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Dining at Airports


laniloa

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Thanks, lovehockey. My Facebook feed blew up with the Surdyk's recommendation after I'd already eaten at Shoyu in the G terminal - which was totally passable for airport food. But next time I'm in MSP - and there will likely be a next time because I found it to be the best domestic airport at which to ride out a delay - I'll hit up Surdyk's and (apparently) Dunn Bros. for coffee.

I'm glad to know that I'm in good company!

It's been a while since I've flown through MSP but I'd be shocked if they don't still have the coupon books for shops and restaurants, listed by concourse. Look for them by the airport map displays.

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Folks have already mentioned Tortas Frontera in Chicago's O'Hare upthread.

I actually picked a flight that had a layover in Chicago just so I could stop at Frontera and get a torta.  I've been to Xoco and wanted another torta!  They make the tortas to order so it takes 10 minutes (they warned me when I ordered).  Luckily I had enough time between flights to wait.  The short rib torta was delicious.  I also love their guacamole and tortilla chips (you can really taste the corn).

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Am sitting at Bar Symon in the C gates (near the "central core") of Pittsburgh International Airport. The "Mandarin Blossom" (Hangar One Mandarin Vodka, Campari, and lime juice) is a delightful drink, although I think it would be more balanced with a touch more lime juice. I'm not snacking, but the menu looks tasty enough, focusing on "Lola fries" with various toppings (rosemary, chili/cheese, pulled pork, sausage gravy).

PIT

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We had an hour to kill at DFW over the Holidays.  Had dinner at Pappasito's Cantina (Terminal A, Gate 28) and was pleasantly surprised.  The charred tomato salsa and guac were both good, although the tortilla chips were fairly average.  The Baja fish tacos were solid with good rice and beans.  Modelo on tap.  Be warned - the portion sizes are massive, one entree can easily feed two.

The Pappas Restaurant Group looks to be big with 8 restaurant concepts and more than 80 locations.

Having not spent much time in Texas, I have no idea if Pappasito's Cantina is considered good Tex-mex, but it was good airport food.

DFW.

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We had an hour to kill at DFW over the Holidays.  Had dinner at Pappasito's Cantina (Terminal A, Gate 28) and was pleasantly surprised.  The charred tomato salsa and guac were both good, although the tortilla chips were fairly average.  The Baja fish tacos were solid with good rice and beans.  Modelo on tap.  Be warned - the portion sizes are massive, one entree can easily feed two.

The Pappas Restaurant Group looks to be big with 8 restaurant concepts and more than 80 locations.

Having not spent much time in Texas, I have no idea if Pappasito's Cantina is considered good Tex-mex, but it was good airport food.

DFW.

Almost ate there today.  We were on the rental car shuttle on the way to Terminal A when we got word that our flight moved to Terminal C.  We had been looking forward to mid-morning margaritas and appetizers (chicken tamales are my go to).  I never order a entree because of the large portions.  Whenever we are in Terminal A we grab a quick drinks at Pappasito's.  Last month I had to offer the boss an arm to hold on to as we made our way onto our flight - I was glad I had only had 2 ZiegenBocks.

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Charleston (SC) International Airport has an impressive number of drinking holes for a ten-gate airport. By my estimation, the Magnolia Grill outside security, plus the lounge and Sam Adams Brewhouse in the B gates and an assumed equivalent number of drinking locations in the A gates, equal five bars, or one bar for every two gates. I spent the afternoon at the B gates Sam Adams Brewhouse, where I should've stuck with the drafts -- a Hendricks G&T was a) warm and b ) limeless. I can't vouch for the food anywhere because I was too blessedly full of jambalaya to eat.

CHS

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I've been in nine airports in six months in Europe and the US and by far the absolute worst, without a close second, is Malpensa, the major airport for Milan.  The food choices are lousy, it's rare that every thing is open, and the prices are absurd.  I'm not looking for gourmet food but one should be able to get a decent panini from the sandwich shops or mozzarella from the mozzarella bar.  No dice though.

One the other hand, Malpensa has a separate security line for families traveling with children.  That is something all airports should implement.

