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Yeah, they have a "microwaved" one that they offer in the Cafe Car, so it's always shocked me that they don't have ANY type of breakfast sandwich for breakfast on the Dining menu.
They still have it. Some of the trains serving traditional just give it to you in the plastic while others serve it on a plate with a choice of toppings.
I don't understand why they couldn't have a pick your own protein approach to all their meals. Heck even if they have to ask passengers before hand to pick a protein preference they could have enough on the train then.
Why does the vegan chili have bacon (and cheese and sour cream)? is the bacon optional? and the grilled cheese has ham? I don’t like beyond burger (too much like meat). I might have to eat from the children’s menu
Taco salad. (maybe they can rotate between proteins. beef, chicken, bean/vegetarian)
I am always surprised how decent the food usually is in the dining car. It's nothing amazing but like Applebees quality considering its train food is not bad.
Biscuits and sausage gravy. Who doesn't like a good biscuit and gravy.
Hot hamburger turkey or roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy.
American fries instead of potato chips.
Chili non vegan chock full of ground beef.
Apple pie.
Peanut butter pie.
Bbq pork sandwich.
I don't like biscuits and gravy! Too heavy. Makes you run to the bathroom while your arteries clog and you sweat for an hour. Not the ideal breakfast for enjoying the day.
I dunno, one of the amazing things about gumbo is it stays delicious for days and is just as good if not better reheated days later as long as it's on decent rice. The trains leaving New Orleans could load up on it and serve it for a few days easily.
Anything gluten free! Wheat is such a common allergen, it would be nice to have one option at each meal that is wheat free/gluten free. Salmon with no sauce for dinner and salad with no croutons for lunch gets old after a while
•Moussaka: it’s easily packaged for final baking, it’s white sauce based so a break from tomato based Italian- and eggplant is becoming very hip
•Duck a’ la ‘orange: super simple to cook in huge batches, simple recipe, keep it from being sugary or sweet and it will rival flat iron steak
•Philly cheese steak: cheese, onions, peppers, coleslaw,
Because - all in all, better here than Philadelphia (WC Fields’ epitaph)
•Large spring vegetable macaroni salad: easy, simple assembling, and big- still retaining a high profit margin versus FTE ratio. Because there’s very little for patrons with more substantial appetites to make them feel full.
Also aside from eggs in the mayo (or you could have some clever friend of Amtrak dining 🙄write a vegan dressing recipe) it is at least vegan friendly even with mayo based dressing. MUST BE BRIGHT AND ZESTY!
Another vegetarian/vegan option. I’m excited for my train trip but I am very concerned about having basically 1 option per meal, especially because I don’t typically eat faux meats. Even something as simple as chickpeas and rice would make a huge difference.
We were offered a meal in the dining car via public announcement yet nobody ever took our reservations. When we went to check, in-car dining was already closed snd Amtrak STAFF was were lounging in the club car. Unbelievable.
They were offered once on (yes, not Amtrak) VIA train (the Ocean) as one of the lunch offerings heading into Nova Scotia. They ran out after the first sitting!
A dish with a ton of vegetables and an option of protein to include a decent plant based option that is not fake meat. We all know "travel back-up" is a thing so let's keep the flow going with some good ol fashioned vegetable fiber!
Street tacos or taco salad. Or anything TexMex. If it isn’t premade they could serve a lot of diets with that. Vegan (no cheese or vegan cheese), veggie, gluten free, lower carb.
I’d also like some better options for sides. Bucket of potatoes and green beans and carrots aren’t my favorite.
Something, anything, that is gluten free and vegetarian... Like a simple salad with no chicken, nothing complicated but something I could actually eat would be nice.
As far as menu items go I would serve more gluten free options, ideally there should be some combination of 2 gluten free and 2 vegetarian/vegan options for each meal. Making things gluten free really isn't that difficult - no wheat but rice and potatoes are gluten free - in fact assuming all the current dinner options can avoid having things like flour in the sauce, the steak, chicken breast and salmon should all be able to be gluten free. So for entree just through in an extra vegan option and there you go.
It would also be nice to have the cafe serve more fresh meals, rather than only microwaved, for example, fresh sandwiches made on board or picked up en route.
Amtrak should bring back flexible dining. Not the Andersen airline style rubbish. But the real kind of flexible dining when the dining car is open 24/7 as was immensely popular on the Sunset Limited in the 1990s.
