LIFE ONBOARD - All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide - page 83

do an incredible job. As an example, the dining-car crew on the
California Zephyr serves between 350 and 400 meals every day,
depending on the time of year.
There are fewer choices on the menu than what you would
find in a restaurant because storage space in a dining car's kitchen
is limited. Nevertheless, the portions are generous, the food is
good, and the service is usually cheerful and efficient. You will
find one vegetarian meal on the menu at each meal.
In a full-service dining car, the kitchen crew consists of a chef
and at least one food specialist. When real china replaced the
disposable plates, an additional person was added to help wash
dishes. Then another round of budget cuts was imposed. As of
this writing, meals on almost all Amtrak trains are again being
served on disposable plastic plates. There are three exceptions
where real china is still being used: aboard the Empire Builder,
running daily between Chicago and Seattle; on the Coast Star-
light, the daily train between Los Angeles and Seattle; and in the
first-class cars on the Acela trains running in the Northeast Cor-
ridor between Boston and Washington, D.C. The Amtrak people
clearly understand that real china enhances the dining-car experi-
ence, and bringing it back on other trains is being seriously dis-
cussed. As always, however, money is the issue.
Staff in the dining area itself includes someone Amtrak calls a
lead service attendant, plus as many as three other servers. That
number again depends on the train's equipment and the number
of passengers onboard.
The dining car is located near the middle of the train—usu-
ally with sleeping cars in front and coaches to the rear. When
you enter the diner, wait at the doorway for an attendant to seat
you. Meals are family-style, meaning you'll be seated at a table
for four. If you're traveling alone, you'll sit with one or more
of your fellow passengers. I suggest you take the initiative and
break the ice immediately. Introduce yourself and get the conver-