MXP

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Thanks, lovehockey.  My Facebook feed blew up with the Surdyk's recommendation after I'd already eaten at Shoyu in the G terminal - which was totally passable for airport food.  But next time I'm in MSP - and there will likely be a next time because I found it to be the best domestic airport at which to ride out a delay - I'll hit up Surdyk's and (apparently) Dunn Bros. for coffee.

MSP

I'll be killing 2 hours @ MSP next month, so appreciate the rec. If Dunn's has Kringle, someone will be happy.

MSP

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I'll be killing 2 hours @ MSP next month, so appreciate the rec. If Dunn's has Kringle, someone will be happy.

How's this for a name? I had a really good Caffe Americano here today, served in a real ceramic mug, half-and-half poured and served in a tiny metal pitcher, was offered raw cane sugar, and super-friendly service, for the rather amazing (airport) price of $2.50. It's tucked away in an obscure corridor where gates G1-G3 are. And there's free WiFi *and* iPads all over the place - and I mean there are dozens of them.

(Apologies for the rotation.)

post-2-0-52459300-1396477988_thumb.jpg

MSP

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If you're flying out or connecting in Narita, I strongly recommend Sushi Kyotatsu in Terminal 1.  It's pricy (I got a big chirashi bowl for $30 and there were some sashimi sets for $60-70) but the fish is impeccable.  I might have had fish that good at Sushi Taro and Kushi Izakaya occasionally.  Every piece of fish was perfect.

Maybe the art of raw fish is so elevated in Japan that this *is* airport sushi quality in Japan, in which case, I must get myself to Japan ASAP.

NRT

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Folks have already mentioned Tortas Frontera in Chicago's O'Hare upthread.

I actually picked a flight that had a layover in Chicago just so I could stop at Frontera and get a torta.  I've been to Xoco and wanted another torta!  They make the tortas to order so it takes 10 minutes (they warned me when I ordered).  Luckily I had enough time between flights to wait.  The short rib torta was delicious.  I also love their guacamole and tortilla chips (you can really taste the corn).

NYTimes' current Frugal Traveler, Seth Kugel, mentioned the tortas in his 4-hour, $25 layover in O'Hare. Good to know about the options he found:

Tortas Frontera, from the Chicago chef and serial Mexican restaurateur Rick Bayless, has been called the "best airport restaurant" by Bon Appetit. But it's more than that "” it's potentially the only airport restaurant in history to charge about the same price as its sister locations elsewhere. (In this case, it's the hot Mexican sandwiches called tortas, from Mr. Bayless's Xoco restaurants, around $10 or $11.) One torta, the cochinita pibil, is actually $1 cheaper at the airport "” wow, my computer didn't explode when I wrote that.

Tortas are best hot, though "” not the ideal takeout for a flight. So instead, I paid $2 for a personal-sized cup of guacamole and $3 for freshly fried tortilla chips and two salsas, a tangy green and a smoky red.

ORD

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I spent most of my 1:45 layover at DFW yesterday dealing with various unhelpful American Airlines staff, so I didn't have time to sit somewhere and eat. My flights were all in the A terminal, so I grabbed a pulled pork sammich and a side of beans from Salt Lick BBQ (Gate A17) to carry on the plane. Salt Lick gives you a very generous sandwich and both small compartments of a square styrofoam container of your side of choice for ~$13. The beans were nice and savory with some bits of pork in them, and the pulled pork was delicious -- moist and smoky. Perfect with a Sam Adams Boston Lager (my best beer option) and the sunset beside me.

DFW

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Mumbai...new airport, in some ways spectacular, but like a stay at the Leela Mumbai, it is has little to do with life in India. That said, it really is a nice way to leave, although I felt filthy with the dust I'd accumulated on my clothes, body, face, travel bags, etc. There is no escaping dust and no way of getting really clean when you bathe out of a bucket--one bucket of hot water every two days, due to a serious water shortage where I was staying. The new Mumbai airport has Pizza Hut (chicken tikka pizza), KFC (spicy chicken tenders in a special masala)...but forget all that and try something from Street Food or what appeared to be some very tasty kabobs in a Kabob house. The chicken tikka from Street Food was very good and was prepared fresh...take a number and they call you when it's ready. Next time I'll bypass the Leela on the way out and have a much cheaper meal at the airport.

