I remember going on the Southwest Chief in 1973 with my parents and two brothers. I was 11 years old and my mom and dad packed so many sandwiches, chips, candy bars, fruit, pop and cookies that it lasted from Kansas City to LA😃 What wonderful memories. One sad part 😩…we thought the train pulled off, leaving our mother in Albuquerque. We cried and before our daddy asked the attendant what they could do, our mama appears and we screamed!!! We asked her where she had been and said “in the cafe car drinking coffee in peace🥰” So glad I found your channel. What a joy you guys are!!!My husband and I will take the train from Portland to Seattle in a couple of months on my 60th Birthday☺️.
The food was the best part on the California Zephyr. Having the roommette, they feed you three meals a day and towards the end of the trip, we found ourselves skipping lunch as we were too full!
I was absolutely blown away by the quality of the food on the traditional dining experience on the Sunset Limited. I still say that steak was one of the most perfectly cooked I have ever had. And the French toast... Wow. I was expecting thin slices like one might find at a Denny's or something. It was truly amazing. And if your breakfast seating is towards the end of the breakfast hours and they have it, they will let you have plenty of extra sausage and/or bacon
Terrific video guys! You summarized things really well, and it’s clear you’re not just experienced Amtrak travelers, you’re passionate about it as well. Subscribed!
Hey Rob, we are on the Southwest Chief to Flagstaff now, crew change and maintenance stop in Albuquerque,NM, and I wanted to tell you I had the flourless chocolate torte for dessert at lunch! If you are a chocolate lover, this is for you! Rich, melts in your mouth and just enough whipped cream. Hope you get to sample it sometime soon.
Taking my first train ride in January from NYC to Atlanta. Got a roomette reserved and your videos are saving me from a lot of first timer mistakes and making me more excited for the trip.
I am sooooo glad the dining cars are back open. Hubby and I want to take a trip, but we didn’t want to go unless the dining cars were open. I traveled as a little girl with my mother, and one my favorite things to do was to get dressed up and go to the dining car. We are soooo looking forward to taking a trip and your videos are soooo very helpful and informative. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge and answering all our questions. Safe travels to you both and may God Bless you both. 🙏🏻❤️
I’m going to take my first Amtrak trip in early August riding the Cardinal from Cincinnati connecting to the Zephyr and finally the Coast Starliner to LA. Your travel guides have been most helpful and thorough covering everything I’ve wanted to know to be prepared for my trip. Your presentations are casual yet professional. Thank you for making these videos!
Now I know why I like your channel so much even though I don’t travel 🧳 and have no intention of taking the train 🚂. There’s sooo much anger everywhere. It’s on RU-vid and the news, etc. Yet, when I watch your videos I feel a sense of peacefulness. It’s very relaxing 😎. Great 👍 job folks !!!
The food on the Zephyr was delicious! I had the Café food on the way to California and the Traditional Dining on the way back. Since I have no idea if or when I will get a chance to ride again, I was determined to be bold in my selections and I was not disappointed. Everything I tried was so yummy! Some things I would not traditionally order but I was very pleased with all of their offerings.
Thank you for all the tips,I love your video's,, I tried to book a trip to Sandpoint, Idaho for aug. the sleepers were taken so this old lady of 82 is going to tough it out by going coach,and after watching your video on going by coach it may not be so bad,, thank you,,
We back in the before times (1986), I worked on Amtrak for the summer as a dining car attendant. We worked 18 hours a day then slept in the employee dorm car at night. A brisk shower woke us up at 5:00 am and then we worked until we closed dinner down. It was a great job! $9.54 hour plus tips, and tips were generally pretty good. We'd leave out of LA and go to either Chicago or New Orleans. There, we'd stay in a hotel for the night, then report back in the morning for the trip home. It was a great job...although I learned about the long-time customs of train workers that goes down through many generations. Those "old timers" didn't really care for part time college kids taking their jobs. I learned a lot that summer!
