Dining car review: Amtrak California Zephyr

[Jetrock]

I approached the dining car on my latest trip on the Amtrak California Zephyr with some hesitation: since my last trip in April 2006, I was told that Amtrak would be switching to pre-cooked frozen meals on the Zephyr. I was happy to discover that, while there have been some changes, the food on the Zephyr is good to excellent, and the ambience can't be beat.

We boarded in Sacramento, just in time for breakfast. I ordered the Bob Evans Breakfast Scramble, a mix of eggs, potatoes, sausage and cheese with country gravy. It comes with a half order of French toast and fruit. The Bob Evans is one of those meals that tastes far better than it looks. The French toast was beautiful and fluffy, with just the right amount of powdered sugar, and the fruit was fresh. Other breakfasts included a full order of French toast, quiche (definitely pre-made, but still pretty well-executed, served with a croissant and hash browns) and one of two omelets (a Southwestern omelet with beans and corn eastbound, a Tuscan omelet with tomatoes and cheese westbound. The eggs were good but the filling kind of bland.) A Continental breakfast of cereal or oatmeal with yogurt and fruit bowl is also offered. One former Amtrak breakfast choice I missed was a standard two-egg breakfast, with potatoes or grits. Amtrak used to make some darn good grits.

Lunch options included a cheeseburger, veggie burger or a chicken *** sandwich, both served with chips, an individual pizza with salad, quiche with salad (the same quiche as the breakfast quiche) or a chicken Caesar salad. Lunch is probably the weakest point on the dining car, everything is adequate but nothing really stands out. The chicken *** is probably my favorite but chips as a side dish always leaves something to be desired.

Dinner is where Amtrak's dining car really shines. Like breakfast, some parts of the menu vary depending on the direction of the train. The beef choice was beef ragout eastbound and beef Bourignon westbound. I tried the Bourignon, which was tender and well-seasoned. The next item on the dinner menu was a lamb shank eastbound or pork shanks westbound. I tried the lamb shank, which was exceedingly tender and very flavorful. The fish selections were probably my favorite: catfish eastbound, salmon westbound. The catfish was delicate and beautifully presented, the salmon was boldly seasoned and delicious. The chicken selection was a half of a broasted chicken, and definitely the winner in the "fill 'em up" category: it's difficult to finish the whole quantity unless you're a real trencherman, but you want to because the chicken is juicy and delicious! I didn't try the perennial CZ chef's special, the chicken-fried steak, or the vegetarian options (ravioli eastbound, stir-fry vegetables westbound.) There were also children's menu options: macaroni and cheese, and a hot dog. I didn't try those, but the hot dog looked great: a thick, juicy footlong beef dog. I may have to see if I can try one next time.

And then there's dessert. There is always cheesecake, with chocolate or strawberry topping. While not world-shattering in its goodness, Amtrak cheesecake is tasty without being overly sweet. For the lovers of overly sweet, on the eastbound run there is the chocolate mud cake, a concentrated sugar rush of cake with chunks of chocolate and chocolate syrup over the top. The westbound dessert option, a mini chocolate bundt cake, kind of reminds me of a Hostess twinkie in larger form and without the cream filling. Instead, it gets a glazing of white chocolate. Fresh fruit is the less sugar-saturated option for dessert.

A few words about the environment of the dining car. Amtrak no longer serves on china, but they still use metal silverware and they do use plastic plates emblazoned with an Amtrak logo instead of anonymous commercial dishware. I snagged a couple of dessert plates: someday it will count as collectable railroad china!

For those unfamiliar with dining on rail, each booth holds four and if you have a smaller party, you will probably be seated with other passengers. Some are uncomfortable with this, but unless you're totally uncomfortable with strangers it's kind of fun. Amtrak travelers tend to be wanderers, interested in railroads, travel and exploring the country, and come from all over the world. This means you'll make new friends, hear new stories and get to tell a few of your own. Service is matter-of-fact and professional.

And of course, there's the fabulous view out the window! A dramtic view of Colorado canyons, Nevada desert or even Nebraska cornfields adds enjoyment to any meal.

[mj5890]

I was on the CA zepher 6 and 1/2 years ago and the food was great but that was before they switched to plactic plates and cheaper food.

I took the Empire builder on AUG 4 and 12, 2007 and the food was great, all plates were china and metal silverwhere.

For breakfast I had the Bob Evans which tasted way beter then it looked.  Lunch both ways I had the cheese burger which was huge.  And for dinner I had the country fried steak which was the daily special.  For desert I had cheese cake both times and asked for ice cream booth times also(yes 2 deserts) but 1st time i didnt get it and 2nd time they were out.

The only complaint I have is we got a bad waiter that took 45min to serve us, but once she took our order the food only took 5 min to get to us which i thought was somewhat fast.  I didnt mind the wait that much because it smeled good in there and was a nice change from my coach seat for a while, but others i was sitting with didnt like the wait.

[conrailman]

I just got off the Southwest Chief and Capitol Limited this past Monday all the Food on both trains was very good  and great dining car staff.

[daveklepper]

Thanks to all of you for your fine reports.   Great reading.