BOM

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We were recently at the Delhi airport (Emirates International, can't remember which terminal) which was also very new.  After all the stomach issues we were quite happy to see McDonald's, Dominoes Pizza (with pepperoni!) they had a few other options like Crunchy Chicken and a couple others, but we were into our safe bet survival for white people eating mode so we had McDonald's and Dominoes.

Also we found the food options at the Dubai airport to be really diverse with tons of good looking options, but since we were flying Emirates and they have really good food on the flight we ended up just getting Starbucks.

DEL DXB

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Wilmington International Airport (NC) is one of the smallest airports I've been in, one terminal, 8 gates. At 7am on a Sunday there were more TSA agents than passengers.

What is there to eat? A grill that I can't imagine does much business and a kiosk called "Food and Coffee". The coffee was in a self serve urn and really wasn't that bad after some cream and sugar. The food offerings ranged from premade sausage and egg biscuits, yogurt parfaits, fruit, and packaged chips/nuts/granola etc.

Our plane was so small everyone had to check carry on items at the gate, and we had to go outside to board. But, our flight direct to National left on time at 8am and I was home in NW DC by 9:45am with my feet up and cup of coffee in hand. All in all a neat little airport.

ILM

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My direct flight on Christmas Eve was canceled and I was sent through Chicago  (O'Hare) on route to LA. Thankfully, I had just enough time in the lay-over to get a sandwich from Rick Bayless' place- Torta Frontera. I bought a very satisfying pork sandwich with beans and pickled onions and a side of guac and chips. The sandwich was on nice chewy baguette style torta bread and the meat was seasoned well and could be tasted along with the onions. Definitely on the expensive side, but a full stomach saved me from feeling riotous when the plane was delayed an hour and change as oxygen was installed (that and free direct tv for our inconvenience).

ETA: ORD

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My direct flight on Christmas Eve was canceled and I was sent through Chicago  (O'Hare) on route to LA. Thankfully, I had just enough time in the lay-over to get a sandwich from Rick Bayless' place- Torta Frontera. I bought a very satisfying pork sandwich with beans and pickled onions and a side of guac and chips. The sandwich was on nice chewy baguette style torta bread and the meat was seasoned well and could be tasted along with the onions.

A 12/29 NY TImes article about the farm-to-table movement improving airport dining describes the security and logistics issues that farmers need to overcome and specifically references Torta Frontera:

Greg Gunthorp, a pig farmer in LaGrange, Ind., experienced that challenge himself.
 
Mr. Gunthorp's family has supplied the celebrity chef Rick Bayless with pork and poultry for at least 14 years. But when Mr. Bayless opened his Tortas Frontera at O'Hare four years ago, Mr. Gunthorp could not find a way to get his pork the 170 miles to the airport in time for the brief nightly window when food deliveries are allowed.
 
With the help of FarmLogix, an intermediary that connects farmers with large businesses and institutions, Mr. Gunthorp and other small-scale farmers have found a lucrative new market in airports. Mr. Gunthorp, who now provides bacon and chorizo to Tortas Frontera, has had to add employees and farmland to keep up with the O'Hare demand.
 
"They're our biggest bacon customer by far," he said. "At times it's been hard to keep up, to be honest. It's been rough, but it's been fun."
 
With the farm-to-table movement breaching previously untouched frontiers like airports, chefs and farmers say that it can only benefit small producers, who have not had much in the way of good news in recent decades. The Department of Agriculture has predicted a 25 percent decline in farm income this year.
 
"We're just starting to see how this farm-to-table movement can revitalize rural America," Mr. Gunthorp said.
 
Early evidence shows that the farm-to-table concept has at least revitalized airport dining. In Chicago, Mr. Bayless's airport outpost has proved so successful that he has developed an app that allows travelers to order food from Tortas Frontera before they arrive at O'Hare.
 