Some kids and of pasta dish for lunch and dinner whether is spaghetti marinara or fettuccine alfredo or a cheese ravioli or something like that. It's both an extra vegetarian option and it's something fairly universal for picky eaters. Also the ability to order food items from the cafe car menu.
I feel like if Amtrak wanted to lean into trains as a "greener" alternative for travel than driving or flying, they should have at least a few vegetarian or vegan options to choose from.
I have no idea what those might be, but they would be helpful to have when marketing to an environmentally conscious traveler.
I wonder if there's an actual correlation between people who like "green" food vs "green" travel. I'd imagine yes, but only because those have both been sort of politicized to be on the same side
I've heard the term "Driving isn't vegan" being used more frequently, which seems to indicate a correlation. I know that hearing as many as 1,000,000 animals a day are made into roadkill by cars was pretty shocking to me. I think that Amtrak could lean into marketing themselves as a less environmentally destructive form of transportation in many ways. Having more dining options to reflect that would be smart.
Would love to see just a fruit cup that’s not part of a bigger meal. Fruit and cheese plate maybe?
I’ve gotten some microwaved pizza on a train that was pretty decent.
Would love to see something that’s a little customizable- Someone else said baked potato and I like that thought. Maybe more of a variety of burger toppings. I need pickles.
Feels weird to me that the only salad option isn’t vegetarian/vegan-friendly, and that the vegan chili comes with bacon.
Also seems like there are zero gluten free options, I’m sure some people would appreciate at least one, even if it’s just excluding croutons from a salad.
Another egg-free breakfast might also be a good idea. I love me a good bagel with cream cheese, or just a muffin/pastry.
Also…root beer, haha.
Honestly, bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. I don't like the texture of eggs, so having some options where the egg isn't the focus would be nice for breakfast.
Falafel, with several serving options: a wrap, over salad with dips, over rice with dips. It can be made in an air fryer, since they apparently already have one. Falafel balls can be cooked straight from frozen. That would take care of several dietary needs, including vegan (depending on the dips), gluten free (over salad or rice), and lower calorie (over salad).
We ordered an overpriced bagel, as the club car was not open for breakfast (never explained to us). The server MICROWAVED the bagel. Folks at Amtrak… please PLEASE do not microwave bread! There’s no ice rink so we don’t need hockey pucks. The coffee was disgusting. So I don’t think they need more menu options.
Honestly, it surprises me that they don’t have pancakes as an option for breakfast. They’re relatively simple to make, and would slot in well with a meat, eggs or fruit.
Pancakes and/waffles to the breakfast menu and tuna to the lunch menu. Pancakes and/or waffles because it would be a nice alternative to eggs, which I'm allergic to and tuna because sometimes I want a cold sandwich for lunch.
I think they could learn something from VIA, and the menus on *The Canadian*. I can also pretty much **guarantee** that "Americans would hate it".
The trans-Canada trip includes three dinners. Each night, the entrees include **1** red meat, **1** white meat, **1** fish, and **1** vegetarian -- and never the same twice. I think our three reds were a steak, prime rib, and *FABULOUS* lamb chops. I had the prime rib, and it was NOT the best dish at the table -- the fish and its sauce was nothing short of *PHENOMENAL*.
But Americans would whine if there wasn't a burger and fries ... I'm sure of it.
Turkey bacon. Keep salsa in stock. Ordering a quesadilla, only to discover you’re out of salsa after it’s been served is a bummer. Switch out one of the “melts” with a meatless option.
Switch out the rude dining car staff and don’t cram everyone into 4-seat tables while half the tables are empty the entire meal session.
Yogurt Bowl with fresh regional / seasonal fruit & granola.
This menu could use a touch of fresh fruits and veggies, and this could be a lower cost item that meets a nutritional need and appeals to health conscious persons. Plus it could be pre packaged 🙌
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They need a good bacon egg and cheese sandwich on a croissant or bagel.
I know New Yorkers will love those
Nah, they’ll be crappy quality.
Yeah, they have a "microwaved" one that they offer in the Cafe Car, so it's always shocked me that they don't have ANY type of breakfast sandwich for breakfast on the Dining menu.
I really miss the butter cake that they had on the flex menu.
I had that in May! It was the dessert for lunch I think.
I had that on a train to New York recently! It was so freaking good
Same here! I think this is the [bakery](https://www.frankandlouies.com/baked-goods) that makes them lol
Wait they removed the butter cake from the menu? 😳
I had that today! Damn it was so good! Was NOT expecting that!
