What to eat at 28 North American airports

August 1, 2015 8:38 PM

What to eat at 28 North American airports
posted by escabeche (45 comments total)

Location is a big factor. One Flew South is great, but it's location in E Concourse is less than ideal.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:53 PM on August 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

I came to see what it said about Chicago but was shocked to see my second hometown Charleston listed. As I expected thanks to the major renovations at the airport you'll just be eating drywall dust, so they cheated by just listing a bunch of the awesome restaurants nearby. It's cheating since Charleston is one of the best food cities in the country, and Park Circle is relatively close to the airport and has fantastic options like EVO Pizza and the not-listed but great Madra Rua.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 8:57 PM on August 1, 2015

I never seem to get landed in the terminal with the best restaurants. I think this has something to do with the fact that I'm coming from smaller flights, usually from or to the Deep South.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:58 PM on August 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

I was just in MSP, and they had this great setup at one of the terminals where it was just a bunch of iPads, and you could order all the things you wanted and then swipe your card. The pizza was good for being $4/slice in an airport especially. Is that a thing now in airports, ordering from iPads, or just that one part of Minneapolis/St. Paul's airport? Seems like a great way to reduce heavily redundant human interaction and some level of disease transmission.
posted by oceanjesse at 9:02 PM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yay! I have mealtime layovers in Dallas and Detroit on an upcoming trip -- maybe knowing decent food exists will keep me from panicking and gnawing on a hummus and pita kit from Starbucks.
posted by palomar at 9:03 PM on August 1, 2015

ctrl-F “Sbarro”

Not Found

>_<
posted by Going To Maine at 9:09 PM on August 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

ctrl-F “Sbarro”

Not Food

posted by oceanjesse at 9:15 PM on August 1, 2015 [30 favorites]

Is that a thing now in airports, ordering from iPads, or just that one part of Minneapolis/St. Paul's airport?

I've seen it in a few places in Newark. Run by this company: http://otgmanagement.com/home.html

I mostly appreciated it because it avoided the perpetual problem of not being able to find your server when you need the check and your flight is about to start boarding.
posted by primethyme at 9:26 PM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I hadn't guessed that Bigfoot would make the list at SEA and I hadn't even heard of the #1 entry. Of course I can endorse ORD's #1- it's Rick Bayles signature material to stick a sandwich shop in an airport and make it a consensus good thing.
posted by wotsac at 9:58 PM on August 1, 2015

"What to eat in 27 American airports and one Canadian one."
posted by good in a vacuum at 10:08 PM on August 1, 2015 [15 favorites]

For the airports I visit regularly, the lists seem to be pretty accurate, although as a best of Terminal D (instead of a best of Airport) Cantina Laredo at DFW is criminally underrated.
posted by yeolcoatl at 10:29 PM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

oceanjesse I think there are several iPad restaurants at MSP now, but you're probably talking about minnibar, which is on their list.
posted by yeolcoatl at 10:30 PM on August 1, 2015

Flying Southwest is great but man, not for food layovers.

The Houston airport listed is IAH (which, for a large international airport based in the US, is actually pretty decent for food) and of course Southwest flies out of Hobby. To be fair, the review of Hobby dining options would be: the Pappas restaurants (Pappasitos, Pappadeux, Pappas, etc. no I am not actually joking) which are irrelevant anyway for early flights, Subway, Panda, Dunkin' Donuts, and cries of despair when you realize that they closed that shop where you could buy bagels and newspapers.

In San Diego, Southwest is in the terminal with Counter Burger, maybe an outpost of Stone Brewery, and other decent food options. Except when you're stuck in gates 1, 1A, 2, or 2A, because those gates have their own security checkpoint and a grand total of one dining option. Guess what gates fly to Houston?

MSP has French Meadow Bakery. I hate, hate, hate MSP with the passion of a thousand fiery trips between Concourses A and F--but I do miss French Meadow Bakery.

So in short, check your terminals and even your gates carefully. Airline scheduling will have a big impact on your food layover experience.
posted by librarylis at 10:36 PM on August 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

thousand fiery trips between Concourses A and F

SOMEONE was flying to Grand Forks.