One lesson Mr. Bayless said he had learned from Tortas Frontera was that the old restaurant-management theories do not work in an airport. Restaurants can provide fresh, local ingredients in airports, he said, but their survival will be difficult unless the agricultural system changes.
 
"There's the boutique farm-to-table idea, and it's very romantic," Mr. Bayless said. "But the only way it really makes sense is to grow farms that are a bit bigger, and then we have to develop these middlemen like FarmLogix."
 

Airports mentioned in the article include: EWR, JFK, DEN, and ORD. The article also links to two road warrior blogs: StuckAtTheAirport and JoeSentMe

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A 12/29 NY TImes article about the farm-to-table movement improving airport dining describes the security and logistics issues that farmers need to overcome and specifically references Torta Frontera:

 

Airports mentioned in the article include: EWR, JFK, DEN, and ORD. The article also links to two road warrior blogs: StuckAtTheAirport and JoeSentMe

Thanks for sharing. Frontera has 3 separate locations at O'Hare: one in the United terminal, one in Terminal 2 (or 3? I get them confused), and one in the international terminal. I've read of varying quality between locations here and elsewhere, but I don't know the details of that variance.

Frontera's website lists other locations in downtown Chicago (at the Chase Tower, the same building where NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" is taped) and one at UPenn. What's a bit odd to me is the branding here; those torta places are listed both separately from Xoco, the quick-service spot in the same building as Topolobampo and Frontera Grill, plus a second location in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. But a couple other restaurants aren't listed at all; these are called Frontera Fresco, IIRC; there is one location at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, another in the Norris Center, the large student center on Northwestern's campus, and one in the 7th floor food court at the big Macy's in downtown Chicago (the old flagship Marshall Field's). I wonder if that branding was sold off and is no longer part of Bayless' empire, though his name and face is plastered on their separate website, as is the branding for his retail sauces and salsas.

ORD

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What's a bit odd to me is the branding here; those torta places are listed both separately from Xoco, the quick-service spot in the same building as Topolobampo and Frontera Grill, plus a second location in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. But a couple other restaurants aren't listed at all; these are called Frontera Fresco, IIRC; there is one location at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, another in the Norris Center, the large student center on Northwestern's campus, and one in the 7th floor food court at the big Macy's in downtown Chicago (the old flagship Marshall Field's). I wonder if that branding was sold off and is no longer part of Bayless' empire, though his name and face is plastered on their separate website, as is the branding for his retail sauces and salsas.

Xoco is a different, more expansive concept that what is offered at Tortas Frontera.  Tortas basically has tortas, open faced sandwiches and a couple breakfast options.  Xoco has a more extensive sandwich menu, soups and rice bowls, churros and chocolate made to order, and a full on separate breakfast menu (killer chilaquiles, emapanadas, and breakfast tortas - some overlap with the Tortas menu there).  It's a quick service format similar to G Sandwich shop.  And it's awesome.  You should probably go if you get the chance - especially on goat barbacoa day.

Frontera Fresco is more like a cafeteria style experience but also has things on the menu that the other places don't have except for occasional specials - things like tacos and tamales.  I don't know if there was a sell off like you speculated but the only time I've been was a while back and it was still very high quality for a food court, as long as your expectations are at the level of a food court.  My experiences with the downtown Xoco/Frontera/Topo mothership have been uniformly great.

As for the variance in Tortas locations in ORD, I've found that the Terminal 2 location is always busier but more on their game than the United terminal location.  Given the choice I'll do the extra walk.  No experience with the International terminal yet, but it's already 10 degrees and snowing here in Chicago.  If anyone wants to donate miles to the freezing I'll happily provide a field report.

ORD

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My second meal at One Flew South, in Concourse E of Hartsfield Jackson Airport, was good. Our first dinner there was about 4 years ago, and opened our eyes to what good airport food could be. This meal wasn't quite at that level, but still much better than anything else at ATL (and that certainly would include Paschal's, which I've found to be very mediocre, if not bad, the few times I've tried it). My thyme rubbed pork belly was a bit large, but included three nice pieces of flavorful and nicely cooked pork belly over a rutabaga puree and underneath an arugula and black-eyed pea salad. the pickled red onion on top was fine, though perhaps a bit more than what was needed. As a starter I had a bagel roll--it caught my eye because of the use of greek yogurt in place of cream cheese, so I had to try it. It was okay, just okay, and I would have been better served by sticking to the kitchen menu. My Mettler Zinfandel was fine, showing some indication of sitting a bit longer after being uncorked than perhaps it should have, but just a bit. Service was friendly.

