Many passengers assume that train food comes from prepackaged sources, but the meal arriving at your train seat or table could have been prepared hours earlier at a commissary or even cooked to order by a chef onboard. Train dining has significantly evolved from the era of vending machine snacks. Now, rail operators invest in specialized equipment, source from local suppliers, and develop menus months in advance.
When you dine out instead of making your own meal, there's a trade-off: What you gain in convenience, you lose in terms of knowledge and control. Customers rarely know exactly how their orders are made, and more restaurants rely on frozen food than you might guess - even for "premium" items like steak. We've rounded up four popular chain eateries that have been rumored to use frozen steaks.