Given the throngs of additional travelers and the airlines’ increasingly woeful on-time performance, if you’re planning on flying during the holidays, the chances that you’ll be subjected to a long flight delay are very high.
On the positive side, your chances of getting a decent meal during that delay are substantially improved.
Airports have gotten serious about food. What used to rank alongside high-school cafeteria mystery meat as the Most-Loathed Food on Earth has become recognizable, reasonable and, well, pretty decent.
The general image — richly deserved — of airport food is that of pre-cooked burgers of dubious origin, wrapped in unlabeled foil and premium priced, to boot.
These days, concourses are lined with brand names. There’s a Burger King, McDonald’s, Cinnabon and Pizza Hut in nearly every airport. Even the ever-anonymous airport hotdog is likely to show off its label, whether it be Vienna Beef, Hebrew National or Nathan’s Famous.
But the biggest news in airport eats is the arrival of local flavors. Terminals are filling up with food options that give travelers a taste of the locale. So while you’ll find a TCBY and a Wendy’s, no matter what city’s airport you’re in, you’ll also find unique, locally based choices. Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago. Paschal’s in Atlanta. La Carreta in Miami.
Even some nationally known chefs are getting into the act. Wolfgang Puck has eponymous cafes in several airports (two in O’Hare alone). And Todd English, who has restaurants in Boston and Las Vegas, has signed to open a cafe in LaGuardia International next spring.
Thus the food selection has become positively enticing. You can get goat-cheese pizza, roast-beef-and-brie panini, freshly made salads and — in one airport, at least — freshly brewed beer. Made-to-order food is no longer an impossible dream. Better still, these upscale eats can be enjoyed while sitting at real tables, with real waiter service.
There’s more good news. Dining in airports, while certainly not cheap, has become less of a budget-busting experience. A big buzzword in concourse cuisine is “street pricing,” the notion that food in the airport should cost the same as food in town. And while we uncovered a few exceptions to that guideline, for the most part, what we ate was fairly and appropriately priced.
And eat we did, visiting 10 airports in seven cities in a coast-to-coast eating odyssey. We didn’t visit every airport — Pittsburgh, an airport that’s gotten raves for its food, wasn’t on our itinerary, nor was San Francisco, a foodie Mecca whose airport next year will boast a new international terminal well stocked with some of that city’s best restaurants. But we picked some of the country’s most heavily trafficked destinations and tasted as much as our stomachs could take.
If they gave frequent-flier points for meals consumed in airports, we’d be halfway to Tahiti by now.
AIRPORT FOOD FROM A TO O
ATLANTA:
HARTSFIELD INTL. AIRPORT
A tuxedo-clad pianist pumps out movie-theme tunes while you munch on lunch in a comfy leather chair. Welcome to the Atrium of Hartsfield International Airport, where the music is courtesy of Houlihan’s and your lunch can be ordered from a full roster of all the usual fast-food suspects.
But to put some real South in your mouth, order the famed fried chicken from Paschal’s, an airport outpost of a former local landmark restaurant. Opened in 1946, the original fed the civil rights movement as a haven for its leaders: Even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his aides strategized there. Dubbed “the heart and soul of black Atlanta” by local leaders, the restaurant still attracted entertainers and politicians such as Lena Horne and Jimmy Carter, up until its recent sale to Clark Atlanta University.
Today, airport customers can experience the offerings at two cafeteria-style counters. The aroma led me to the Atrium location where I sampled candied yams and peach cobbler so sweet they made my teeth hurt; but it was easy to overlook because the chicken was hot and greasy-good. The collard greens were studded with smoky ham bits, and the biscuits were addictively buttery.
If you’re looking for something lighter, follow the crowd of Delta pilots and flight attendants to Benjamin Books & Cafe on Concourse B, where you can load your tray with a bounty of salad choices. Best bets: the farfalle-and-sun-dried-tomato combination and the fruit feast blending strawberries, watermelon and bananas. There’s also a selection of quiche slices, croissants and sandwiches. Settle in at a cafe table amid book and magazine racks where you can pluck something to peruse while you eat.
If you’re toting tots, try the food court in Concourse A, where the Oscar Meyer Hot Dog Construction Co. will top a plump, all-beef dog with Georgia-grown Vidalia onions.
