"Hebrew National Hot Dog" is an actual selection from a First Class menu? I'm not sure if that says more about Amtrak or its First Class passengers...

Disclaimer: I upfared to Acela First exactly once several years ago. After spending 2+ hours listening to a bunch of self important people blabbing on about themselves, and having to chase down an attendant since they "forgot" to offer me a meal, I decided Business was more than adequate.

I wish it were all the time. Believe it or not the hot dog is one of my Amtrak traditions in any class. You may not like the option, but don't disparage the passengers who enjoy it. Your post has no class when you talk about the passenger compared to criticizing the actual meal.

At least for me, the food is the last reason motivating me to choose Acela First class. I'm not a picky eater, but one of my last hot meals on Acela pre-COVID was literally inedible, i.e I could not physically chew it (it was a Short Rib, the toughest piece of meat I have ever encountered in my life). I've had some great meals on various forms of transportation (LX, LH, NH, JL First, etc., and even "pretty good" meals on some less aspirational products) but Acela is not one of them. I think their best effort was the old "light bites" hummus plate.

For my rides from WAS-NYP, for typically a roughly $125 premium to have:

• The privacy of a single seat with no one sitting next to me
• A quiet place to wait for the train, and stress-free boarding
• A couple of DFH 90 minute IPAs en route
• Sometimes, very friendly and professional service (and sometimes not)

I find it very worthwhile and pretty much the nicest way to travel between DC and NY. I've also had a lot of great conversations with random strangers in Acela First and if I don't feel like it, my noise-cancelling headphone solve that problem.

I choose it for the single seat plus the meal plus free alcohol, probably in equal parts. Luckily I've never had a dud, although the old style meals cannot come back soon enough for me.

Hot dogs are fine for what they are, and if you're going to eat one Hebrew National is probably the way to go, but for a First Class menu I would expect it to maybe be in the category of "alternate snacks available outside of meal service". A "hot dog with kettle chips" is not in the same culinary category as most of the other items on the menu.

On the Amtrak side, it seems like only recently is the food service catching up to where the country has been moving over the past twenty years (higher quality ingredients, less processed foods, etc). On the passenger side, it's akin to passenger expectations when being served a plastic wrapped sandwich in a cardboard box on a domestic F flight.

I agree with this point in general. I never book premium air travel because of the food -- I want the space at the seat as the primary consideration. That said, for the relative price of the ticket I don't expect a plastic wrapped sandwich in a cardboard box with my airline F ticket. (And for the record, I think most of the other items on the Acela menu would exceed that expectation.)

IIRC, the hot dog and cheeseburger (from the Cafe Car) aren't new, but they weren't officially on the F menu; the policy might even have been that only kids traveling in F could request it.

I have no observations either way, but I suspect that on many airlines a CHML in J/F may well include a hot dog.

I've had the hot dog in the cafe car before. But I don't think it was an actual Hebrew National. I used to enjoy those at Wrigley Field and they were vastly better that what I had in the cafe car on Acela.

The new FC menu was introduced today. Cloth napkins and real silverware are back! Also, the off-menu cheeseburger and hot dog entrees are available as well for the asking by those in the know :) Bon appetit :)
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2914f3346.jpeg

[QUOTE=wxguy;33464599]The new FC menu was introduced today. Cloth napkins and real silverware are back! Also, the off-menu cheeseburger and hot dog entrees are available as well for the asking by those in the know :) Bon appetit :)
/QUOTE]
This is great news. They now have two rotating menus. You can view both on the Amtrak web site.

Pictures of some of the meals here:

On 2166 NYP-BOS now. Real glassware and silverware, as well as snack mix in a ramekin are back too. Amy and Tom are terrific FC attendants.

Acela 2169 BOS- PHL 8/25
 

As has already been stated, cloth napkins, glassware and silverware have returned to the first class service on the Acela I recently traveled from BOS to PHL. The first class car was about 60% full between BOS and NYC and closer to 80% full after leaving NYC.
Overall good service. The ramekin with snack mix was only offered during the drink service after departing NYP, so maybe it is only part of the dinner service, as my 2PM deprature from BOS technically made that lunch service. For lunch I had the Tandoori chicken, was was fine, even if the portion wasn't huge. Roll was heated. The Chardonnay offered was quite tasty.
From NYP to PHL I got the fruit and cheese plate. Nice size offering. Switched to scotch and soda as my drink, and you can tell from the darker color it was definitely mixed as a double. :-)
Overall very pleased with the food and beverage offerings and the service was attentive.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5b69c709b5.jpg
Chicken Tandoori
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2f9d45b1b0.jpg
well mixed scotch and soda!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a040d8d1d9.jpg
fruit and cheese plate

Onboard now riding NYP-WAS. I’ve been riding Acela First semi-regularly for around 10-12 years and have a strong association of Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA and Acela First. To my shock, 90 minute is gone, 60 minute is in its place, and Space Dust IPA is now on the menu as the “higher ABV” beer. Everything must change eventually I suppose.

I also had the Fruit & Cheese, just like rittenhousesq. Warm roll. Snack mix in a ramekin. Seems to be back to normal except for the packaged dessert. Probably 70% full on a Saturday afternoon. NYP metropolitan lounge a great place to wait as always.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b97ea3a51.jpeg
Fruit and Cheese
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...aa19c3938.jpeg
Food menu
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9fa7e9553.jpeg
Drinks menu

Can you confirm that bar service has begun at the Metropolitan lounge? Over on Facebook someone else who posted about recently being in the lounge responded in the affirmative when I asked, but I'm not 100% sure they understood my question.

rittenhousesq and River in Sight, thanks so much for the Acela F updates. I'll sincerely mourn the loss of the Dogfish 90, but the Space Dust IPA is hardly a bad alternative.

-FlyerBeek