I remember Amtrak travel back in the early 80s! NOT very "culinary-friendly" in the dining car. LOL. My mom and I took a trip on Train 4 to Chicago and she ordered one of the "microwave cheeseburgers" from the diner...She drank alcohol the rest of the way. LOL. My grand-dad was a chef on that same route back when it was the Santa Fe and I, currently, am a chef on the Coast Starlight. While the food quality is nowhere as good as it was during the Clinton Years, Amtrak struggles to maintain a balance between "food quality" and "cost effectiveness" in large part, because of U.S. House Representative John Mica's (R., FL.) theatrics when it came to Amtrak food operational costs and his efforts to contract out Amtrak food service in entirety. I, personally, feel that Amtrak made a huge mistake by contracting out its commissary operations. Now there is neither food product nor food quality consistency...in large part because of the contractor's efforts to secure product for the "least amount".
@@grouchodarx8868 This is a great story. And yes, sadly, Amtrak is beholden to Congress' monetary whims. Hopefully it will return to some sort of glory days one day!
I was 4 the one and only time I was on a train. 51 now. I still have a few memories. Mostly seeing the snow in the Cascades as we went to Eastern Washington.
I booked a bedroom from Lamy to Los Angeles this January and I love the included meals. Last January I got lunch out of Lamy Dinner and Breakfast plus the Metropolitan Lounge.
I've only done a short trip from St. Paul to Wisconsin Dells and back, but it was lovely. My son used to go to college from Marion IL to Fargo, ND. THAT was a long haul in coachl, but the amount of luggage they'd allow made it THE way to go and from college each school year.
I can't wait. Watching you two inspired me to do a cross country trip. I had to reschedule my trip from Feb to Oct , unfortunately had to loose my roomette and accept a family room. Really would rather be on upper level for the view.I wish they could lower some of the prices for roomettes. But because of your advise, I did get the credit card with 50,000 points and this trip taking me from Los Angeles to SFO on Coast Starlight then on the Zephyr and lastly on the Capitol Limited is free...using most of my points.Can't thank you enough....also watched your cruise videos and once it seems safe for cruising, I will improve my knowledge by rewatching those videos and book some cruises. Budgeting is always a consideration. I'm 72 and travel solo.It has been such a joy watching you both as you share your lives and travels. God bless!
I have taken one Acela first class trip and am officially addicted to how fun the train is and cannot wait to book my next trip! I get my fix by watching these videos. Amtrack should get you some free train rides so you can make videos...
Thank you once again for an outstanding video. Always so detailed, the good and the bad. It is a shame it isn't like the 60's when I rode the trains from Connecticut to Kansas. The Golden Age of railroad dinning. Again thank you for the video!
Hi, Rob and Ali! Great video, as always. I must have good "flourless chocolate torte" karma because I have always had it available. It is awesome . . . worthy of any top restaurant! I close my eyes and don't think about the calories when I eat it 😊. Keep the faith, Rob: There's a flourless chocolate torte out there, soon, with your name on it!
I saw a video about a Builder that got delayed by snow for so long they gave out of food. The called ahead to the next stop and got Subway sandwiches for everyone.
My wife and I are enjoying your videos. Traveling on Amtrak is on our bucket list. We live in Oxford, Alabama only 8 miles from the Amtrak station in Anniston, Alabama. I think the train is called the Crescent. Your videos have given us valuable information.
Thanks guys. Im considering going to Vegas by train and just stumbled across your feed. Awesome thanks again. Otherwise I would not have know what to expect.
Hi I came across your channel this week by accident. I can’t stop watching I find it so interesting. I can’t travel on the Amtrak because I’m from the UK 😀but I’m just enjoying the content. My son is a train fanatic has been since he was very little. He is now 20! Maybe that’s the reason why your videos popped up as a recommended watch. I’m glad they did ☺️
Again awesome.....Southwest Chief was my ride once I got to Chicago via NJ and then road it on top level coach down to Albuquerque, NM where I now reside😀 the past 11 years.
