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Amtrak has improved the meals served in its premium Acela First Class, and you can now find favorites from several acclaimed New York-based restaurants.
Current Amtrak meals are definitely tired and haven’t received the best reviews. Therefore, the prospect of new, more flavorful meals being served is definitely a win for passengers!
Let’s jump into the details.
Acela serves major cities between Washington, D.C. and Boston, with nearly hourly departures.
The train consists of 2 classes: business class, the lowest class of service on the train, and first class, the premium section featuring a 1-2 seating configuration.
On all Acela departures, first class passengers are served a meal according to the time of day. Normally, there are 3-4 selections, along with a full alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage menu.
Amtrak is partnering with STARR Restaurant Group for the new meals, which is headed by Stephen Starr, a James Beard award-winning restaurateur. You’ll find several new dishes on rotation, including:
The selections on Amtrak change seasonally, so you can expect a new menu every 6 months or so. For regular Amtrak riders, however, this means the menu doesn’t change that often.
Even at breakfast time, Amtrak will be catering pastries from various local bakeries on morning departures. In addition to new menu items, there are several new beverages, including:
“Amtrak is pleased to partner with STARR Restaurant Group on new, premium meals designed to enhance the customer experience onboard Acela First Class,” said Robert Jordan, Amtrak’s Vice President Customer Service Stations and Onboard. “Incorporating the STARR touch on our menus helps us deliver the world-class journey our customers expect, and our latest food and beverage offerings are sure to surprise and delight.”
Hot Tip:Most passengers on Acela will receive 1 meal onboard. But if you’re traveling from Washington D.C. to Boston, or vice versa, you’ll get to enjoy 2 meals!
Amtrak’s Acela menus have stayed the same for quite some time, so it’s great to see Amtrak partnering with a famous restaurant group and updating its meals onboard. We’re looking forward to trying one of these new entrées the next time we ride Acela, so stay tuned for our report soon!
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James (Jamie) started The Forward Cabin blog to educate readers about points, miles, and loyalty programs. He’s spoken at Princeton University and The New York Times Travel Show and has been quoted in dozens of travel publications.
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