Metropolitan Amtrak Lounge, NYC

Did you know that train station have lounges, much like airports?  I had no idea.  Granted, I know basically nothing about train travel, as I grew up in a state without trains (literally, no more tracks, the government converted them all to trails), and I've literally taken a train only once before.  I was pretty excited to take the train (Acela) from New York to Washington, DC.  

The first stop on my journey was the relatively newly opened Metropolitan Lounge.  Signage to find the lounge was easy, which I appreciated as a first time station visitor, and one with too much luggage to wander around much.  My visit was from 11:30am-1pm on a Sunday afternoon.

The Space

The lounge is located up a level from the main concourse.  Elevators or escalators can be used to reach it.

TV Zone.

Right off the entry area is a TV zone.  It was empty the entire time I was there.

Main Seating.

The main seating area is made up of quasi comfortable soft chairs, with plentiful side tables around.  The table lamps all also served as power outlet locations.  It was fairly well lit, and more than big enough for the relatively few people in the lounge during my visit.

There is an additional balcony seating area that overlooks the hustle and bustle below.

Side Area, Bar.

Screens are located throughout displaying train status, and announcements are made for pre-boarding.

There is a complementary food and basic drink station, and a paid bar off to the side.

The Food & Drink

1-2 staff members worked the food and drink area while I was there.  They took individual orders, brought them to tables, and did some bussing around the room.

Covid.

Very little in the complimentary area is self service, with signs saying that it due to Covid, which seems a bit of a cop out at this point, as many places have moved back to self serve buffets.

Pastries.

Since I arrived just before lunch, I was able to see the pastry lineup, right as it got swapped out.  They had bagels (which they toasted for you), muffins (including a gluten-free choice), and breakfast sandwiches.

More pastries.

They also had croissants and scones.  They offered to heat up the pastries.

None looked particularly good, a generic cafe or coffee shop likely has better.

Salads, Oats, Fruit.

Next up, the chilled offerings.  This area had overnight oats and fruit bowls during breakfast, and a mixed greens salad with strawberries, walnuts, and blue cheese at lunch.

Popcorn, Pretzels, Chips.

The one self serve food item is Hal's of New York popcorn (kettle or salty), pretzels, and chips.  As an avid popcorn fan, I was very pleased to be able to help myself to this.

Coffee.

Coffee (Le Colombe) was also self-serve, with regular or decaf, and a variety of flavor syrups. I tried the decaf and it was truly awful, very acidic, very old tasting, concentrated.

Ice Tea, Cold Brew.

Ice tea, spa water, and cold brew were also available.  I stuck to the spa water.

Wine and Beer list.

If you wanted to purchase it, a small selection of beer, wine, and cider was on offer.

Mixed Berry Scone.

The pastries all looked fairly lackluster.  Lower end coffee shop quality.  But I couldn't resist trying one anyway, and went for the scone, thinking it might make for a nice snack later, or perhaps breakfast the next day.  I do love my baked goods.

It was about as it looked.  No real interesting flavor to the base (no buttermilk tang, etc).  Decently crumbly, not too dry.  It wasn't stale.  Studded with little tiny bits of berries.

I found it pretty boring, but it was much better warmed up, topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream, and turned into a shortcake.  ***.

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats.

Delayed, and bored, I decided to try another item a while later.  The overnight oats, which I was told was a seasonal apple cinnamon variety.  I do sometimes really like overnight oats, and the staff member said they were pretty good.  Plus, it was the end of October, and I was really feeling the seasonal vibes of apple cinnamon.

The oats even looked pretty good, remarkably creamy.  But ... wow, they were NOT good at all. Very gloopy.  Mushy, as expected, but in a not appealing way.  No detectable apple cinnamon flavor.  I certainly didn't find any bits of apple.  I couldn't tell if the base was yogurt, some kind of milk, or what.  No real flavor besides some basic oat flavor.  

The sliced almonds were a nice crunchy element, and meh to the dried cranberries.  I didn't enjoy this at all, gave it a second chance, but truly wanted to spit it out.  Not good. *.