OvermodIf you have a disposable liner, any conceivable ethnic-food catastrophe ought to strip right out to the can ... or a sealed biohazard-control bag ... and bingo! a shiny new cavity for the next one.
Have my doubts the government would accept a disposable liner as any kind of solution here to segregation of food prep areas (between public and private retail use). You can of course ask your local health department and see what they say via E-Mail and take it from hypothetical to real. They would be the first to tell you thumbs up or thumbs down via interpretation of how the law is written. I'm not going to get into that myself.
OvermodStrange how so many service stations and convenience stores have microwaves open for clients to use ... not all of which are particularly kept spotless.
It's not strange at all. As I stated in my post the food prep is segregated in that those microwaves are for client use only and not mixed with those establishments prep of food for the client. The proposal as stated above that I responded to was to have Amtrak make it's existing microwaves available for the public to use. This is illegal in most states as I am 100% confident it is illegal in your state as well. Take any state mandated food prep course and you will see.
Look you don't have to take what I say at face value, call any hotel or other eating establishment catering manager and ask if you can bring a dish to pass along with paying that venue to also cater food. They should mention state law and in some cases recite it for you. I have setup several events like this, trust me it's the law in every state I have operated in. I am sure the same law applies to Amtrak.
Hey, you know what? If DBD writes an article, say, "The Railfan's Guide To Trackside Dive Bars," and "Trains" buys it and publishes it, I'll make a point of reading it.
But NOT with the idea of visiting any dive bars! I'm too old for that stuff. Like George Thorogood, "I Drink Alone."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E9ydw_aDMg
Flintlock76 As the lady said who bought a heart-shaped whirlpool tub at an auction of the equipment of a defunct Poconos resort said... "I don't care what happened in it, probably nothing a little bleach won't take care of!" This thread's back? I thought it was "cooked."
As the lady said who bought a heart-shaped whirlpool tub at an auction of the equipment of a defunct Poconos resort said...
"I don't care what happened in it, probably nothing a little bleach won't take care of!"
This thread's back? I thought it was "cooked."
"Old trolls never die, they just return under a new nom de plume."
charlie hebdo I doubt if many Amtrak patrons would want their food heated after witnessing them micro the materials of the Ohio River Troll.
I doubt if many Amtrak patrons would want their food heated after witnessing them micro the materials of the Ohio River Troll.
Now, now ... isn't anything there that a little chlorine dioxide followed by piranha solution wouldn't fix nearly as good as new.
CMStPnPIf you contaminate the Microwave with spoiled food or some other food borne illness and it transfers to food that Amtrak sells ... how do the health authorities track it back to the source?
You're making two assumptions here, which are only partly justified objectively.
There is no reason why Amtrak cannot make 'customer microwaves' available at user's risk, separate from anything Amtrak's own meals are prepared in. (I might add that it is relatively unlikely that any of the gang microwave/convection machines proposed for 'diner' service are particularly suitable for an individual with an unpackaged meal to use in the first place, so sourcing relatively small easily-programmed units for 'portion-size' prep or reheat should be done anyway if 'customer option' is to be provided.)
There is also no reason why some kind of disposable liner cannot be provided, or required, for the machine (or to enclose the food before it is heated, a bit like a sealable version of the MRE sleeve referred to above). I would think that in between required precautions and some kind of waiver provisions to use the devices it would be possible to provide them 'safely' ... that is, until some pressure group or other decides to try making a little class-action gravy with them, as it were...
That's why it is illegal by most health standards for any eating establishment to allow the public to use a Microwave in a public eating venue.
Strange how so many service stations and convenience stores have microwaves open for clients to use ... not all of which are particularly kept spotless.
Many of the places that do (I'm thinking of a few shudder-worthy Greyhound places) require you to 'buy something' in order to use the microwave, but I have never had one say the use is then restricted solely to the item(s) you purchased. Perhaps in our brave new PC-centric culture the insurance companies are making this less and less practical.
If the microwave is in your hotel room, different story since you signed for the hotel room.
I've conducted casual tests over the years to see how effectively the microwaves are dutched out during room turns. Very seldom do I find them either carefully cleaned of all food material or 'sanitized' beyond whatever the wipe-it-down cleaning solution provides. It is cute to think that a 'foodborne' infection could be tracked down to the persons who had the room prior, but there are no particular protections to assure total safety -- certainly not even to the level I'm proposing.
Microwaves in an employee cafeteria are only accceptable if the same microwaves are not used by the cafeteria vendor to heat food and sell it.
But you notice they are perfectly acceptable if the cafeteria vendor sells it and the customer promptly heats it, which is the 'paradigm' any Amtrak customer-use microwave would involve. The only potential problem then is if some cozening client or other tries to inveigle an Amtrak attendant into 'taking off this difficult wrapper' or 'helping a poor arthritic granny work the machine' and thereby acquire some share of responsibility. I can think of at least the same wide range of policies and procedures about this that Anderson might.
Now, all the foregoing is kinda like a devil's-advocate discussion, because the real issue with a customer-only microwave on many Amtrak trains is likely to be very, very similar to the restroom issues: apparently a great many riders won't treat the microwave right, and the attendants will shuck any responsibility to fix the unsanitary mess they didn't cause.