ATL

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Xoco is a different, more expansive concept that what is offered at Tortas Frontera.  Tortas basically has tortas, open faced sandwiches and a couple breakfast options.  Xoco has a more extensive sandwich menu, soups and rice bowls, churros and chocolate made to order, and a full on separate breakfast menu (killer chilaquiles, emapanadas, and breakfast tortas - some overlap with the Tortas menu there).  It's a quick service format similar to G Sandwich shop.  And it's awesome.  You should probably go if you get the chance - especially on goat barbacoa day.

Frontera Fresco is more like a cafeteria style experience but also has things on the menu that the other places don't have except for occasional specials - things like tacos and tamales.  I don't know if there was a sell off like you speculated but the only time I've been was a while back and it was still very high quality for a food court, as long as your expectations are at the level of a food court.  My experiences with the downtown Xoco/Frontera/Topo mothership have been uniformly great.

As for the variance in Tortas locations in ORD, I've found that the Terminal 2 location is always busier but more on their game than the United terminal location.  Given the choice I'll do the extra walk.  No experience with the International terminal yet, but it's already 10 degrees and snowing here in Chicago.  If anyone wants to donate miles to the freezing I'll happily provide a field report.

ORD

Thanks for breaking down those differences better than I could have done. I get a bite at the Old Orchard Frontera a few times a year, and it's usually good. My mom has been taking some classes at Northwestern and says the NU location is terribly slow.

I never think of Xoco as a breakfast spot, though I'm also not often in River North in the morning. But what I've seen looks good.

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I have been going through CLT several times a year for many years,especially since UsedAir stopped using Pittsburgh as an important hub. About the only place I buy food stuffs other than coffee there is Jamba Juice. It's between the walks between the D and E concourses and the C concourse.

CLT

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I took advantage of the Surdyk's recommendation to have a prosciutto and young pecorino sammich with beet salad and a glass of prosecco while waiting for my flight home from Minneapolis. Both were delicious, and I wished I had more time to simply sit and enjoy them. But I took my giant (fudgy, not too sweet, wonderful) brownie to go. It was, predictably, the best part of a Delta flight.

MSP

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I quite like the cheesesteak at Whiskey River in CLT, which comes with peppers and onions, and is slathered with a spicy and melted cheese sauce, and tater tots. It's messy, the roll often falls apart, and it's a gut bomb, so be warned. And this is a complimentary review!

If not there, I eat at Phillips Seafood, and get the seafood platter, which  i think is pretty good for airport seafood. And, if anything, it makes up for in variety whatever it may lack for in taste and presentation.

CLT

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Three tacos from Urban Taco in the C Terminal hit the spot during a flight delay. The corn with lime crema was the standout, but all three were very worthwhile. Not too many other places in that terminal are worthwhile, but I'd happily go back to this Taco stand.

DFW

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The Columbus (OH) airport has been going thru renovations/upgrades. They've recently opened an Eddie George's a Grill in the B concourse after security. I had an excellent burger there earlier this month and was able to substitute a very nice side salad for the fries. There is lots of seating with a mix of regular and bar height tables and a fairly extensive menu for an airport establishment.

CMH

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The completely inefficient security at New Orleans made me 15 minutes too late to get a breakfast biscuit sandwich at Copeland's Gourmet in the C gates. :angry: I did, however, get two HUGE, fresh, fluffy biscuits, a truly lackluster fruit cup, and decent dark roast coffee for the plane. The biscuits were delicious.

MSY

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With a brief layover in Detroit Metro Airport, I wanted to grab something quick and healthy, as I hadn't eaten all day. As it turns out, the enormous McNamara Terminal (map of restaurants provided with link) is so long that there's a train on the top floor that traverses it (and you'll want to take it, too) - it's probably something close to a half-mile in length, and I had to cover the entire thing.