I love all your videos .. in 2018 we traveled by train Boston to glacier with vacations by rail. Fantastic vacation. My husband will tell you the train was the best part of our 16 day vacation in the national parks…lol now we will be going all the way to Seattle to catch a cruise to Alaska. Your videos sure help us thank you for your hard work
Thank you so much for providing tip info. We took our first long trip - 3 trains over 5 days - and We had some problems with one of the dining car attendants on our recent trip Southwest Chief trip. He apparently didn’t think we were tipping enough. But now I know that we were tipping sufficiently. Thank you again for all the info you provided- you are the reason we are doing Amtrak and we love it.
Thank you for reviewing these options. We're in a Roomette in April so we'll have dining included. And I wasn't sure how much to tip, and knew you mentioned it before in a video so I'm happy you give that information frequently so we know what you do for tips.
You guys did a excellent job in explaining everything about traveling on an Amtrak train. Thanks for your help in giving us a lot of choices on this great way to travel. My wife and I want to travel from New York to Seattle and you guys helped us make room choices easy. Thanks again
I'm taking Amtrak on the 25th, not my first trip with Amtrak, but My first roomette experience. Your videos have helped me look forward to this new experience.
Thanks for all this information. These travels with you two are great and exciting! I enjoy taking the journey with you! Life of traveling is so fascinating!
I'm so grateful to find this channel!! I booked my first train and solo trip to New Orleans! Your videos have helped understand what to expect and inspired me to book again! Thank you!
Somehow you both are comforting as well as adventurers to me. Keep up a great job. Maybe my hubby and I will take an Amtrak train vacation. I would love it a lot. Thanks, Laura from New Hampshire
I was on the Empire Builder heading from Chicago to St. Paul a couple of weeks ago (March 2024) noticed that the appetizers and desserts have changed a bit. The entrees are the same as in this video. I had cocoanut shrimp for the appetizer and they were great. For dessert I had a raspberry cheesecake which was also excellent. The salmon was great!
How long ahead of time do you need to get your ticket for a sleeper? Want to travel west from Iowa. Also is it easy to get tickets to spend time in other places like a redwood forest then a different ticket to continue on? Is it worse now with pandemic changes. Employees have the vaccines needed? Wear masks? More people or less now? Traditional dining would be better for us. We are seniors and hope it is safe. Thank you so much for all your advice! February 1, 2022
This reminds me of my childhood traveling to the East coast with my Godmother, and I can remember being afraid; but now I'm ready to take my self on a train and travel the world.
Thank you both for these informative videos. It helped me greatly in planning my first AmTrak trip from Chicago to San Antonio. More trips to come on AmTrak.
We are leaving Sunday for an Amtrak trip from Chicago to the Grand Canyon. We have sleeper car tickets and I have been wondering about the meals. I had heard that everything was flexible dining no fresh cooking in the kitchen. So happy to see your video! Looking forward to the trip and food along the way!
Which train are you on? Everything west of Chicago will have traditional dining, except the Texas Eagle, which will have it, but not until it gets to Texas.
If you bring your own food, will a microwave be available? You may answer this later, I’ll keep viewing. Thanks. Found the channel today and I am binge watching. Love it.
You guys do a great job of giving passengers options, (including photos!) depending on the class of train or the length of your trip. My experiences with Amtrak have all been on the Coast Starlight (or the Cascade trains) where the food was quite enjoyable. Lots of fresh, locally grown fruits, salads and meat selections. The views are wonderful. From the photos you've shown, the selection of alcohol beverages is all low end product, no premium beers, wine or alcohol. The snack bar food selection is not worth the money from my point of view. It's akin to 'fast food' served all over North America. Poor quality and largely unhealthy selections. I will travel Amtrak again, hopefully later this year. The crews are fun, the views are spectacular and it's a train....and that's always good. I'd love to see you do a comparison story about the food and beverages served aboard VIA RAIL's "The Canadian" from Vancouver to Toronto. I'll be trying that early next year!
