I did Seattle->Chicago on Amtrak a couple of years back in a sleeper car, and the food was just fine. Certainly much better than the foil-wrapped disappointment you get in economy class on transatlantic flights.
Emirates airline food is pretty decent to be honest, and that's foil-wrapped.
Qatar airline is not bad either, though not as good as Emirates. Jet used to be good, not sure now, with all their financial woes
I flew Jet just once (from Toronto to Hong Kong I think), and I remember it as the only airplane meal that didn't seem like it came from a microwave. It was actual Indian food – maybe not top-tier-restaurant quality, but good! They also handed out _actual_ hot towels – not those single-use ones. This was all in economy.
> Amtrak food is on a par with the fourth-best airplane meal you could ever imagine.
What does this even mean? Do you only get a minor case of food poisoning if you eat it?
It's an artistic way of saying it's unremarkable, or "meh."
Food poisoning for airline meals is quite rare. They go to great lengths to ensure that it’s the least offensive to the widest range of stomachs (at the expense of flavor and variety). The last thing an airline wants is 400 people fighting over 12 bathrooms 8 hours into a 15 hour flight from LAX to SYD.
Meals on flagship airlines in business/first can be very good. 'Fourth best' in my mind is better than domestic (US) coach (on the rare occasions it exists) and not quite as good as Emirates coach. Acela 1st meals fall in that bucket easily.