no vacancies when I arrived so it had to all be in advance. How do people do Amtrak cross country, once they get to their destination?If they book a hotel in advance, do they book up to 2 days extra in case Amtrak needs an extra 24 hours in transit? Or are they exclusively getting off in small towns or small cities where you can arrive same day and get a hotel?
>>2016555The big 3 routes are the Empire Builder from Chicago-Seattle (or the other way). The California Zephyr which runs from Chicago-San Fran(technically it stops in Emeryville just outside of San Fran, but close enough), and then The Coast Starlight from LA-Seattle. My Dream trip would be DC-Chicago-San Fran-Seattle-Chicago-NYC-DC. Taking the Capitol Limited, California Zypher, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, and finish with the North East Regional back to DC. A full round-trip cross country trip via rail without riding any route more than 1 time. The only legs where you'd potentially need an overnight would be Emeryville and Seattle as the train coming into Emeryville gets there scheduled around 5pm, but if it's delayed you could be getting in 5-10 hours later and you probably don't want to have to catch a train to seattle at like 9am if you're arriving at 2am. So I would get an extra day in Emeryville (if my scheduled arrival is Tuesday at 5pm, I would get a hotel room for Tuesday and Wednesday, and schedule my departure for Seattle on Thursday just to give myself a full day of breathing room if I need it. Worst case I miss out on the first night in the hotel if the train is delayed enough.Same case for Seattle.I think the connections for all the other routes give me enough leeway to account for 90% of potential delays.
>>2016578>My Dream trip would be DC-Chicago-San Fran-Seattle-Chicago-NYC-DC.That's not a dream, that's a nightmare
>>2016555>I've only done a couple of trips involving hotels and it was a whole shitshow making sure the plane lined up with the hotel booking and there were literally no vacancies when I arrived so it had to all be in advance.Are you retarded? It's not difficult booking hotels and flights. Any functioning adult should be able to do it all on short notice or day of.
>>2019332I mean if they had a train following Sherman's march to the sea i'd take that trip, but sadly no such train.
>>2007885Are air fryers even any good with fries?
>>2021494Not quite as good as an actual fryer, but if you make sure to salt and oil them well it’s pretty close.
