Culinary Daring Aboard Acela

"Are you sure you don't want to take a cookie with you?" asked a new acquaintance as I was leaving a meeting "Microwaved hot dogs await you on the Acela."

This guy is an urban planner who knows all too well the deterrent b ad hot dogs --and high fares--can be to a potential rider of passenger rail.

Fortunately, it ain't always true. Recently, due to an accrual of Amtrak rewards points, if one has them, I was able to upgrade a business class Acela ticket for free.

I don't know that the difference is substantial enough to pay for, but as a thank-you fordealing with the status quo, it was a pretty sweet deal.

The snacks and appetizers are more interesting and better tasting than the entrees, and everything is made better by the zippiness of the train itself and the procision of *exactly* the amount of alcohol--no less, no more--one would expect to be served by the federal government.

My hummus-centered small plate ("for those who would prefer a smaller meal on the train") was comprised of fresh veg (a few crudites--celery,carrot, espc. Cucumber--were not the frshest and a bit off), hummus topped by toasted (i.e. fried) chickpeas accompanied by table water crackers and was surprisingly bright woth the flavors of garlic and lemon. The cheese lasagna entree I had on my second trip was about equivalent to transcontinental airline food; the osso bucco of the passenger next to me looked oily and dreary without the requisite accompaniment of risotto milanese and gremolata. The cocktail snack (pre-meal) of roasted sweet and salty nuts was by far the most satisying component of the meal -- the perfect complement to the mix it yourself tanqueray-and-tonic (two teeny bottles per passenger, no more), distributed as the plebs are boarding; perhaps for that reason alone, highly satisfying. Does Diageo get a kickback, or provide the booze to Amtrack gratis just for the visibility? I don't know, and I don't care. All I can say is, it took the edge off a long-ass day.
Dessert is no more than a mint-filled Ghirardelli square, and depending on the hour and the crew, there may or may not be coffee, hot towels (warm wet-naps, really), and/or a mini bottle of spring water just before the journey ends.

Play your cards right, though--boarding the train tired and hungry at the end of a day where nothing else is required of you--and you will fall into your seat, have your ticket collected by the cabin's waiter so that the pleb conductor will not disturb you, drink your cocktail, get sufficiently lit to fall into a mild doze near Wilmington, and not really give a fuck.