If you have a disposable liner, any conceivable ethnic-food catastrophe ought to strip right out to the can ... or a sealed biohazard-control bag ... and bingo! a shiny new cavity for the next one.
With Covid-19 spreading, I doubt if DBD will be allowed in any Amtrak eating facility. Some people seem to have short memories concerning his past history.
divebardaveWill trade my Stouffers Mac and Cheese and a 6 pack of Old Milwaukee for all that...
No you will not.
But we'll share and share alike. (As it happens, I love Stouffer's and have always liked OM when I'm thirsty on a budget.) I'll bring proper glasses because it's more fun that way than straight from their can, unless they still make longnecks...
divebardaveThis would not be a problem if Amtrak would let me use there Microwave in the club car...tired of paying $$$$$ for meals that cost 3.99 retail.
If you contaminate the Microwave with spoiled food or some other food borne illness and it transfers to food that Amtrak sells..........how do the health authorities track it back to the source? Thats why it is illegal by most health standards for any eating establishment to allow the public to use a Microwave in a public eating venue. If the microwave is in your hotel room, different story since you signed for the hotel room. Microwaves in an employee cafeteria are only accceptable if the same microwaves are not used by the cafeteria vendor to heat food and sell it. Hotels will not allow you to bring your own food into a conference room if they are providing catering. Same reason, health department rule against mingling food prep with the general public.
"I successfully carried several Tiffany goblets, a bottle of Directors Bin Port, a thermos of lobster bisque, a wide-mouth of lobster Newburg and some Acorn pattern silverware as a kind of containerized picnic in one of those Samsonite briefcases... went well with the Cokes Amtrak provided (individual red cans with a tall cup of that pebbled ice that holds its chill...) and didn't tip anyone off to the 'amenities' within. Wouldn't have been difficult to have brought linen napkins and tablecloth too. There was plenty of room for good sandwiches, particularly good pastrami with very heavy mustard... and there are many kinds of sandwich that travel well and taste really good even after a while in the cooler..."
Will trade my Stoffers Mac and Cheese and a 6 pack of Old Milwalkie for all that...
This would not be a problem if Amtrak would let me use there Microwave in the club car...tired of paying $$$$$ for meals that cost 3.99 retail.
54light15Wouldn't it be possible to load up a small cooler with grub from say, a New York deli? Cold cuts, cheese, mustard, rolls, beer?
Was, and is. Don't forget that Peltier coolers can heat as well as chill, and there's a range of very effective 'Thermos' bottles, both wide-neck and tall, that can keep things effectively very cold or hot for many hours.
I successfully carried several Tiffany goblets, a bottle of Directors Bin Port, a thermos of lobster bisque, a wide-mouth of lobster Newburg and some Acorn pattern silverware as a kind of containerized picnic in one of those Samsonite briefcases... went well with the Cokes Amtrak provided (individual red cans with a tall cup of that pebbled ice that holds its chill...) and didn't tip anyone off to the 'amenities' within. Wouldn't have been difficult to have brought linen napkins and tablecloth too. There was plenty of room for good sandwiches, particularly good pastrami with very heavy mustard... and there are many kinds of sandwich that travel well and taste really good even after a while in the cooler...
Now you've got me nostalgic and hungry at the same time, a poor combination.
The problem is this: Anything other than sealed bottles and very specific kinds of food won't 'keep' for more than a couple of days of continuous travel, and do require some fairly complicated prepping with access to refrigerated storage and a stove and microwave. divebardave is living what he indicates as a bohemian lifestyle, hence the packaged meals that can 'go' indefinitely in a backpack before being shoved into the MRE heating pouch or onto the manifold at eating time.
I can't speak to how nutritious or low-sodium they are, but a number of manufacturers started making 'pouch' meals that nominally get microwaved for only a minute and then serve as the 'bowl' to eat out of. They did not appear to sell well in my neck of the woods, and I bought a huge quantity at Walmart marked down to what I recall as 25 cents each at the very end (for the less popular 'flavor' choices). There were Italian dishes -- a bit better than Chef Boy-ar-Dee in a pouch -- and a range of Mexican-American things, and I enjoyed them quite a bit ... naturally they'd taste better eaten on the semi-sly in a moving train, and cleanup would be a snap. I think these would fit neatly into the "MRE heater" pouch, and come up to temperature neatly in the timeframe involved for a MRE...
54light15It's been a long time since I've taken an Amtrak. Is the food that bad? Wouldn't it be possible to load up a small cooler with grub from say, a New York deli? Cold cuts, cheese, mustard, rolls, beer? If you're leaving NYC, that is.
OK so the answer to this depends on you and your background. I travel for business and have lunches with Executives. So usually thats not the Waffle House. In my opinion, Amtrak food is 2 stars at best. I have had Amtrak food on my plate though that I would never serve as a host. It wasn't necessarily red lining the gross meter but it was unseasoned, tasteless, or undercooked slightly. When you have an Amtrak Chef that barely passes with scrambled eggs or an omlet.......lookout. So that should be your test meal in the dining car. It will predict the food for the rest of the trip.