There is a steaky-type restaurant somewhere in between there that I enjoy a fair amount, though that might be residual memory of eating there with a woman I have feels about.
posted by flaterik at 11:24 PM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

As long as there's a Jizzy Buns, I'm happy.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:38 PM on August 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

La Carreta in MIA's Terminal D is great for Cuban food served cafeteria-style. A shame it only got a brief mention in this article.
posted by armage at 12:24 AM on August 2, 2015

Glad to see Potbelly's and Vino Volo listed for IAD, two bright spots in the otherwise sad, depressing C/D concourse (although it does look like IAD has upped it's food options since I flew through there last).

Also I fly to MCI frequently to visit family, and of all the airports I've flown through, MCI definitely takes the cake for worst food options post-security (a lonely little kiosk selling prepackaged sandwiches if you're lucky). Although they do have restrooms at the gates now, so at least there's that!
posted by photo guy at 2:12 AM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Want to have a planeful of people hate you? Go to Austin, visit the Salt Lick at the airport... buy a heaping portion of their BBQ brisket... and fly that puppy back home with you for several hours, snacking occasionally, because, well... it's Salt Lick BBQ, and it just smells so overpoweringly good.
posted by markkraft at 3:32 AM on August 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I like getting McDonald's at airports. It's familiar and predictable, and when I'm at an airport I'm usually too stressed/tired/anxious/preoccupied to put too much thought into eating.

Also, I just like McDonald's.
posted by Metroid Baby at 3:51 AM on August 2, 2015 [5 favorites]

The (Peter?) North Terminal of the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport: I herd u liek Clif barz.
posted by busted_crayons at 4:04 AM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

> Is that a thing now in airports, ordering from iPads, or just that one part of Minneapolis/St. Paul's airport?

Only recall noticing them at Shoyu when I was there a couple years ago. (fwiw, Shoyu was surprisingly good, and I'm not sure I'd have minded the price even if the airline hadn't comped us for the diverted flight and stopover.)

I don't fly often but I am happy to put in a word for the Brookwood BBQ at Charlotte-Douglas (CLT). It's not going to instigate fights among BBQ obsessives, but it's good and satisfying. Also, as far as I can tell, it's the only non-national food franchise in the building, so if you're there and you're hungry, it's either that, a burger, or something par-cooked in plastic bags in New Jersey and thawed to order.
posted by ardgedee at 4:06 AM on August 2, 2015

I don't care about food. Just give me a free and strong WiFi connection. I'll eat my internet thank you very much, that's all I need at an airport.
posted by Fizz at 4:33 AM on August 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm normally not one for eating in airports but I do look forward to Dickey's BBQ in DFW.
posted by maggiemaggie at 4:42 AM on August 2, 2015

Okay, Eater, now do breakfast. Because Frontera still wins at ORD with their egg/chorizo torta.
posted by JoeZydeco at 5:10 AM on August 2, 2015

They are 100% right about the PB&J place in DTW. I didn't think I could still get this worked up over PB&J, but every time I fly through there I'm disappointed if my connection is at the other end of the terminal from that place. (Unless I have a long enough layover that I can ride the tram there and back. Then all is forgiven, because tram.)
posted by dorque at 6:24 AM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

It seems like they left out Long Beach, the most pleasant airport in the universe. All the food is good as is the wine, and you can sit on a patio post-security to have it.
posted by dame at 6:45 AM on August 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Everything about DFW can die in a fire tho. Even the best food would be mediocre at a meh place like DIA and the whole airport is the most human-hostile place ever. Let's put the cars in the middle so the planes taxi forever and you have to walk extra far!! Yay!
posted by dame at 6:48 AM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm a little disappointed they missed RDU. Not a big airport, and few connections there. But the Ewer(sp?) family restaurants have a huge contract, and the food is great real food: 42nd St. Oyster Bar, I think they have an Angus Barn location, and quite a few others. It's worth it to arrive early to get some of this. I don't have time to look up exactly what they have.
posted by Snowishberlin at 7:12 AM on August 2, 2015

This is only slightly tangential, but I want to share a revelation I recently had: If you're flying internationally and have no choice but to make a connection while returning to the US, Canada is the place to have that layover.

Toronto's airport is pretty nice, but the real perk is that you get to do all of your Customs/TSA stuff in Toronto. It'd ridiculously fast, simple, and friendly (basically the opposite of Miami). I guess living in Canada must have imparted some politeness on to the US staff stationed there...

The 2 hours I scheduled for my layover ended up being completely unnecessary because of how fast it was, and I got to have a nice meal.
posted by schmod at 7:15 AM on August 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

> I'm a little disappointed they missed RDU.