If it’s just grownups in your group, head to Brews and Blues on Concourse T, and bite into a respectable pulled-pork sandwich or spoon up a decent bowl of gumbo.
— L.B.
CHICAGO:
MIDWAY AIRPORT
Eventually, the food options at this regional airport may be pretty good. Midway’s new terminal, already under construction, will include a central “triangle” food court, and Chicago’s Department of Aviation hopes to attract some of the same sort of restaurants that already are in O’Hare — though, because no contracts have been signed yet, the department won’t reveal any names.
Whichever restaurants end up in the new Midway terminal, it’s likely that the food options will be substantially better. The current terminal, small and overcrowded, doesn’t have room for much.
Most of the food options in Midway consist of refrigerated cases stocked with grab-and-go goodies. These actually are not bad, and the prices are friendly. A cold can of soda costs $1.25, sandwiches are $4.50-$5, and a piece of fruit is just 85 cents.
If you want to sit and eat, you have a couple of options. One is the Chicago Market Cafe, by Concourse C, a food court with seating. The precooked burger I had was a waste of time and $3.59; the lasagna is a better bet.
Near the junction of Concourses A and B is Cafe Volare, which on one side has cafeteria-style service but on the other offers actual table service. (The bad news is that those using the cafeteria side have no place to sit.)
The Cafe Volare menu consists of burgers, soups and salads, plus a lasagna that, at $5.95, is cheaper than the $5.25 lasagna in Chicago Market. Surprisingly good is the roast chicken, a good-sized half bird that’s moist and tasty. The $5.95 chicken includes a couple of side dishes. They’re terrible, however.
— P.V.
CHICAGO:
O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
O’Hare might have, on balance, the best concession program of any airport. Indeed, the Airport Council International said as much last month, giving O’Hare its Best Food and Beverage Program and Best Overall Concession Program awards.
The strength of O’Hare’s concession program is its substantial commitment to local restaurants. Lou Mitchell’s, the legendary downtown breakfast/lunch spot, has a Lou Mitchell’s Express here; The Berghoff, a 101-year-old Loop fixture, operates a Berghoff Cafe at O’Hare. There’s a small Billy Goat Tavern stand in one food court, a couple of Gold Coast Dogs locations, a few stands selling Eli’s Cheesecake and several Pizzeria Uno, Gino’s East and Connie’s Pizza kiosks scattered among the various terminals. Goose Island Beer is featured prominently at otherwise anonymous councourse bars. And Maggiano’s Little Italy is said to be planning an O’Hare outpost soon.
In addition, there are the name-brand fast-fooders, present in abundance, and a couple of sit-down cafes that provide a welcome respite from O’Hare’s non-stop activity.
The biggest difficulty with all the food options is that they’re scattered across a large area, and no one directory lists all of the restaurants in every terminal. So if you’re flying out of Terminal 3 but hankering for a Berghoff beer and brat, you’d have a hard time discovering that there is a Berghoff Cafe along Concourse C in Terminal 1.
But once you’ve figured out where everything is, getting from here to there is a snap. One nice aspect to O’Hare’s design is that the three domestic terminals are connected beyond the security check-ins. So if your flight leaves from Terminal 2 but you want to eat at a restaurant at Terminal 3, you only have to clear security once, as long as you don’t mind walking. (If you take the people-mover trains from terminal to terminal, you’ll have to pass through Security each time.) And if you’re lingering over coffee at a full-service cafe and suddenly realize your flight is boarding now, you can sprint for the gate without enduring another security checkpoint.
In Terminals 2 and 3, there’s something new — a restaurant called the Fox Sports Sky Box, a sports-themed, full-service cafe that trades heavily on the name recognition of studio personalities James Brown, Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw. The space resembles a studio set with its industrial decor, theatrical can lights and bank of television screens, and menu items — the usual pub-grub mix — are embellished with “Howie’s Favorite” and other pseudo-endorsements. The food isn’t good enough to make sports fans flock to O’Hare to watch the big game, but it’ll do. And if you’re traveling with kids, there’s a bonus; a couple of chairs are equipped with video games, and play is free.