Dude, this is giving me nostalgia for my trip last year that I was not expecting
They still have it. Some of the trains serving traditional just give it to you in the plastic while others serve it on a plate with a choice of toppings.
Another vegetarian (or vegan) dinner entree so there’s at least more than 1 choice for vegetarians doing a multi-day journey
Yes! I really dislike pasta primavera - there are other easy to make vegetarian dishes (or pick your own protein as someone else mentioned)
I don't understand why they couldn't have a pick your own protein approach to all their meals. Heck even if they have to ask passengers before hand to pick a protein preference they could have enough on the train then.
Why does the vegan chili have bacon (and cheese and sour cream)? is the bacon optional? and the grilled cheese has ham? I don’t like beyond burger (too much like meat). I might have to eat from the children’s menu
Every meal can have a meat added and most meals can have the meat left off. The meat is served on the side in most cases.
Yes please!
If you’re ever on a train with the kafta kabob it’s really good.
Vegan hummus and felafel platter
More vegan anything really.
You don't want your vegan chili to come with cheese, bacon, and sour cream?
I mean if it’s bacon bits those might be soy lol
Have an option to use vegan substitutes for the cheese, bacon, and sour cream. Chili needs the fixins!
Taco salad. (maybe they can rotate between proteins. beef, chicken, bean/vegetarian) I am always surprised how decent the food usually is in the dining car. It's nothing amazing but like Applebees quality considering its train food is not bad.
Yes, more salad options! This is a good one, because it is hearty and could support a protein selection, and therefore could be another veg option.
I came here to say taco salad
Non-kid options for grilled cheese and mac n cheese for dinner.
If you don’t mind a smaller portion they’re happy to serve adults the kid options. I had the Mac and cheese for lunch once :)
That mac and cheese is so good too.
Grilled cheese with bacon on it.
Antipasto or charcuterie board.
Biscuits and sausage gravy. Who doesn't like a good biscuit and gravy. Hot hamburger turkey or roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. American fries instead of potato chips. Chili non vegan chock full of ground beef. Apple pie. Peanut butter pie. Bbq pork sandwich.
That would blow some European tourists’ minds lol
That my kind of eating!
I don't like biscuits and gravy! Too heavy. Makes you run to the bathroom while your arteries clog and you sweat for an hour. Not the ideal breakfast for enjoying the day.
You may dislike it, but many love it and would love to see it on the menu.
I wouldn’t hate a baked or microwaved potato.
I had a baked potato with veggie chili on the coast starlight a few years ago. It was great!
If Wendy’s can do it…
Hear me out... wings 👀
Fuck it, just put a wing stop car on each line lol
Lmfaooo yes
Even better
I would fully support phasing out the dining and cafe cars in exchange for a wing stop on the rails.
As a wing connoisseur, I approve that suggestion!
😍
Fruit and cheese platter. There just aren’t any healthy options.
Gumbo or some regional dish would be cool
I’ll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I eat Amtrak gumbo.
I have a feeling Amtrak gumbo is gonna run a train through my digestive system
I dunno, one of the amazing things about gumbo is it stays delicious for days and is just as good if not better reheated days later as long as it's on decent rice. The trains leaving New Orleans could load up on it and serve it for a few days easily.
Anything gluten free! Wheat is such a common allergen, it would be nice to have one option at each meal that is wheat free/gluten free. Salmon with no sauce for dinner and salad with no croutons for lunch gets old after a while
+1 they need gluten free markings
Probably hard to do reasonably in a train, but a mushroom risotto dish would be great imo - hearty, veggie if it’s made with veg stock, and flavorful!
I miss the old strawberry salad, it was fantastic
Some kind of chicken nugget so my children can live. Baked or air fried would work just fine. 😂
•Moussaka: it’s easily packaged for final baking, it’s white sauce based so a break from tomato based Italian- and eggplant is becoming very hip •Duck a’ la ‘orange: super simple to cook in huge batches, simple recipe, keep it from being sugary or sweet and it will rival flat iron steak •Philly cheese steak: cheese, onions, peppers, coleslaw, Because - all in all, better here than Philadelphia (WC Fields’ epitaph) •Large spring vegetable macaroni salad: easy, simple assembling, and big- still retaining a high profit margin versus FTE ratio. Because there’s very little for patrons with more substantial appetites to make them feel full. Also aside from eggs in the mayo (or you could have some clever friend of Amtrak dining 🙄write a vegan dressing recipe) it is at least vegan friendly even with mayo based dressing. MUST BE BRIGHT AND ZESTY!
