(The following story by Susan Glaser appeared on The Plain Dealer website on January 9, 2010.)
CLEVELAND, — Finally, some national transportation news that will leave a good taste in your mouth: Amtrak has restored full dining service to its Lake Shore Limited trains, which travel through Cleveland en route to New York City and Chicago.
So leave the Pop-Tarts and peanut butter sandwiches behind: Made-to-order omelets and steaks are back on the menu.
The 1950s-era dining cars were pulled from service several years ago because of reliability problems, according to Harris Cohen, an Amtrak spokesman, and replaced by more casual service.
But the dining cars have since been restored and, as of last month, are once again making the trip between Chicago and the East Coast.
“Our customers indicated that they missed the dining-car experience,” Cohen said.
Among those applauding the reinstatement of full-service dining is Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio, a nonprofit group that promotes passenger rail service in the state. “This helps to distinguish passenger trains from other modes of transportation,” he said. “While it’s not five stars at the Ritz, it is a step up from what people are used to in a travel experience.”
The dining cars, which seat 40 to 48 passengers, offer full-service breakfast, lunch and dinner. Among the menu items at dinner: seafood catch of the day, roast chicken and steak (though the menu is expected to change in the spring, Cohen said).
The other Amtrak train that travels through Cleveland, the Capitol Limited, which connects Chicago and Washington, D.C., is expected to get restored dining cars as well, though Cohen couldn’t say when.
Prendergast, however, said that good food can only go so far in enticing Clevelanders to use the train. If Amtrak really wanted to boost traffic through Northeast Ohio, it would improve the times the trains stop here.
The eastbound Lake Shore Limited departs Cleveland at 5:20 a.m.; the westbound train leaves for Chicago at 3:45 a.m. “It’s great if you’re a vampire, but not if you’re a human being,” he quipped.