As a 21 yr Amtrak rider, I very much appreciate this couples videos and their honest opinions on travel. . I must disagree on one point. We've tried them many times but The Flexible meals are absolutely terrible, not even as good as a premium TV dinner. If you read the Flex labels they are loaded with salt, sugar and all kinds of toxic chemicals. Last time we were on the Cardinal we rejected the flex meals and just chose the cheeseburgers; not healthy but a better taste than flex. I would also appreciate their opinion on Superliner bedroom A that is pretty tight.
This is semi in response to These Cats and Arctic Rev, but for anyone. After living and working on Long Island for 30 years and paying off my mortgage, I moved to Florida. I chose to drive my car to outside Wash. DC (10 hours; hit tons of traffic) and take the Auto Train. As boarding was early the next morning, stayed overnight at the Amtrak sponsored Quality Inn and next morning put my car on the Amtrak Auto Train. I tried to buy an inexpensive roomette, but it was October and only the full suites were available. It was huge!! It had 2 captains chairs with armrests, a full shower and bathroom, and 4 beds. I insisted on the second floor, middle of train car. Was an amazing experience and yes, had full dining car experience with, as you said, white cotton tablecloths and real silverware. Was seated at a table of 4 so I had someone to talk to; seated opposite a husband and wife and next to another single traveler. A very expensive room, but no complaints; entire experience, for a single person age 50, was wonderful. Now I spend my money on Disney and Universal tickets.
I took a ride on the Empire Builder back in October 2021. Great meal service! And they had the new flexible menu; but I think the options were a little different (I think). The only downer, not sure what happened, on the last morning the chef did not board the train; and we were left with yogurt, cereal or French toast for breakfast. I pray that was just a one-off. Has that ever happened to y’all? (Or anyone else)
We once had the dining car attendant quit his job in the middle of the route after he had forgotten to put salad and rolls on the train. That is the only thing close.
@@GroundedLifeTravel hi! ive commented before but when we boarded the Crescent to head BACK to ATL from NoLa, they didnt have any breakfasts. the train sat there overnight of course and they were about 30 minutes late in boarding. not sure what happened there. this was Oct 21. we also only had hot dogs or hamburgers for lunch/dinner. not sure why this was, they had all night to restock the food... we had roomettes and there was a snack type car in the consist but we knew nothing about how to eat in any dining car. maybe the Crescent doesnt have a dining car other that the Snack car? your other videos have had such GREAT LOOKING food! i want to ride a train with some of that wonderful food
@@truthsayers8725 It was probably do to covid- they just recently I think like 2 months ago put the dinning cars back on the trains. West trains out of Chicago and San Antoniono going to LA will have traditional dinning with the auto train, and all trains east of San Antonio and Chicago will have flexible dinning. Also dinning is now only reserved for sleeper passengers coach are not allowed to get it yet, but it might change in a few months.
I will be taking my first Amtrak Trip in January and I can't wait. Do you have video with a tipping guide? Just curious what you tip the Amtrak staff. Thanks!
This is now out of date. At least on the Zephyr - traveled in mid-April - the dining car is open to coach passengers. There is now a fixed price menu with several options for each meal. Breakfast was $20, lunch $25, dinner $45. It was excellent, served on china (or faux china), high quality. $45 may sound steep - but includes salad, main course, good dessert, and a beverage including alcoholic beverage at that price. Dinner items on the train included vegan option, and as I recall chicken and, but I chose an delicious Angus flank steak. Didn't have lunch, but breakfast was also a good value. Service was top-rate. No reservations now for meals in the dining car, at least on our train from Reno to Salt Lake, or back to Reno.
