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RATING AMTRAK DINING

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Posted by MMLDelete on Thursday, July 9, 2020 2:23 PM

Im originally from New Orleans and have lived in GA MS and SC.

In my experience, shrimp & grits is mainly coastal, and not commonly eaten for breakfast. But it's huge at seafood restaurants for dinner or a large lunch.

I've eaten thousands of breakfasts of eggs, grits, sausage/bacon. And somtimes with a pancake to boot.

 

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 9:59 PM

One of my daughters took a long trip on Amtrak last year. Her reviews of the food were just terrible.

She said that airplanes serve better food.

York1
In New Orleans, the shrimp and grits breakfast in the restaurants had the shrimp wrapped in bacon, served with the grits, with bacon bits sprinkled on the whole thing.

I had some excellent Shrimp And Grits in the Louisiana Bistreaux restaurant on Virginia Avenue in Atlanta.

Hopefully I will get to Louisiana again at some point and enjoy them properly.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by York1 on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 8:39 PM

In New Orleans, the shrimp and grits breakfast in the restaurants had the shrimp wrapped in bacon, served with the grits, with bacon bits sprinkled on the whole thing.

York1 John       

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 2:07 PM

JPS1
Down market?  My wife referred to it as a roach palace.  I did not think the roaches looked regal.

But I suspect they ate like kings, and their relatives all happily interbred...

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 2:03 PM

Yeah, I meant 'Low Country' -- same for the areas of Georgia involved, which would plainly not be the whole state.  I have edited the post accordingly (as it contained an appalling statement unjustified by the actual situation).

A similar effect can be seen between Cajun and Coonazz culture in Louisiana.

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Posted by JPS1 on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 8:52 AM

Deggesty
 Perhaps in the Low Country, but not in the Up Country (above the fall line). I grew up in South Carolina, 50 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina. 

I lived in Charlotte for three years.  It was scrambled eggs, sausage, and grits along with coffee for me and most of the people around me. 
 
I never saw anyone have shrimp with grits.  Then too I only saw a small slice of the population that frequented the down-market restaurant where I frequently ate breakfast. 
 
Down market?  My wife referred to it as a roach palace.  I did not think the roaches looked regal.
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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 8:12 AM

Overmod

 

 
Deggesty
You serve grits with pork sausage or bacon (perhaps also with eggs) at breakfast.

 

You're not from South Carolina or Georgia.  Breakfast shrimp is a big thing there.

 

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/southern-shrimp-and-grits/

 

Perhaps in the Low Country, but not in the Up Country (above the fall line). I grew up in South Carolina, 50 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Johnny

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 7:17 AM

Deggesty
You serve grits with pork sausage or bacon (perhaps also with eggs) at breakfast.

You're not from the parts of South Carolina or Georgia where the dish is from.  Breakfast shrimp is a big thing there.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/southern-shrimp-and-grits/

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Posted by JPS1 on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 10:25 PM

I have not been on an Amtrak train since October because of the consistant late running of the Texas Eagle and now Covid-19.  Pror to October 2019  I had taken the Texas Eagle to Dallas from San Antonio or Austin and back an average of six times a year for nearly 13 years.  

Many of the coach passengers took advantage of the long layover in Fort Worth to get their lunch at the Subway located in the station.  That speaks volumes about the quality of the food on Amtrak.  

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 8:45 PM

Quoting Enzoamps: " I had shrimp and grits warm-up meal on a train.... "

You serve grits with pork sausage or bacon (perhaps also with eggs) at breakfast.

Johnny

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Posted by JPS1 on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 1:43 PM

RailSpike
 Reviews anyone? 

CMSTPnP's reports on his recent trips on the Texas Eagle to and from Chicago have some good insights regarding the meals on the Eagle.

My supermarket has excellent ready to eat meals that can be heated in the micro-wave or oven.  They are good.  They have to be good because if my store does not deliver a good product I can go to the competition.  But Amtrak does not have any rail competition.  So it can serve up whatever it wants irrespective of the quality.  

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Posted by Enzoamps on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 12:50 PM

Chef Boy-Ar-Dee canned pasta, you know, the pasty noodles floating in ketchup that kids eat.  Awful stuff.  Here at the old folks home, I mentioned to a neeighbor a while back that the store was out of toilet paper still and oddly enoug also out of canned pasta.  He said, "Oh i really like those."  Bad food is in the eye of the beholder.  I had shrimp and grits warm-up meal on a train I thought wasn't bad, but no matter what it was, my mother would have found fault with it.

My local store deli has meals ready to heat, they may be good, but are $8-10 each.  Too much for essentially a TV dinner.  I have tried some of the microwavable "meals" from the shelves, name brands, and found them awful.  There will always be someone who likes it and someone who hates it.

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RATING AMTRAK DINING
Posted by RailSpike on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 10:49 AM

I've not taken a trip since early this year when the LD diners were still in full-service operation and haven't had the pleasure of a delicious Amtrak microwaved meal.  However, I read travelers state that the meals range from terrible (had to throw away), to just "okay".  If this is true, there is absolutely no excuse for serving bad food, unless of course this is being done on purpose.  

It's 2020! Most grocery stores now offer ready-to-eat microwaved meals that are very tasty, some even prepared by local restaurants. I would much prefer that the full-service diners return.  However, in the meantime, Amtrak could do so much better, at probably the same costs it's paying for lousy food. After all, you're paying for it with your sleeper fare.

Reviews anyone?

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