I also like RDU, but it looks like the writers intentionally restricted themselves to the major hub airports, which RDU definitely isn't.
posted by ardgedee at 7:25 AM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Even the restaurants are weak in PHL.
posted by doctornemo at 7:34 AM on August 2, 2015

That's a useful article.
I've been flying frequently for business since 2002, and have noticed food options in American airports improving from awful to semi-decent. That's a good trend.

Agreeing with Fizz about WiFi. That's a pain in far too many airports.
Except my local, BTW. Free, reliable in most locations. And they have plenty of power outlets.
posted by doctornemo at 7:36 AM on August 2, 2015

Yay this is useful but also how is LaGuardia not included?
posted by likeatoaster at 7:54 AM on August 2, 2015

There used to be a Ben & Jerry's at IAD - I always felt lucky when I had a flight out from near Concourse A. I remember sometimes they had longer lines than the bars. No longer there, though.
posted by needled at 8:06 AM on August 2, 2015

Curses, the one time I know I'm going to have to be getting dinner in an airport in my near future, and that airport isn't on this list. Serves me right for deciding to just fly out of MKE instead of schlepping down to ORD for the same price and more hassle. Oh wait.

BOS is pretty spot-on, including Terminal E being something of a wasteland.
posted by ultranos at 8:15 AM on August 2, 2015

Last year coming back from a week-long business trip to Denver I could smell that hot dog place at Midway when the plane was still taxiing to the gate.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:26 AM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

> I was just in MSP, and they had this great setup at one of the terminals where it was just a bunch of iPads, and you could order all the things you wanted and then swipe your card

My friend helped build out the entire MSP food service remodel*. The OTG systems aren't half bad, I found them a little disconcerting when I was sitting at a bar, but honestly, being able to order and pay for your food (and mark it to go) without having to flag down wait staff is a blessing when you are worried about making a connection.

Fun Fact: remodeling an airport is a pain in the ass - all your gear has to clear security - and certain tasks can only happen off hours. So what would take two weeks to prep a coffee shop anywhere else takes three months.

* He was hired to handle their coffee training and espresso program - moved from Portland to NYC to then spend most of his weeks living at MSP.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:37 AM on August 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

how is LaGuardia not included?
I don't know how helpful an entry reading "Unfortunately, Dunkin' Donuts is the best place to eat at LaGuardia" would be.
posted by akgerber at 9:50 AM on August 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

Shoyu is definitely a must-go in MSP. It's awkwardly over on the far concourse by the international flights part, but it's really the best sushi I've had in the cities, bar none. Also their staff is really friendly, and since it's out of the way it's usually not busy. I wish I could go to the airport just to eat there it's so good, and I'm talking willing entering MSP, which is one of the grimmest places I have ever been.
posted by neonrev at 12:28 PM on August 2, 2015

Serves me right for deciding to just fly out of MKE

Probably my favorite mid-sized airport (awesome used book store! Public ping-pong table in the middle of the terminal!) but not a wonderful place for food. But we never eat in the Milwaukee airport because the best Mexican restaurant in the state of Wisconsin is right across the street, and we just eat there before we park the car.
posted by escabeche at 1:28 PM on August 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, Mezza Grille just opened in DTW; better-than-it-needs-to-be schwarma a very welcome edition, since there's often no time for Sora.
posted by escabeche at 1:31 PM on August 2, 2015

No Orlando? I'd have thought all the tourists would be an easy crowd to cater to. And yes, I'm flying there in two weeks, why do you ask?
posted by persona at 4:10 PM on August 2, 2015

Disappointed in this list. One Canadian airport? geez.
posted by lizbunny at 4:13 PM on August 2, 2015

Halifax Stanfield International Airport has a Chickenburger, which is not great, but it's unusual and old-timey. The original 1950s Chickenburger is just down the street a ways in Bedford, but there's not much else to do in Bedford so if you eat at the airport you don't have to go there.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:05 PM on August 2, 2015

I remember the days when the only place to eat at Midway was the crappy little restaurant between check-in and security. Now there are actually plenty of good places to eat. (Of course, that was also when Midway was much smaller - you could get from one end of the airport to the other very quickly, and you could park right in front of the terminal.)

I'm surprised that Phoenix Sky Harbor isn't listed. They recently added a bunch of new restaurants.
posted by SisterHavana at 6:49 PM on August 2, 2015