This week Travels in Taste has fanned out across the globe to bring you the best in airport fine dining.  Or at least the best we could find.  Yes, that’s right, the Travels in Taste team has jetted off to New York, Miami, Las Vegas, and Paris, to keep you, the gate-side gourmet, up to date on today’s best selection of concourse cuisine.

 

Airports these days have been updating their dining options, but even now, believe it or not, there are airports in the world where you are about as likely to find a pan seared tuna with mango salsa chutney as you are an empty overhead bin on a Friday afternoon flight to Miami.  And let’s face it; you can only survive so long on giant cinnamon buns and auntie what’s-her-name pretzels before you go running for the door.  So, ladies and gentlemen, please place your seat backs and tray tables in the upright and locked positions and get ready for our airport adventure in fine dining.

 

JFK - John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York

The new Jet Blue terminal at JFK has us thinking about airport food in a whole new way.  This is not your father’s concourse food court.  The food hall in the new terminal offers everything from sushi to tapas.  Definitely check out Deep Blue Sushi, with an Asian menu created by Buddakan’s Michael Schulson.  For dessert there’s a branch of Aunt Butchie’s Bakery and Café, the well known Brooklyn bakery with its famous chocolate mousse cake.    Aunt Butchie’s delivers its spectacular cakes to a number of New York’s restaurants, but you can swing by for a slice on the run at JFK.  At 5ive Steak (no, that is not a typo), you can order fabulous steaks, Sesame Crusted Big Eye Tuna and even mashed potato with truffle.  And, as unlikely as it sounds, you can get a better French dinner at JFK than at Paris Charles de Gaulle.  La Vie, also in the Jet Blue terminal, serves Salad Nicoise, Escargot and even Coquille St. Jacques.

 

But the most amazing innovation of all is Revive, which operates “dining clusters” at about half the Jet Blue terminal’s gates.  Each cluster has electric outlets for cell phones and laptops, and touch screen monitors where travelers can order food delivered right to the gate.  The screen indicates approximate delivery time and asks if it is acceptable, and the food arrives either on a plate with silverware, or boxed up for your flight. 

 

The Jet Blue Terminal at JFK left us totally spoiled.  Perhaps someday all airport restaurants will offer free range chicken and sesame crusted tuna.  For now we can only hope.

 

LAS - Las Vegas McCarran Airport

Pizza and white wine at 7 AM?  Only in Vegas, baby.  We got to LAS early in the morning, and the Wolfgang Puck Express was already open and serving.   Hey come on, nobody comes to Vegas to behave themselves.  Skip the English muffin and pour yourself a nice cool glass of breakfast!

 

MIA - Miami International Aiport

We gave Miami International Airport high marks for offering authentic Cuban home cooking that’s convenient and quick.  Tucked in between the ubiquitous assembly line sub shops and flash frozen pizza joints are outposts of two of Miami’s most iconic Cuban restaurants, La Carreta and Café Versailles.  La Carreta and Café Versailles are not Cuban fusion, or pan Carribean, or even Cubaridian.  You won’t find any truffle oil in your empanadas, and don’t look for mango pineapple chutney on your roasted yucca either.  At the airport locations, you won’t even find tables to sit at.  What you will find is real Cuban home cooking, just like abuela used to make.  You can swirl an authentic café Cubano at the counter while you wait for your flight, or grab a Cuban sandwich and a tres leches to take to the gate.  It isn’t quite the same as sitting down at their original Little Havana locations, but if you want one last quick taste of Miami before you board your flight, or you just can’t wait until you get into town for that first guava pastelito, the counters at La Carreta and Café Versailles are good choices at MIA.

 

CDG - Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Not that I need to tell you this, but definitely skip the McDonald’s at the entrance to Terminal 1.  Food choices at Paris’s main international airport are limited.  No doubt the airport functionnaires assumed that no one comes to Paris to eat at the airport.  Pass through security and you’ll find Les Marches de Paris, a very airport-like cafeteria near gate 46.  They sell a workmanlike croissant at their buffet line, and you can make yourself a passable cup of coffee at their push button espresso machine.  If you’re groggy and just need a jolt while you wait for the 7 AM to JFK that’s probably good enough.  But for something a little more Parisian go for the gourmet offerings at the duty free stores.  There’s grab and go pate de foie gras, fine chocolates, and all manner of tasty morsels ‘pour emporter’ (to go) for the long flight home.  Come on, it’s the airport - were you expecting Taillevent?

 

On Board the Flight

As a general rule I don’t recommend food that comes shrink wrapped.  Hopefully you ate in the concourse.

 

A Request to Readers

The Travels in Taste team would appreciate our readers’ airport food suggestions as we get into the summer travel season.  Over the next few months we will be flying through Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Providence, Atlanta, Islip and Amsterdam.  Click on “Comments” below if you know anything about the food options at any of these airports.  And of course we are always looking for new places to eat in town too, so don’t hold back if you have a favorite!

 

Bon Voyage and Bon Appétit

Rob Lubin