Service really can vary. My experience as an Elite 1 has usually been that the F/A's do the best they can with the resources they have available. Agreed that the food is usually not great, but the vast majority of the in-flight crews are terrific.

The West Coast based ones- LAX and SFO are usually good. MD80s to the West Coast also aren't a lot of fun- the 757s are much better, especially up front.

There are many things that can be improved about TWA's F service, but the in-flight service usually isn't part of that equation.