The best meal I had at O’Hare was at the Wolfgang Puck Cafe in Terminal 3 (there’s another Cafe in Terminal 1, though it offers only counter service with some seating). There I had a near-perfect four-cheese pizza with a slightly crisp crust and lovely flavors, a hearty chicken focaccia sandwich with excellent herbed fries and a Caesar salad that was very fresh, if slightly underdressed. Service was especially prompt; food arrived quickly and I had our check paid and were ready to go in 30 minutes flat.
The Berghoff Cafe in Terminal 1 offers only counter service, but the crowded dining space is reminiscent of the stand-and-eat lunch scene in the Berghoff’s bar downtown. The thick, reasonably lean corned beef sandwich, washed down with a Berghoff beer, was a real treat.
Over in the International Terminal, a small food court gives foreign travelers a smattering of Chicago flavor. Lou Mitchell’s Express offers breakfast and lunch items (someone might tell the grill cook what “express” means; I waited 15 minutes for an order of pancakes), and Pizzeria Uno sells individually sized pizzas (the crust more bready than purists would tolerate) and full-sized pizzas — including frozen pizzas for carryout.
— P.V.
DENVER:
DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
You could choose the cheap chow at the food courts, but instead roll your luggage to Pour La France in the main terminal where you can relax in a tranquil terrace setting at tables accented by fresh flowers. Choose a sandwich — the roast beef panini with brie and mushrooms is meaty and mellow and comes with a Caesar salad. Or opt for the meal-sized chicken pot pie laced with vermouth. But don’t expect a bargain: It’s $11.50 at lunch; $12.50 for a slightly larger dinner portion.
This Denver-based restaurant also has a more dimly lit, white tablecloth location in Concourse B (the busiest at the airport) and both have good grab-and-go galleys where you can line up with flight attendants ordering the tuna salad. Pour La France also serves breakfast — pastries come from Denver’s Blue Point Bakery. Try a massive muffin or filled croissant.
For lunch, consider the hand-carved, roasted turkey-and-brie panini or the fruit salad of cantaloupe and honeydew melon, grapes, strawberries and kiwi.
The restaurant serves Allegro coffee, a Boulder brand, but you also can get a caffeine kick at Boyer’s, a Denver company serving its own roasts in the main terminal.
Fans of alcoholic brew will find lots of choices at DIA — after all, Denver is home to the Great American Beer Festival. Pour La France has 10 kinds, including Fat Tire Amber Ale, from New Belgium Brewery, in Ft. Collins, Colo.
Or sink into a comfy upholstered sofa at the Red Rocks Bar and suck down a cold Boulder Amber, from Rockies Brewing Co., in Boulder, while you admire the antler chandeliers.
Wolfgang Puck has landed at DIA in a soothing spot on the upper level of Concourse B. The pizzas from the wood-fired oven may be the draw, but don’t overlook the soups. Best bet: the full-bodied and slightly sweet butternut squash with roasted red peppers.
And even airport employees have noticed that Puck’s is super speedy in cranking out on-the-run eats. “It’s less of a wait than McDonald’s,” claims Scott Henry, manager of The Coffee Beanery, also in Concourse B. Though its name highlights coffee, Henry’s store, based in Michigan, also does a big business in tea — he has 15 kinds of British brand Ashby’s — and sells mainly to airport workers, many of whom are Ethiopian.
These and other DIA workers also appreciate the vegetarian options, including the portabello sandwich — made on a separate grill from those used to cook meat — at Lefty’s Mile High Grille, which has three locations at DIA. Carnivores also can order juicy Colorado Rocky Mountain bratwurst here.
If you’ve got kids in tow, steer them to Itza Wrap/Itza Bowl, on Concourse B, where they can fill up on grilled cheese or PB&J wraps.
To satisfy a sweet tooth, there’s Stephany’s, back in the main terminal. A longtime Colorado candymaker, it specializes in handmade chocolates and almond toffee; the latter even is cooled on vintage wooden bowling alley planks.
The funkiest dining destination at DIA is worth the quick airport subway ride to out-of-the-way Concourse A. At the www.Cowboybar.com, you can climb into a saddle-topped seat beneath a buffalo head, order hotdog or chili, watch the game, check your e-mail from one of the tabletop kiosks and soak up the “cyber-technology-meets-Western-hospitality” ambience.