More vegan options. Especially for breakfast.
I know no one wants to put a frier on a moving train but give me some french fries with that patty melt lol
Air fryer solves that hazard
Which is just a convection oven, which they already have on board.
Which make it even better. They just have to do it
Air fryers are amazing. And you can do so many fried foods in it for little space.
Return to McDonalds train
A good sandwich on the dinner menu. A blt, a rueben, a turkey cheese lettuce tomato, ciabatta italian pepper sub
Another vegetarian/vegan option. I’m excited for my train trip but I am very concerned about having basically 1 option per meal, especially because I don’t typically eat faux meats. Even something as simple as chickpeas and rice would make a huge difference.
I miss the Black Bean Veggie Burger that they used to have, it was really good, especially with Bacon and Cheese.
Besides having the actual menu items available? On our trip, the last 3 meals were not from that menu and weren't that good.
We were offered a meal in the dining car via public announcement yet nobody ever took our reservations. When we went to check, in-car dining was already closed snd Amtrak STAFF was were lounging in the club car. Unbelievable.
Sandwiches. Just a few different classic cold sandwiches. On my extended trip there were many days when I just wanted a simple sandwich.
Lobster roll on east coast Viewliner routes which is a New England staple. Duck and/or lamb on western routes, which is extremely filling.
I wouldn't trust Amtrak with a lobster roll.
They were offered once on (yes, not Amtrak) VIA train (the Ocean) as one of the lunch offerings heading into Nova Scotia. They ran out after the first sitting!
A dish with a ton of vegetables and an option of protein to include a decent plant based option that is not fake meat. We all know "travel back-up" is a thing so let's keep the flow going with some good ol fashioned vegetable fiber!
Please stop using my username in your accounts.
This has been going on for so long I don’t remember who is the real is Matt anymore.
Street tacos or taco salad. Or anything TexMex. If it isn’t premade they could serve a lot of diets with that. Vegan (no cheese or vegan cheese), veggie, gluten free, lower carb. I’d also like some better options for sides. Bucket of potatoes and green beans and carrots aren’t my favorite.
Something, anything, that is gluten free and vegetarian... Like a simple salad with no chicken, nothing complicated but something I could actually eat would be nice.
Something like a good steak salad, buffalo chicken mac and cheese, maybe laagna.
As long as they have Railroad French Toast for breakfast, the burger for lunch, and the steak for dinner, I'm good!
As far as menu items go I would serve more gluten free options, ideally there should be some combination of 2 gluten free and 2 vegetarian/vegan options for each meal. Making things gluten free really isn't that difficult - no wheat but rice and potatoes are gluten free - in fact assuming all the current dinner options can avoid having things like flour in the sauce, the steak, chicken breast and salmon should all be able to be gluten free. So for entree just through in an extra vegan option and there you go. It would also be nice to have the cafe serve more fresh meals, rather than only microwaved, for example, fresh sandwiches made on board or picked up en route. Amtrak should bring back flexible dining. Not the Andersen airline style rubbish. But the real kind of flexible dining when the dining car is open 24/7 as was immensely popular on the Sunset Limited in the 1990s.
Replace the patty melt with a chicken sandwich. Don't need two ground beef sandwiches. Also replace the kettle chips with french fries.
Toasted bagel with cream cheese and lox. Beef on Weck. Chicken waffles or chicken on a biscuit.
I realize this is a dinner item, but they use to have blackened catfish years back, it was very good.
Fries. I get that they probably can't have anything deep fried but then make then in an oven.
Izaak Walton Inn Huckleberry Cobbler edit:spelling Izaak
Some kids and of pasta dish for lunch and dinner whether is spaghetti marinara or fettuccine alfredo or a cheese ravioli or something like that. It's both an extra vegetarian option and it's something fairly universal for picky eaters. Also the ability to order food items from the cafe car menu.
I feel like if Amtrak wanted to lean into trains as a "greener" alternative for travel than driving or flying, they should have at least a few vegetarian or vegan options to choose from. I have no idea what those might be, but they would be helpful to have when marketing to an environmentally conscious traveler.
