Amtrak Acela updates menu for NE corridor commuters
Amtrak Acela passengers can look forward to several new menu items when they pass between Boston and Washington, D.C.
Freshly added breakfast offerings include overnight oats and pastries from New York City, Beantown and the nation’s capital. Commuters looking for a snack can opt for an artisan cheese and fruit tray, paired with Daou chardonnay or Banshee pinot noir.
“Every aspect of our Cafe Acela menu has been reimagined and improved from viewing the physical menu board, to the delicious menu items and sustainable packaging, providing our customers an outstanding food and beverage experience they can enjoy on their next Acela trip,” Amtrak Executive Vice President Eliot Hamlisch said in a press release trumpeting the culinary upgrade.
First-class travelers will be treated to a dining menu cooked up by James Beard-winning restaurateur Stephen Starr, whose Big Apple eateries include Buddakan, Electric Lemon, El Vez and Pastis.
Buddakan fans might recognize the black pepper beef and wok cashew chicken being made available to those on the go at the end of May. Big-spending train travelers will also be able to enjoy the black bean enchiladas served at El Vez without dealing with lower Manhattan traffic.
Starr, a Philadelphia native, added coq au vin from his hometown restaurant Parc to to the first-class menu, too.
The rotating menu at the Metropolitan Lounge at Moynihan Train Hall, which is adjacent to Penn Station, now includes pepper jack cheese muffins, avocado toast, Amy’s Bread pastries and street corn hummus. New dishes will roll out every month with the environment in mind. Disposable utensils have been replaced with “elegant china, glassware, and cutlery.”
Acela trains reach speeds of 150 mph while racing up and down the East coast. Mets fans wanting to see their team play the Washington Nationals the first week of June can get to Washington in three hours. Yankees fans with tickets to next month’s games against the Red Sox can make it from Manhattan to Boston in about three and a half hours.
Acela also serves Philadelphia, Baltimore, Newark, Providence, R.I., and stops at a couple stations in Connecticut.