— L.B.
LOS ANGELES:
L.A. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
It’s all about the look, baby! Airport workers call it the spider, but its real name is The Encounter. Suspended from curvy arches in the center of the airport’s multiple concourses, the restaurant was originally built in 1961 with a space-age theme that now is so kitschy it’s cool.
In fact, the cast of “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” decided it was groovy enough to have their wrap party there, and John Travolta (an accomplished private pilot) recently celebrated his birthday here.
I didn’t spot any celebs on my visit, but it’s impossible not to feel transported to another galaxy in the “Jetsons”-meets-“Star-Trek” setting. Redecorated by Disney Imagineering in 1997 for $4 million, the interior wails and carpet are a riot of plum and electric blue. Giant lava lamps undulate on the bar where staffers in clingy insignia-emblazoned uniforms mix up concoctions like The Black Hole, Electric Barbarella and Blue Moon Margarita.
The menu’s ambitious “Gravitational Selections” were designed by John Sedlar, a well-known L.A. chef, though Steven Falsetti, who cooked in Hawaii, now is adding a Pacific Rim influence to the original California cuisine focus. Popular dishes include Peking-duck-and-shiitake-mushroom pizza, pepper-crusted seared ahi tuna, and spicy chicken seaweed salad. I enjoyed the buckwheat soba noodles with chilled shrimp and a spicy sesame-ginger dressing; the beef carpaccio and arugula salad I gnawed on was not as successful.
Whether you intend to eat or just imbide, Encounter is a terrific place to people-watch: Tourists mingle with local hipsters who are especially abundant on Friday nights when a deejay spins ’60s lounge music. The nearly 360-degree view of planes taking off and landing is spectacular.
If you don’t have enough time for Encounter’s intergalactic-style dining and drama, consider one of Wolfgang Puck’s several locations at LAX. But I recommend you try the Redondo Beach Brewing Co., in Terminal 7, for a gourmet sausage sandwich. Order the spicy chicken-and-turkey chorizo with chilies, balsamic vinegar and mint.
If you’re going to have to linger in the airport an hour or more, take a shuttle to the Tom Bradley International Terminal. With the air of a grand European train station, this has some of the most comfortable dining at LAX. Head to the mahogany-paneled Daily Bar & Grill for cocktails, a monster-sized club sandwich or a cobb salad. Skip the rich desserts and instead sidle over to Sushi Boy and order one of my favorite airport dishes: green-tea mousse. The custardy concoction is a light delight and will set you back only $1.50.
— L.B.
MIAMI:
MIAMI INERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The most popular restaurant in Miami International Airport is La Carreta, part of a local chain of cafeteria-style Cuban restaurants; at noon, the line of pilots, ground workers, tourists and flight attendants extends from La Carreta into D Concourse. You’ll be happy with the palomilla, a flat grilled steak served with a choice of sides (airport workers seem to favor the candied plantains and moros, a rice-and-black-beans dish), that’ll fill you up for less than $8. The key lime pie is just OK.
Casa Bacardi in Concourse D looks like a place strictly for drinks, but surprise! There’s full table service and a decent, Cuban-inflected menu; just about everything is less than $7. The Cuban sandwich, with grilled bread, pork, ham and cheese, is quite good; the coconut mango chicken wings are messy (from a marmalade barbecue sauce) but good. I liked the plantain-chip “nachos” with chorizo sausage, guacamole and cheese. The beverage options include Cuban-style Hatuey beer and a mojito, a sneaky-strong minty rum drink.
Miami International Airport Hotel is between Concourses C and D, and don’t overlook it. At concourse level you’ll find a small sushi bar, where genuine sushi chefs will whip up a pretty hefty spicy tuna handroll for $4, along with other goodies. Upstairs, the rooftop swimming pool is off-limits except to guests, but you’re welcome to pull up a patio chair and order off the snack-bar menu, which offers a globe-trotting sandwich selection (Cuban, Reuben, cheesesteak and blackened chicken) and other nibbles. One floor down is Top of the Port, a formal restaurant with an ambitious menu that offers Everglades alligator medallions in a coconut vinaigrette, and sauteed Florida grouper with citrus-butter sauce.