I've only been to Ann Arbor one time, about 5-6 years ago, and made it a point to have dinner at the James Beard Award-winning Zingerman's Roadhouse, and remember the overall impression that it was a restaurant that tried to be all things to all people, but came up short in a lot of areas (they have a bakery, homemade this, homemade that, etc.) - and it's in a very cool "roadhouse" that's placed in the front of a shopping mall parking lot, not unlike where a drive-in restaurant might be. I went back the next morning for my breakfast coffee (this may be the only James Beard Award-winning restaurant with a morning drive-thru window, and the coffee was very good, too).

Anyway, I smiled when I saw the Plum Market Wine Bar featuring Zingerman's Products, and got a Caprese Sandwich ($9.99), a bit overpriced for its meager length, and saved it for the plane ride. Well, this was one of the best airport sandwiches I've ever had, as it came on Zingerman's homemade ciabatta-like roll, and was well within the expiration date. It had long strips of basil, a gentle application of balsamic, and most important of all, some really good blots of homemade mozzarella - it was as good as you can expect an airport sandwich to reasonably be, and was worth the price. Plum Market is listed on the map in the middle of the terminal, but I was on the far-right side at gate A77 (shown on McNamara Terminal link), and remember a kiosk, perhaps a smaller version of it, only a few gates away, so I don't believe the one in the map is where I was; I'm just glad I found it.

DTW

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Terminal A (United terminal) at Sacramento is dead as of 7 PM on a weekday (Wednesday, don't know if that's special). All but one of the restaurants inside security were closed (Freshii saved me - they have perfectly adequate-good fresh and crunchy rice/noodle bowls and wraps and burritos - I had the satay noodle bowl and there were lots of chicken, broccoli, cabbage, and carrots with a kicky sauce over a healthy helping of rice noodles) and most of the stores as well. Ghost town!!!

SMF

I should have trusted and just waited until I got to the United terminal at San Francisco around 9:45 PM (even though my Freshii bowl @ SMF was quite good). EVERYTHING was open, and I really like eating at the Soup Company. Fung Lum, the chinese place that has been there forever is now closed and will be replaced by an outpost of Koi Palace. I am pleased but wary - we'll have to see you they do. Also, the Ghirardelli store is gone and a new full-service See's is back open (not in the old location near security, this one is right by the food court). I'm excited about that, because my apology-for-leaving-you-home-alone gift for my family had been (while the original See's was there) a personalized mix of the caramels and butter creams.

SFO

And finally, a few restaurants (didn't note which ones) were still open when I got to LA at 11:30 PM! Lessons in civilization :)

LAX

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Koi Palace Express is up and running at the United Terminal (gates 70-90)! They carry a bunch of steam table foods (in steam tray? bowls that look fancier, but still trays) and dim sum ready made, and will supposedly make XLB on order. I tried to ask for them at 7:15 on a weeknight evening and was told that they were out. Also, they just stared at me when I asked about the difference between the two different types of XLB and said, "they're different." Gee, thanks! Yup, definitely a Koi Palace product.

The terminal wing with gates 60-69 is so nice! A yoga room and a nursing room, plus a zillion eating spaces with individual electrical outlets, and lots of cozy chairs and soft places to sit/lay, as well as some funky art. Check it out!

SFO

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On 5/2/2016 at 10:59 AM, Sundae in the Park said:

Koi Palace Express is up and running at the United Terminal (gates 70-90)! They carry a bunch of steam table foods (in steam tray? bowls that look fancier, but still trays) and dim sum ready made, and will supposedly make XLB on order. I tried to ask for them at 7:15 on a weeknight evening and was told that they were out. Also, they just stared at me when I asked about the difference between the two different types of XLB and said, "they're different." Gee, thanks! Yup, definitely a Koi Palace product.

The terminal wing with gates 60-69 is so nice! A yoga room and a nursing room, plus a zillion eating spaces with individual electrical outlets, and lots of cozy chairs and soft places to sit/lay, as well as some funky art. Check it out!

