4 ms·

I actually love the Amtrak dining cars and being forced to make new friends. The food sure beats the snack car.

stego-tech 2y ago
Seconded. As an introvert who took a cross-country trip on Amtrak for fun in 2023 (BOS - LAX), I thought I’d hate having to share a small booth with total strangers. Turns out it gave me confidence in defending my positions to strangers, improved my small talk game, and exposed me to viewpoints I’d never consider otherwise. And the food was amazing, too. Way better than anything I’ve had on a plane or in an airport.
- naberhausj 2y ago
  I find it odd that they force you to sit with other people. I walked into a nearly empty Empire Builder dining car and was still forced to sit with people. Why not ask for people's preferences? During that trip, the company at breakfast was a nightmare. I sat across from two very drunk young men who were traveling on there father's money. At one point they started a fight with our waiter. Thankfully, our dinner companions made up for it by being delightful. I completely agree about the quality of the food. For dinner I ate the steak, and it was quite good.
  - bombcar 2y ago
    If you make reservations in advance you can get seated alone (if it works out) - they usually sit smaller parties together so as to not have to breakup the parties of four, etc.
PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
My favorite Amtrak dining car "meet your neighbor" experience: taking the Southwest Chief between Chicago and (in our case) Santa Fe/Lamy, and having dinner with a couple of guys from LA, one a fashion designer, the other a rapper/beat producer. So there I was, a late 50s anglo-american white programmer having a polite disagreement with a mid-30s african-american rapper about why Kanye West was either shit or a genius. For the record, I was in the shit camp. Amtrak - bring America together, slowly.
jdougan 2y ago
The rail bar car beats the airplane cart service anyday. I'd occasionally take the train from Vancouver, BC to Seattle when visiting a girlfriend, and I was far less messed up after I got there.
musicale 2y ago
Amtrak's dining car prices (for coach passengers) have gone up, and the food hasn't been spectacular, but the experience of eating while watching the world go by is hard to beat. Breakfast might be the best meal. Meeting random passengers can be an added bonus.

Seconded. As an introvert who took a cross-country trip on Amtrak for fun in 2023 (BOS - LAX), I thought I’d hate having to share a small booth with total strangers. Turns out it gave me confidence in defending my positions to strangers, improved my small talk game, and exposed me to viewpoints I’d never consider otherwise. And the food was amazing, too. Way better than anything I’ve had on a plane or in an airport.

naberhausj 2y ago
I find it odd that they force you to sit with other people. I walked into a nearly empty Empire Builder dining car and was still forced to sit with people. Why not ask for people's preferences? During that trip, the company at breakfast was a nightmare. I sat across from two very drunk young men who were traveling on there father's money. At one point they started a fight with our waiter. Thankfully, our dinner companions made up for it by being delightful. I completely agree about the quality of the food. For dinner I ate the steak, and it was quite good.
- bombcar 2y ago
  If you make reservations in advance you can get seated alone (if it works out) - they usually sit smaller parties together so as to not have to breakup the parties of four, etc.

PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago

My favorite Amtrak dining car "meet your neighbor" experience: taking the Southwest Chief between Chicago and (in our case) Santa Fe/Lamy, and having dinner with a couple of guys from LA, one a fashion designer, the other a rapper/beat producer. So there I was, a late 50s anglo-american white programmer having a polite disagreement with a mid-30s african-american rapper about why Kanye West was either shit or a genius. For the record, I was in the shit camp. Amtrak - bring America together, slowly.

jdougan 2y ago

The rail bar car beats the airplane cart service anyday. I'd occasionally take the train from Vancouver, BC to Seattle when visiting a girlfriend, and I was far less messed up after I got there.

musicale 2y ago

Amtrak's dining car prices (for coach passengers) have gone up, and the food hasn't been spectacular, but the experience of eating while watching the world go by is hard to beat. Breakfast might be the best meal. Meeting random passengers can be an added bonus.