The last time a good friend of ours came for a visit he came on Amtrak, which he enjoys more than driving, although there's nothing to eat on board. He packs a few sandwiches for the trip, and we make sure he's well-supplied for the trip back.
He's diabetic, so he HAS to have something to eat so he won't have any incidents. He had an incident on one visit here, scary as hell let me tell you, and we want NO repeats of the same!
If you're in Chicago Union Station, Manny's Deli is nearby. Comparable to the best delis in New York.
It's been a long time since I've taken an Amtrak. Is the food that bad? Wouldn't it be possible to load up a small cooler with grub from say, a New York deli? Cold cuts, cheese, mustard, rolls, beer? If you're leaving NYC, that is.
Why don't you just go to a sporting goods store and buy some "just add hot water" meals intended for camping/hiking?
Flintlock76 To demonstrate how safe it was they indeed peeled off a chunk from the block and put a match to it, showing that when it was exposed to flame it would burn and not explode, so I can see why it was popular as a a C-ration heating fuel.
To demonstrate how safe it was they indeed peeled off a chunk from the block and put a match to it, showing that when it was exposed to flame it would burn and not explode, so I can see why it was popular as a a C-ration heating fuel.
That makes sense, even more so than civilain explosives, military explosives are made to go off only when intended. A military demolition team may be facing risks, such as getting shot at, that are not faced by civilian demoltion teams. There are applications where the process of desensitizing is taken to where the explosive won't go off at all.
I did think it ironic that Esbit's was brought up (N.B. Esbits is NOT an explosive).
In the last days of the Peoria Rocket, the engine crews would cook their suppers on part of the engine as they went to Peoria--and would share with regular passengers, who would share their evening meals with the crews. Of course, non-regular passengers would have difficulty in doing the same on Amtrak trains.
Johnny
Well wasn't that interesting?
I might have known there was a present-day equivalent of frying bacon on the backhead!
samfp1943Similarly, wiring the C-rat cans to an engine powered 'anything' would cause the contents of the can to be 'warmed'!
Dave has probably forgotten this (yet another reason I'm sad our 'community search' is deflicted...)
http://www.nebraska-locksmiths.org/articles/ManifoldM.pdf
I believe most Amtrak power has 7FDLs, for reference... do we need to add a chapter to the guide for various kinds of prepper meal?
Erik, the only time I ever ran into C-4 was during a training exercise at the Basic School, it was kind of a familiarization exercise with military explosives. To demonstrate how safe it was they indeed peeled off a chunk from the block and put a match to it, showing that when it was exposed to flame it would burn and not explode, so I can see why it was popular as a a C-ration heating fuel.
With a blasting cap in it hooked up to a "hell-box" it was another matter!
Flintlock76 Mod-man, you had one of those toy steam engines too? No kidding, so did I! When I ran out of the Esbit tabs I used chunks of Sterno, it worked just as well.
Mod-man, you had one of those toy steam engines too? No kidding, so did I! When I ran out of the Esbit tabs I used chunks of Sterno, it worked just as well.
Wayne,
I had three of them at one time or another. Two used Esbit's and one used sterno.
I've heard about using C-4 being used as emergnecy campfire fuel, with the warning that it best left to burn out by itself as opposed to trying to extinguish the fire. An amusing comment about C-4 from one of the local bomb squad guys was that C-4 was designed for use by army grunts and for some strange reason most of the production in the Vietnam era was done in Texas...
Don't we all? Since the Duke died I can count on the fingers of one hand all the decent Westerns I've seen since. Almost a lost art form now.
PS: Actually, it was Sergeant Stryker, but that's OK, I know what you mean.
Thanks, Flintlock and sampf1943- I have always gotten the impression that the guy who played Sergeant Ryker was the patron saint of the Corps and not a thing wrong with that! The Duke was the man! Cripes, I miss him.
divebardave The ones that I see online are beyond my budget and are high in sodiom for my BP
Maybe I am missing something, but why in the world would you want to take an MRE on a passenger train?
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
Absolutely 54! The P-38 can opener, and we did indeed call them "John Waynes." I still carry one on my key chain, well, you never know when you might need one, right?
My father still has one on his key chain, his dates from when he was in the Army in the late 40's! He loaned it to me when I went on a camping trip in high school and said I'd be in BIG trouble if I lost it. Needless to say, I didn't lose it!
We also called the C-rat crackers "John Wayne crackers," and the round chocolate candys "John Wayne cookies." Either that or we called them "S**t discs."
To expound on what "alphas" said, in all fairness most of the C-rat main meals really weren't all that bad. The beef and ham slices were OK, the tuna tasted like tuna, the turkey tasted like tuna as well, can't get it all right I suppose, and I found the "beef with spiced sauce" pretty tasty. The ham and eggs, on the other hand, I concur with "alphas." Yuck! The "ham and lima beans," the aforementioned "ham and muthas," double-yuck!
I do remember popping open a can of C-rat pineapple and drinking the juice after a forced march on a hot day. You know, that was one of the best drinks I ever had!
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