The coaches are indeed Amfleet II cars, which provide the better seats and greater pitch than normal cars. As for whether it's a better option, that could be debatable, since the train is coming from Chicago and could well be late.

As for the sleeper, at present it's unclear if they are serving a meal or not. I have heard reports that they are supposed to start serving an abreviated meal out of ALB, and so far I've heard one report from someone in coach that it looked like a meal was indeed being served out of ALB since the new schedule went into effect. But that reporter wasn't really sure just what was going on, so again, it remains unclear if Amtrak has actually started doing it. And of course getting the crews to do it is part of the battle too.

I will also warn you that I've heard one report that Amtrak is going to stop taking on passengers in ALB, making the train discharge only at ALB once again like it used to be. Currently going to Chicago, one cannot book a ticket NYP-ALB. No word on when or if the discharge only might go into effect.