Trains

When you think about it, travel by train really kicked off the American vacation experience. In the 19th century, travelers stopped for meals at stations along the way. Later, on-board kitchens offered gourmet offerings. And today, Amtrak is keeping that tradition alive with some unique meals on some special trains.

These are the familiar sights and sounds of train travel, the power and energy of the huge engines, the beehive of passenger activity at the station, the "all aboard" and sheer anticipation of the coming adventure, riding the rails.

But this is the part most train travelers never see. The sun's barely up, and already dozens of Amtrak employees have been working for hours loading these trains with everything from vegetables to juices – dinner items to dessert.

Each year, Amtrak buys close to 50 million dollars worth of food and beverage products to satisfy its 28 million passengers.

Amtrak's Thomas Hall says trucks deliver those food supplies from farms and factories to 13 different warehouses in major American cities... like one in Los Angeles. From the warehouse, it's loaded on the dining cars. More than 300 Amtrak trains depart from stations across the U.S. each day carrying close to 80 thousand passengers -- a lot of hungry riders!

He says, "When that train is stocked in the morning, we load over 45,000 individual food and beverages onboard that train. For instance, we buy over 200,000 gallons of fruit juice a year, 120,000 quarts of milk, over 800,000 hamburgers a year, 300,000 chickens…"

Not to mention 300 thousand steaks, 660 thousand hot dogs, a half-million tomatoes and about 200 thousand freshly made salads!

Daniel Malzhan, Amtrak's executive chef, says there's a new effort underway to select only the freshest, best quality food products. And for Amtrak, that usually means…buying American.

He says, "I think what Amtrak does best is provide American comfort food, Amtrak style. I think America produces certainly some of the absolute best food in the world. There's no question about that. Great food can only spring from great ingredients."

Thomas says, "One, it supports the American economy. And I think it also gives us the highest quality of products available for our customers onboard the train."

Daniel adds, "We do design and tailor the food to specific routes, and we have some vibrant partners that we work with in the process." Those "partners" may include Colorado cattle ranchers, Michigan cucumber growers, and Crab cakes from Maine fishermen. On this Coast Starlight route from Los Angeles to Seattle, passengers may dine on Washington state salmon, Oregon and California cheeses, and lettuce and tomatoes grown in fields right outside their window.

Lori Earl an Amtrak diner exclaims, "I'm definitely surprised at the quality. When we took the airplane, we didn't get anything but this package of trail mix. But this is fantastic."

David and Patricia Englehardt are regular Amtrak riders. The Delaware couple is celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary by enjoying Amtrak's restored parlor car with its 5-star restaurant atmosphere. They comment, "Quality-wise, just as good…and faster!"

Thomas says, "When they walk through the dining car, and they smell the breakfast in the morning or in the afternoon; they smell the fresh-roasted chickens in the ovens down below, it really gives a sense that they're at a fine dining establishment."

To please all these particular passengers, it's a balancing act – literally. Preparing gourmet meals in a tiny galley on a moving train. Hundreds of meals three times a day. Little wonder folks are surprised at how tasty it all turns out.

Daniel adds, "In the food business, going back to the beginning it's all about the product. And the American farmer is responsible for bringing us these great selections."