Elsewhere throughout the concourses (except for Concourse A, which has nothing), you’ll find a good assortment of brand-name options, including California Pizza Kitchen, Cinnabon and Burger King. But follow the workers around and eventually you’ll find Cafe Versailles, which has kiosks in Concourses D and F and dispenses to-go Cuban pastries and coffees. A shot of Cafe Cubano is a mere 46 cents; a full-size cafe con leche a budget-friendly $1.38 and most pastries about a buck, including buttered Cuban toast and guava-and-cheese pastelitos (turnovers).
— P.V.
NEW YORK:
NEWARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
If you don’t know that Newark has a large Portuguese population, you’ll be puzzled by all the signs in that language. What is surprising is that airport officials haven’t yet lured an authentic Portuguese restaurant to the place, though they say they are trying.
They have snagged the Garden State Diner, a “Happy Days”-esque eatery in Terminal C, the busiest terminal here, where burgers, shakes and fries are the stars. But if you’re traveling solo, don’t plan on settling in here to wait until your delayed flight begins boarding. Unless you’re with a group. Even though half a dozen booths sat empty, and no one else was waiting for a seat, I was repeatedly told that only an uncomfortable bar stool seat was available.
The hospitality was much warmer at the Anheuser-Busch Brew House (you’ll pass the local brewery on your drive to the airport) where sandwiches (roast beef, ham or turkey) are made to order for $6.35.
The commitment to street pricing is especially evident here — strung across almost every concourse are signs inviting travelers to dial an 800 number to tattle on vendors they think are overcharging.
— L.B.
NEW YORK:
KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
A multi-million-dollar update is under way here, making it a challenging place to visit. If you’re lucky enough to be flying into or out of Terminal 1 — home to Air France, Lufthansa and others — you’ll have apparently impressive food choices. Airport management is especially proud of the Greenwich Village Bistro and the Napa Valley Wine Bar. I could see the latter — it looked refined and refreshing, with blond woods and a well-stocked wall of wine –but, because I wasn’t a ticket-holder for a carrier that served this terminal, security wouldn’t permit me to visit either of them.
This happened at numerous locations at Kennedy (and who can blame them for having strict security). Still, I was able to reach the food court that serves Terminals 8 and 9, and found a delicious hot pastrami sandwich at Pickle’s Deli. Also good was the yogurt-fruit smoothie at Bananas.
Broadway Brewing Co. looked promising, with cute signs for its yellow-taxi themed microbrews, but I soon developed a throbbing headache from the non-existent division between smoking and non-smoking space. The turkey sandwich I ordered from the bored waitress was miserably soggy.
— L.B.
NEW YORK:
LAGUARDIA AIRPORT
Catering to business travelers is the priority here, and two locations do it best. First there’s the Central Terminal Building where a gleaming new food court offers everything from stir fry at Asian Chao, to Godiva chocolates to New York-style Brooklyn National hotdogs.
MarketPlace Development is responsible for this Central Terminal Food Court, and the company’s chairman, Bob Weinberg, says star chef Todd English, known for his upscale restaurants in Boston and Las Vegas (and later this month in Aspen), will open a casual concept here in the Spring of 2000.
Upstairs from the food court you can nosh on chips and salsa while you watch the game at Caliente Mexpress. Or, if you’re craving something healthier, consider chugging a protein shake at the New York Coffee Station, where caffeine addicts will rejoice in the Cardio Coffee Craze creation.
US Air has its own terminal at LaGuardia, complete with a well-stocked food court in an airy atrium and Broadway music flowing on the sound system. Though it was only $5.95 for a buffet breakfast of eggs, sausage and pastries, no one seemed interested in the eats at Anton’s. The crowd was nearby at Everything Yogurt, where pilots were loading up on everything from bagels to spinach salad to matzo-ball soup.
Don’t stop at The Coffee Beanery in this terminal if you’re running late. Service was excruciatingly slow, though the white-chocolate-mocha espresso and New York-style cheesecake were yummy.
— L.B.