SFO

DCA

After showing up to Reagan National airport Wednesday afternoon, and discovering that I was supposed to be at *Dulles* (yes, it was entirely my fault), Virgin America was kind enough to advise me to show up at Dulles the following morning for a 7:20 AM flight - I could pay $50 and reserve a seat, they said, or I could take my chances and fly standby - there were nine seats left. I asked how I should interpret the fact that there were nine seats left ... was that a lot, or a little? 

"You should be okay," the two kind people behind the counter at Reagan National said - one, a blond light-skinned female with black plastic glasses; the other, a dark-skinned male - both probably around thirty, and both looking out for my best interest. I offered to tip them each two dollars (it's all the cash I had) - they refused the money, and told me to pay it forward. Don't stories like this make flying just a little easier? A little more tolerable? Thank you both, whomever you are. I did, in fact, pay it forward - at least three times in the next twelve hours - primarily because of you two.

IAD

After my third Uber trip in 12 hours (I always enjoy talking with Uber drivers, and find them to be consistently friendly), I showed up at Dulles at 4:45 AM to make sure I could get on - despite never being assured until I was roll-called with 30-minutes left, I was never once told it would be an issue, either. So, just because you're assigned to fly standby on Virgin America - it the agent implies you have a good chance, you most likely do. I arrived in San Francisco after getting about three hours of sleep the night before, and after drifting in-and-out on the plane for over five hours during the trip - I read about five pages of my book, and refused to pay the ridiculous $39.95 in-flight rates; it appears that it pays to buy with GoGo the day *before* you fly if you're sure it isn't free on the flight - information can be found for that here. Compared to the in-flight rates, $16 for 24 hours seems downright cheap, even though it isn't. While waiting at Dulles, I was in Concourse B, and got a respectable (and much-needed) smoothie from Bananas (which also runs, and is right next to, Green Leaf's). Knowing I wasn't going to be having any caffeine, but needing energy desperately, I got a small Muscle Builder which tasted caloric (due to the peanut butter) but healthy and refreshing.

SFO

Virgin America, who has non-stops from Dulles to San Francisco, flies into Terminal 2, and I saw a Peet's before being distracted by The Plant, which featured organic coffees, and got a much-needed iced coffee - it served to essentially prop me up as I limped toward the baggage claim, the sky train, the BART station, 16th and Mission, and then to my final destination, Craftsman and Wolves - about the only place that offered Tuesday-afternoon lunch to the casually dressed, and weary, traveler. Was it worth it? Well, that question will be addressed on the San Francisco thread later this morning (hint: Yes, it was).

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6 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I read about five pages of my book, and refused to pay the ridiculous $39.95 in-flight rates; it appears that it pays to buy with GoGo the day *before* you fly if you're sure it isn't free on the flight - information can be found for that here. Compared to the in-flight rates, $16 for 24 hours seems downright cheap, even though it isn't.

I read this and thought it couldn't possibly be right, but apparently they use "dynamic pricing" for these things. Completely agree with you, that's ridiculous. 

"In-Flight Wi-Fi Prices Jump As Demand Surges" by Brian X. Chen on nytimes.com

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Keflavík International Airport (KEF)

Iceland has experienced a huge tourist boom, in 2010 the airport received 2,065,000 passengers, in 2015 4,855,000.  During peak tourist season the airport is not designed to handle the crowds.  People milling around with no place to go, few food options, crowded gates, and poor communication from airport staff.  Your best option is to find your gate and stand around until you can board, usually via a bus to your plane on the tarmac.  Even at midnight the airport is busy with connecting flights to Europe.

Arriving at KEF, deplaning, going through passport control, collecting luggage and going through customs was really easy.  Took maybe twenty minutes.  It's departing that's a huge cluster fuck.  But, I would imagine during the off-season the airport would be pretty empty.

The main food option is Mathus House of Food, which serves pre-made, packaged sandwiches.  But I can honestly say I had one of the best pre-made, packaged sandwiches perhaps ever.  Your best option is the Scandinavian Salmon Sandwich:  A roll of dark bread stuffed with smoked salmon, salad greens, sliced hard boiled egg, and creamy mustardy spread.  Seriously, I want to recreate this sandwich.

