In my opinion, the dining service on Amtrak is a significant missed opportunity. Here is an area where rail potentially can shine. From fresh-cooked preparation to sit-down table service with a view, rail can offer meal service in a way that air could never match. The café should be a pleasant place for an afternoon snack or a relaxing late night drink. The logistics of a train make possible a first-rate dining and snack and beverage experience.

But what Amtrak delivers is too often Denny’s with an attitude. The wildly variable food quality and service delivery on Amtrak is the stuff of legend. Go to McDonalds or the Olive Garden and you know exactly what to expect, and the food and service is delivered consisitantly coast to coast. Exceptions are rare. Go into an Amtrak dining car and it is a crap shoot (no pun intended). Anything can happen.

Amtrak long ago should have outsourced all food service from supply and pre-prep (which is already outsourced) to the onboard preparation and service. Get a first-rate catering firm, put tough QC clauses in the contract, and let them do their thing. IMHO, you would get much better and much more consistent delivery of food service and would probably save money to boot.

Let Amtrak run the trains and let food people do the food.