Amtrak Food: Inedible and Overpriced

I had the “joys” of riding on Amtrak this weekend in the Northeast corridor. Being on a trip that past over a meal time, and I was rather hungry, I decided I’d give Amtrak‘s onboard cafe car a try. Amtrak food is something in another world…

Keep in mind, I’ve eaten out of here several times before, each with a rather unpleasant experience. However, when you are stuck on a train, and there’s no where to go, and it really wasn’t feasible to bring something onboard, you’re stuck with what’s available.

I decided to have a hamburger and hot dog, since I was particularly famished.

What I got was cardboard and rubber between a bun. For $16, I was eating food that wouldn’t be served at a prison, but there I was, traveling down the tracks at 80 miles an hour, savoring what the national rail line calls a burger. In facts, it’s merely a pouch they heat up in the microwave. I don’t ever recommend getting it, and thus passing along the recommendation to either go with a packaged snack, or somehow raid a Dunkin’ Donuts prior to departure.

I once remember my parents and I taking a trip from Ann Arbor to Chicago and my dead dreaming of the food-service car onboard thinking it was something out of the Orient Express. What we got was a packaged bagel with cream cheese pre-filled inside. Somehow, I don’t think they serve that on the Orient…

So, if you’re traveling on a train with a simple cafe car and no full dining service, you’ve been warned what not to get…