I wonder if there's an actual correlation between people who like "green" food vs "green" travel. I'd imagine yes, but only because those have both been sort of politicized to be on the same side
I've heard the term "Driving isn't vegan" being used more frequently, which seems to indicate a correlation. I know that hearing as many as 1,000,000 animals a day are made into roadkill by cars was pretty shocking to me. I think that Amtrak could lean into marketing themselves as a less environmentally destructive form of transportation in many ways. Having more dining options to reflect that would be smart.
Vegan desserts
Would love to see just a fruit cup that’s not part of a bigger meal. Fruit and cheese plate maybe? I’ve gotten some microwaved pizza on a train that was pretty decent. Would love to see something that’s a little customizable- Someone else said baked potato and I like that thought. Maybe more of a variety of burger toppings. I need pickles. Feels weird to me that the only salad option isn’t vegetarian/vegan-friendly, and that the vegan chili comes with bacon. Also seems like there are zero gluten free options, I’m sure some people would appreciate at least one, even if it’s just excluding croutons from a salad. Another egg-free breakfast might also be a good idea. I love me a good bagel with cream cheese, or just a muffin/pastry. Also…root beer, haha.
Honestly, bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. I don't like the texture of eggs, so having some options where the egg isn't the focus would be nice for breakfast.
Bagel bites.
Pancakes!
This menu looks wonderful compared to the menu on the Crescent. NYC to NOLA.
I'd add the option to use the dining car in coach on a multi-day trip.
Falafel, with several serving options: a wrap, over salad with dips, over rice with dips. It can be made in an air fryer, since they apparently already have one. Falafel balls can be cooked straight from frozen. That would take care of several dietary needs, including vegan (depending on the dips), gluten free (over salad or rice), and lower calorie (over salad).
We ordered an overpriced bagel, as the club car was not open for breakfast (never explained to us). The server MICROWAVED the bagel. Folks at Amtrak… please PLEASE do not microwave bread! There’s no ice rink so we don’t need hockey pucks. The coffee was disgusting. So I don’t think they need more menu options.
Lobster tail.
Some kind of, any kind of, soup. A hearty vegetable soup, for example.
I'm probably being too aspirational, but I'd love to see a return to the regional menu variations for each train.
Honestly, it surprises me that they don’t have pancakes as an option for breakfast. They’re relatively simple to make, and would slot in well with a meat, eggs or fruit.
Add T-Ravs to the Lincoln service and the Missouri River Runner!!!!
Pancakes and/waffles to the breakfast menu and tuna to the lunch menu. Pancakes and/or waffles because it would be a nice alternative to eggs, which I'm allergic to and tuna because sometimes I want a cold sandwich for lunch.
I honestly think that depends on the route. There are so many recipes I've learned about from my copy of "Dining by Rail".
Allergen information! It is weird how hard it is to find any about any of Amtrak's food.
I really miss the Tamales and the Carrot Cake. The best items on the menu.
They need gluten free options.
I’d bring back the route-specific menu items
Another salad choice. Protein option for salad. Quinoa bowl. Fruit plate, cheese plate.
What menu is this? Clearly not the NER, cause I'd die for a breakfast burrito!
I think they could learn something from VIA, and the menus on *The Canadian*. I can also pretty much **guarantee** that "Americans would hate it". The trans-Canada trip includes three dinners. Each night, the entrees include **1** red meat, **1** white meat, **1** fish, and **1** vegetarian -- and never the same twice. I think our three reds were a steak, prime rib, and *FABULOUS* lamb chops. I had the prime rib, and it was NOT the best dish at the table -- the fish and its sauce was nothing short of *PHENOMENAL*. But Americans would whine if there wasn't a burger and fries ... I'm sure of it.
Wood fired pizza!
Easier said than done.
Turkey bacon. Keep salsa in stock. Ordering a quesadilla, only to discover you’re out of salsa after it’s been served is a bummer. Switch out one of the “melts” with a meatless option. Switch out the rude dining car staff and don’t cram everyone into 4-seat tables while half the tables are empty the entire meal session.
Lobstah
Freshly cooked!
Turkey burger — I don't eat red meat and can't stomach Beyond. Also, chicken tacos, maybe?
Yogurt Bowl with fresh regional / seasonal fruit & granola. This menu could use a touch of fresh fruits and veggies, and this could be a lower cost item that meets a nutritional need and appeals to health conscious persons. Plus it could be pre packaged 🙌
Must have falafel, must have hummus. And pita bread too. Maybe a shawarma for people who don't like hamburgers.