I traveled by Amtrack to go to Calif, and Texas in the 90s. When I traveled in the 2000, I saw a big difference. The ticket went up over 50%. Maybe more. I know it was a ridiculous price. The Attendant didn't answer my call bell so I could order my meals. The meals were like Marie Calendar freezer food. They used to have good steaks for dinner. I was disabled and had a hard time walking up the narrow stairs. The toilet and electricity didn't work which had us going up and down those stairs. The train hit a bump and tossed me from side to side when I was walking down the stairs and I injured myself. It took a long time to get compensated for that. Ever since the government bought Amtrack everything went down. The dinners included steaks just to give you an example. This last time I saw a big difference in the menu. They also had wine tasting and a movie and playroom where the children could watch cartoons. They didn't have that. The employees told me that when the government took over the rails all that stopped. My last trip was a nightmare.
Thank you for sharing how you two felt about eating on Amtrak. My Mother loved traveling first class with a sleeper cabin to the west coast and liked eating in the sit down restaurant. She loved trAin to do g a lot.
Thanks GLT. Always great content. We were on the Texas Eagle before the pandemic and got the flourless chocolate cake like 4 times. It was AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME !!!!
I love that Amtrak. Every year, for 6 years or more, I ride it to Illinois to see my daughter and grands! The food is too expensive for me, so I do take my own food with me, because I'm on the train from 18-20 hours all depends if it starts to run behind.
Grest video/info once again. As part of my bucket list I will be taking my first train ride this coming June from Miami to New York (Silver Meteor I think ?) . As part of my 65th birthday. Can I purchase beer or drinks on the train ? Thanks once more for sharing your experiences with us.
Wish that there were additional salad dressings available as I really don't like what is offered. Thousand Island is my go to. When I first took the SWC #3 & #4 back in 2013 it was offered along with a number of others as well. Since it isn''t I just go dry. Used Amtrak yearly since 2013 with the exception of 2019. Great way to trave, I call it "Adventures on Amtrak" as you really don't know if you will arrive on time of a day late!
You can always bring a bottle of Thousand Island on the trip, better than dry...I'm planning on bringing Frank's Hot Sauce and blue cheese dressing with me for my long distance loop route (Chicago to Seattle to LA to New Orleans to Chicago) in April...
Your dining tips are much appreciated. I am wondering if gluten free options are available. I am willing to bring some of my own food, but I think I would need at least one nutritious dining car option per day on a two day trip with a roomette.
I ride the City of New Orleans between Memphis and Chicago though haven't been on it in around 3 years or so. How they used to do the dining car years ago was, sleeper and first class passengers ate first and only after they were done and cleared out did they let coach class in. They had prices on the menus then because coach had to pay for their meals. The pork chops I loved cost around $18.00. Of course I didn't have to pay thank goodness. They also had the cafe downstairs in the lounge car which is where most of the coach class got their food. The last time I rode only first class and sleeper car folks could eat in the dining room and I believe the prices weren't on the menu anymore. Not long after my last ride they went to Flex dining and changed things food wise on the train. I don't think traditional is back on the City of New Orleans yet. I have had to share a table in the dining car with strangers a few times but I didn't mind since I was alone. Was nice meeting new people and having someone to have a conversation with. One time the dining car was full and I stood up and asked if the song City of New Orleans went through anyone's head when they got on. The whole dining car started singing it. It was a blast! I have to say I have never been disappointed with the food or the service on the train. Union Station in Chicago has a food court with a variety of food available to eat there or take with you on the train.
Thank you this review and especially for the tipping - going on Amtrak in the Spring and never confident about tipping in the US in general, so really helpful.
Love you guys. French toast is now offered on flexible but it is microwaved and tastes like cardboard. One drink at dinner, not per ride was offered on our 3 recent cross counrty trips.We just got off the zephyr and capital limited. Also, amtrak has made route changes recently due to omicron. Many routes have decreased, including cross country. Zephyr and Empire builder now 5-6 days per week. No flowers on the table and many items were not available by day 3.
one drink per person only at dinner time is free so let say you take the Captiol Limited and LakeShore Limited and Silver Meteor. On each train if you are in a sleeper you should be able to get 2 free alchoic drinks during dinner time if you are with 1 other person but if only 1 person and only 1 free during dinner on each train but you can buy more on the train or bring your own with your own glass and consume it in your sleeper compartmen
Hello folks. I'm pretty new to yall channel on youtube. My comment to this video is that years ago, mid 90s, there use to be tuna sandwiches in the cafe car on all Amtrak trains. When I started riding since 2010, I noticed they stopped selling it. Also, in 1993, on the former Broadway Limited, I actually had a Prime Rib for the 1st and so far only time. I must say I REALLY LOVED IT. Since I've been riding the Cardinal, there's no full service dining car. Even before the pandemic. I was very disappointed. Although the food that they do have on that train is still pretty good.
