To be honest, the "microwaved junk" you refer to is not - it is rather good. I have had several meals in the Renaissance diner and have no complaints.
Have you tried them?
Harold Nicholson
Railroad Forums
Meals on the Renaissance Ocean
- Discussion of Canadian Passenger Rail Services such as AMT (Montreal), Go Transit (Toronto), VIA Rail, and other Canadian Railways and Transit
Moderator: Ken V
by marquisofmississauga
Although I have yet to experience a Renaissance Ocean (I have had only a tour of the dining room and galleys), I must point out a common misconception about VIA's meals in both VIA 1 cars and on Renaissance diners: they are not microwaved, but re-heated in slow ovens. Some of the meals in the VIA 1 service are surprisingly good. On our trip to and from Halifax two months ago, we had the "real" dining car meals on the Budd equipment. Brekafast and lunch were fine, but what a disappointment dinner was. It was not an all-time low in my opinion, but it was pretty close to the "junk" that was cooked up in the early 1980s. It is possible this is a deliberate plot to make us want to forget about good cooked meals in a dining car so that we will better appreciate re-heated Renaissance diner meals, but of course I can't be sure of that.
By the way, even the excellent meals served on the Canadian are not all cooked on board. Most main courses are, but many items are simply put in the oven and heated up, i.e. soups, sauces, mashed or baked stuffed potatoes, lasagne, etc.
By the way, even the excellent meals served on the Canadian are not all cooked on board. Most main courses are, but many items are simply put in the oven and heated up, i.e. soups, sauces, mashed or baked stuffed potatoes, lasagne, etc.