Mimi Sheraton in the New York Times wrote about food she would travel the world to eat.
While there are a number of foods and dining experiences that I consider travel highlights, there are actually a few of them that don’t even require leaving the airport. Great food options sometimes make connecting through certain airports actually feel worthwhile and something to pleasantly anticipate.
These three are my current favorites (please understand, this is a very personal list).
Burritos from Que Bueno in the Denver Airport — Que Bueno is a little place near gate B52. Do they have the best burritos ever? No, but they are huge, made to order, and pretty darn good. And the “fuego” (fire) sauce is for real. The staff will usually try to steer gringos to the regular hot sauce, but if you are a serious hot food junkie, give the “fuego” a try. And have water or a drink handy.They even have breakfast burritos.
Italian Beef Sandwich from the Billy Goat in Chicago/O’Hare, C Concourse food court — I love Italian Beef sandwiches. Again, these aren’t the best ever, but it’s a lot easier than going into downtown Chicago. The Billy Goat is a branch of the
Billy Goat Tavern (“cheezeborger, cheezeborger”) of Saturday Night Live fame. They are in Terminal C at Chicago O’Hare, and also sell cheeseburgers, but I have never tried one.
Dim Sum from Fung Lum at San Francisco Airport, United Concourse food court — Pretty decent, if limited, dim sum. Selections include pot stickers, pork buns, siu mai and banana shrimp rolls (really, and they taste better than they sound). My favorite, sweet rice puff, is actually a slightly chewy rice dumpling with ground pork inside. They also have other Chinese dishes.
Here are a few others in no particular order:
Andale Mexican food in the same United food court at San Francisco Airport (also found in the international terminal) — Andale is a branch of a small local chain. Their food is both tasty and healthier than most Mexican offerings. Great fresh salsas.
Gold Star Chili, Cincinnati, Delta terminal — Cincinnati style chili is like no other. It’s not particularly spicy and tastes slightly of cinnamon, but it’s addictive. It comes slathered over a small hot dog, spaghetti, beans or some combination of the above. Cheese and onions are optional.
La Salsa in the San Diego Airport Terminal Two food court — they replaced the local chain Rubio’s. Terminal One has another decent Mexican chain offering – Baja Fresh.
Yes, on my list there’s probably a preponderance of Mexican and spicy food. I love spicy food, especially when traveling.
This is no doubt a list that Tripso readers can improve. How about it? Add your favorites in the comments and we can create an great airport food list. Don’t limit yourself to fast food, I’m sure there are some great sit-down dining experiences, too.
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I wish more airports would pay attention to ensuring quality food was available – and the horrid places with the horrible bad attitude managers that don’t care if their food is stale (are you listening DIA) were booted out.
Two excellent places at Madison, Wis (MSN) aka Dane County Regional Airport, are:
Great Dane is a local brew pub with a sit-down restaurant and full bar at the airport. There’s an Old World atmosphere, with dark wooden tables and booths. Good food all day and a selection of very good beers. They also have scotches and, because it’s Wisconsin, many brandies. (Badgers drink more brandy than folks in any other state.) Though they open at 4:30 a.m. for early travelers, you can’t get a beer or other alcoholic beverage until…6:00 a.m.! Beyond security near Gates 7-8.
Usinger’s Wurst German Bar sells to-die-for bratwurst and cold meat sandwiches, plus German beers. Usinger’s is a nationally recognized Milwaukee family pf sausage makers. They’ve been around since the late1800′s. They open at 10:00 a.m. At Gate 5.
RE: SFO
The Andale in the International G concourse is superior to the domestic one, and now you can walk there within security. Also, Tomokazu in the G concourse has good Japanese food. Fung Lum is overpriced and greasy….
Agreed Bill, but that’s another post. Honolulu main terminal is amazingly bad. They have all the high end shops – Coach, Maui Divers jewelllery, Sportsac, etc, etc. And then the worst food courts ever. Burger King, Pizza Hut, a lousy Chinese steam table place and a couple ice cream places. Quizno’s is about as good as it gets. No reason why they couldn’t have a few local or better options.
Holy smokes, I didn’t expect a recommendation for “No Bueno”, as we call it. I haven’t been through Denver enough to know a good alternative, but I’ll stay away from those sloppy burritos.
A great place I can recommend in Portland (PDX), near the C Concourse, is Gustav’s German Pub & Grill, where you can get genuine German food and beer. The menu is a little more limited than their local establishments, but there is still a decent selection.
Janice,
When was the last time you have been to SAN? I only ask this because of Rubio’s, I don’t think is there anymore, and this was almost a year ago. Did they come back? I don’t see anything on the SAN airport website, nor do I see a location on Rubio’s website. Thanks!
A delicious pretzel (or 3) at PHL! They are only $1 and so tasty! Best airport bargain!
Too bad about Rubio’s. I used to love their fish tacos.
At Chicago-Midway, ther is a Harry Caray’s, Pegasus on teh Fly which serves a lot of Greek (as well as other healthy foods), Miller’s Pub, and a killer corned beef sandwich at Manny’s on Concourse A.
It is still another reason to choose MDW over ORD.
Ivar’s Seafood Bar at Sea-Tac airport has some really good clam chowder, and it’s an inexpensive, quick meal if time and/or money are in short supply.
Anthony’s Restaurant at Sea-Tac has a ling cod dish that’s excellent- most of their seafood is quite good, especially considering it’s airport food.