We were looking at doing the LA to Seattle train but after seeing one of your videos I guess the wildfires has interfered with that train. We then were interested in going cross country up in Canada. I would like to find a way to make several stops going cross-country in the US on a train. I'm wondering how much that would drive up the cost of the train tickets. I have a lot of research to do. I'm very good at cruises, and I love the trains in Europe. I just really do not think about doing a train in the US. We're senior citizens and we would like to see more of our own country. Thank you for such excellent videos.
I just rode the Empire Builder from Chicago, departed at 2:15pm. As we pulled into Milwaukee 2 hours later something fell off the dining car and caused a coach car to ‘derail’. No injuries! Everyone was fine but the result (8 hours later) was that we had to leave the dining car behind 😭. Fast food was picked up for us at certain stops along the way for lunch and dinner and brought to our rooms. Breakfast came from the cafe and was delivered to our rooms. No real choices, we got what arrived. I and my car mates were greatly disappointed. Fortunately for myself, I am about to get on the Starlight and then the Zephyr so I SHOULD eventually get to enjoy the traditional dining.
Considering how old much of Amtrak's rolling stock is, Amtrak is doing a great job just keeping them running. How many refrigerators have you had lasted more than ten years before buying a new one? There are lots of HVAC, freezer refrigerators, hot water tanks and pumps onboard a train that require significant maintenance over the years of being in use practically 24-7 for decades. Amtrak turns these trains around within hours before their next journey...
@@GroundedLifeTravel Yes, I plan on doing just that. I was disappointed but not upset, these things happen, but would like a bit something by way of reimbursement.
I love all of your videos. When I lived in the Philadelphia area, I loved traveling on Amtrak. I would like to take some long distance Amtrak trips in the future.
You guys are a wealth of information . I took the California Zephyr westbound from Chicago back in 2006. In October I’m getting on in Denver. It’s an 8 am boarding - will I get breakfast in the dining car or is it better to just secure a place in the sightseer early on? New cars on this route to your knowledge? Thank you
Denver is a long stop so I'd drop my bags off in my room, then go right to the dining car for breakfast. You'll probably be able to eat and have barely left Denver when you are done. Then you could go to the lounge afterward. These will be superliner I and II cars which there is really almost no difference, neither of them are newer, but they are still nice.
Good stuff!! Offering complimentary meals to sleeper car passengers started in the early 90's. Although I'm good with having one meal/day, it really pushes my limits by having 3. Too bad Amtrak won't give sleeper car passengers discounted fares for not wanting meals. It's good food, but I need to force feed in order to get the full value of fares on long distance trains or it's my loss. Coach travel overnight is not an option. Amtrak had 1950's Slumbercoaches in service on some Eastern routes offering no frills sleeper car service without meals, but unfortunately they were all removed from service after Viewliners were introduced. I'm really dating myself....
You guys are awesome!!! 😀 I have a couple trips planned this summer. One in June and one in July . I hope I can be lucky enough to "bump " into you...🙂 A Canadian who loves your channel...👍👍👍
I take the silver meteor round trip from sebring to wilmington 3 times a year. They are on the new flexible dining menu now, I believe the food is heated up in the oven not the microwave so it's really not that bad, railroad french toast was a suprise after being used to the old breakfast sandwhiches. The beef short ribs is good, but I too really miss the shrimp and andoie sausage. The salmon was a little dry but tasty. Keep making videos makes me want to plan a new trip.