As tempting as it might seem, avoid the smoked lamb sandwich, which was a slice of dry smoked lamb on white bread dripping in way to much mayo-like sauce.  Not good.

Scandinavian Salmon Sandwich.  That's all you need to remember.  Delicious.   

 

 

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1 hour ago, Tweaked said:

Keflavík International Airport (KEF)

It's a right f*cking mess.  I flew Icelandair economy comfort (their version of economy plus) to Belgium, which necessitated a stop in KEF both ways.  One of the perks of premium comfort is access to their airport lounge, which apparently is not in the boarding area - which means you can't use it unless you want to go thru security.  So you kill some time by having a drink or two....and you get whacked with Iceland's ridiculous pricing on booze.  The actual boarding area has few seats, so people are just standing or sitting against a wall.  I don't recall the airport being as crowded when I few to Iceland a few years ago, but that was before WOW started operations.

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A note on Japanese airports- Haneda and Narita.  There are very limited food option past security, but the security lines tend to go much more quickly than ours so you can stand to go through security a bit later (although if going through customs home, the customs line can take some time).  Definitely eat outside the gate.  I didn't think the bento options inside the gate at Haneda were great, but we were there fairly late at night.  They had better options in the terminal than Narita Terminal 1 did in our gate area, our gate area had one option with little choice, my ramen was fine, but the place was crazy busy.  

HND  NRT

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I  highly recommend the sushi bar close to the United gates in Narita. It can be expensive, but I enjoyed it.

As a side note, If you have United lounge access, bypass the horrible United Club and visit the ANA lounge instead. They have quite a variety of real food and drink. Let's just keep it our little secret, though. 

NRT

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Agree with Tweaked and Ericandblueboy about KEF. Not bad as a destination, but departure is awful. If you're going to KEF after a stay in Iceland (as opposed to a connecting flight) and have access to the Icelandair lounge, life is pretty good. The lounge is quiet, has free wifi, comfortable seating, and really good food. To get to your gate from the lounge allow enough time to get through customs (the line goes quick), and if you're flying to the US, you have a loooong walk to the gates. And the boarding areas are a mess, and they don't control boarding the way US airports do - they just open it up.

Also, on the homeward leg of our last trip, we noted HUNDREDS of people in lines at the WOW Air counters, maybe two dozen at Icelandair, and nobody at Icelandair Economy Comfort. Totally worth the money.

Actually, Mr. P and I are planning a trip for next summer to a destination with limited access; KEF is one of only a few places with a connecting flight. We agreed to never plan a trip that requires a connection through KEF (unless we add a day in Reykjavik), even though we love Icelandair.

KEF

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On 7/27/2016 at 4:12 PM, reedm said:

As a side note, If you have United lounge access, bypass the horrible United Club and visit the ANA lounge instead. They have quite a variety of real food and drink. Let's just keep it our little secret, though. 

So much this.  Love the noodle bar.

NRT

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On 7/27/2016 at 6:12 PM, reedm said:

I  highly recommend the sushi bar close to the United gates in Narita. It can be expensive, but I enjoyed it.

As a side note, If you have United lounge access, bypass the horrible United Club and visit the ANA lounge instead. They have quite a variety of real food and drink. Let's just keep it our little secret, though. 

Yeah we were in the Delta terminal and it had fewer options, the place was fine, it was just the only place near the gate, we should have perused a bit more.  Nice tip, thank you.  I booked a roundtrip ticket home (we used points over) and my return ticket just left without me yesterday, it was a good thing the return ticket wasn't booked for like October or I might be too tempted not to use it.  Matt said there was a good conveyer belt sushi place in Osaka Kansai outside security.  

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There is now a spinoff of Chicago's beloved Publican in O'Hare.  Publican Tavern has a menu that splits between Publican standbys (pork rinds, charcuterie, their killer roast chicken) and standbys from their next door sandwich shop Publican Quality Meats (their awesome Ribollita soup and a variety of sandwiches made on their great bread).   They've only been open about a month but my first visit was a fantastic way to kill time.  If you have a delay and/or layover in O'Hare this is your new spot.

ORD

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