ORLANDO:
ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
It’s possible to spend time at Orlando International and think you’ve been to a theme park; retail shops by Universal Studios, Sea World and Disney World are prominent parts of the main building. There’s a Warner Bros. Studio Store here, and they don’t even have a theme park.
But to the food. You’ll get a bit of local Florida culture at Stinger Ray’s, a tropical-themed hut with cane-back chairs, palm-leaf-pattern carpeting and non-stop music that alternates Latin-beat rhythms with most of the Jimmy Buffet catalog. The food, arriving on faux-teak platters, includes lots of deep-fried stuff, along with a colorful nachos with red and blue tortilla chips, a hefty third-pound burger for $7 and a lively Jamaican jerk-chicken pizza. And of course, a full complement of umbrella drinks, frozen or not.
One of the best places to munch is Chili’s Too, a Mini-Me version of the popular restaurant chain that’s perched an escalator ride above the main floor and overlooks the non-stop bustle of travelers. The menu is a compact version of the real thing, but makes room for such signature dishes as the Awesome Blossom fried-onion appetizer, filled pita sandwiches and burgers, and of course the babybackbabybackbabyback ribs.
Back downstairs, The Shipyard Brewery is an honest-to-God working microbrewery that cranks out four custom brews, including a creamy and toasty stout, a pleasantly wimpy light lager (reduced alcohol and calories) and an Old Thumper ale, which, like Bambi’s pal, is on the hoppy side. The appetizer list is deep-fried city, but sandwiches include the Bay of Pigs, a pulled-pork sandwich in a bland barbecue sauce, nestled in Cuban bread. The fries aren’t good, but the sandwich will do.
The main terminal building also contains the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, a property so gorgeous that passengers might look forward to the occasional canceled flight. There are two hotel restaurants worth checking out: McCoy’s, an airy, casual spot with a bit-of-everything menu that includes matzo-ball soup, Cajun crawfish chowder, Greek salad, Cuban sandwiches and salmon pad Thai; and Hemisphere, an elegant dining room with two-story windows overlooking the runways (at night, the planes resemble shooting stars). Here I feasted on a melange of shrimp and scallops with a mango-papaya-fennel salsa, cilantro-flecked rich and an apple-cider balsamic sauce. This after Venetian-style polenta with wild mushrooms and gorgonzola cheese. That’s pretty good eating, wherever you happen to be.
Scattered throughout the main building and along each remote terminal are various brand-name outposts, including Nathan’s Famous (still one of the best hot dogs in the world), Burger King, Pizza Hut, TCBY, Mrs. Field’s Cookies, Big Apple Bagels, Starbucksand TCBY.
— P.V.
BITES ABOVE THE CROWD
Most exotic dishes: Green tea mousse from Sushi Boy at LAX.; guava and cheese pastelitos (turnovers) from Cafe Versailles at MIA.
Most eye-popping price: $12.50 chicken pot pie at Denver International Airport.
Best bargain: A shot of Cafe Cubano is just 46 cents at Cafe Versailles, MIA.
Best beverages: Brewed-on-premise beers at Shipyard Brewery in Orlando International; Signature Berghoff beers at Berghoff Cafe, O’Hare.
Speediest service: Our waitress at Wolfgang Puck Cafe in O’Hare had us seated, fed and back on the concourse in 30 minutes.
Healthiest options: Salad smorgasbord at Benjamin Books & Cafe at Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta.
Grooviest setting: The Encounter, at Los Angeles International Airport, where tourists can mingle with local hipsters and even a celebrity or two, amid ’60s-style space-age ambience that’s so kitschy it’s cool.
— L.B. and P.V.
WHERE THE CHEFS DINE ON THE FLY
Bobby Flay, star of TV Food Network’s “Hot Off the Grill” and chef/owner Mesa Grill and Bolo in New York City: Spicy chicken pizza and Chinese chicken salad at Wolfgang Puck’s at DIA and O’Hare.
John Coletta, executive chef of Caliterra restaurant in Chicago: Oysters at Legal Seafoods at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
Suzanne Goin, of Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles: Sausage sandwich at Redondo Beach Brewpub in LAX.
Charlie Trotter, Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago: Fresh Departures deli offerings at O’Hare.
