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Posted (edited)

I didn't bother to search and I don't care if there is already a thread for it but just in case there is not.

 

How about a thread to discuss various places to eat in airports? 

 

What are some of y'all favorite eating spots in airports?

 

I'm always a fan of Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless in O'hare.

Edited by BurntOrange&White
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Posted

I would never step in an establishment like this outside of an airport, but the chili’s in the Dallas LUV airport used to serve some banging margaritas when you only had like 10 minutes before jumping on a plane.

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Posted

The single greatest place to camp out and eat in any airport is the Turkish Air business lounge in Istanbul. I would just go on vacation there. It offers:

Turkish pide and kabobs during the day, full Turkish breakfast in the AM

Olive and snack bar and a Turkish lemonade stand that is superb 

Beer and wine (pretty good stuff and draft EFES)

Liquor cart with— not exactly top shelf but very decent stuff. Think Johnny Walker Black, Stolichnaya, Jack Daniels, etc. Mix that shit with the lemonade

Roving masseuse (no DeShaun, this is a shoulder rub over clothes you degenerates) 

Showers, video game station, new release movies, etc.

 

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Posted
51 minutes ago, Enchubben said:

I would never step in an establishment like this outside of an airport, but the chili’s in the Dallas LUV airport used to serve some banging margaritas when you only had like 10 minutes before jumping on a plane.

When I was a weekly traveller between Dallas and Houston I was there every Friday.  Get started at Chili's then once on the plane to Hobby the drink tickets came out and the good stewardess would have your drink in your hand before you left the gate.  The good old days on SWA.

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Posted

My go-to pre-Covid at DFW:

I would always get to the airport 20 minutes early for lunch/dinner because I would always enter in Terminal A, gates 16/17 area where the Precheck is. Walk down to A16 and hit up Salt Lick BBQ; because I was expensing my meal I went a la carte eschewing the meals. Was always around $35-40 bucks, but it was good.

Then because you are there at A16 you can take the escalator up to the skylink that is adjacent to the Salt Lick seating and go to other terminals. 80% of the time my flight was leaving out of Terminal A anyways.

Posted

flew out of San Antonio for a non-stop to Guadalajara a couple of years ago and our original flight was canceled so we ended up with like a 7 hour wait for the next one (Interjet, the Spirit airline of Mexico lol)

the airline did give us each $25 of airport food credit, but the SA airport is tiny and there was really only one sit-down restaurant...Mexican of course, i can't remember the name but there arent a lot of options so it would stand out...

anyway, they had the BEST queso fundido I've ever had, came out sizzling hot, peppers, onions, chorizo, in a molcajete, with huge homemade tortillas. also had some tortilla soup that was fantastic. 

the margs were very strong and delicious... there were 4 of us, we sat there just randomly ordering stuff for like 3 hours lol. rolled out of there drunk, i'm sure that's never happened at an airport 🤣

anyway, was pretty much the best meal/drinks I've ever had at an airport.

Posted

The Milanesa Torta at Rick Bayless’ Frontera Grill in O’Hare is the best airport meal I’ve ever had. I’ve eaten in airports 3 days a week for the last 17 years. 

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Posted
6 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

The Milanesa Torta at Rick Bayless’ Frontera Grill in O’Hare is the best airport meal I’ve ever had. I’ve eaten in airports 3 days a week for the last 17 years. 

Is that the one in the international terminal?  We ate there before our trip to Germany in late 2019.  Was much better than the food in the SAS lounge.

Posted

There’s one and B and one over in either H or K. There may be one in the international terminal but I haven’t seen it, only been through there once or twice.

Posted
40 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

There’s one and B and one over in either H or K. There may be one in the international terminal but I haven’t seen it, only been through there once or twice.

There is a Rick Bayless restaurant in the international terminal, I just don't remember which one.  It was tasty, though.

Posted

Love Field has a Whataburger that's in the middle of everything (and not in an outpost location like DFW). 

Swetts at BNA is above average. 

Harry & Izzy's at IND is very worthwhile. 

Obrycki's at BWI can be quite good. 

Belgium Beer Cafe at EWR is good and more interesting than most airport spots.

The best however is Cathay' The Wing in HKG and Turkish's lounge at IST.  

 

Posted

CLT... meh.. Cinnabon?  Popeyes is in Nashville. And there’s a Whataburger in IAH too. Chick fil A in Hobby hidden over by the international gates. Ya Ya Mary’s Mediterranean pitas is also over there and is good too, but still closed for the vid. 

Posted
6 hours ago, DonkeyCigars said:

My go-to pre-Covid at DFW:

I would always get to the airport 20 minutes early for lunch/dinner because I would always enter in Terminal A, gates 16/17 area where the Precheck is. Walk down to A16 and hit up Salt Lick BBQ; because I was expensing my meal I went a la carte eschewing the meals. Was always around $35-40 bucks, but it was good.

Then because you are there at A16 you can take the escalator up to the skylink that is adjacent to the Salt Lick seating and go to other terminals. 80% of the time my flight was leaving out of Terminal A anyways.

I've done this a few times myself.

 

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Posted
4 hours ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Unfortunately it's a 2 hour layover around dinner time...

I had a pulled pork sandwich that wasn't bad there. Can't remember the name of the place, but it's bbq place out in the concourse so you can't miss it. Not Texas bbq, but pretty good. 

Posted
7 hours ago, After irth said:

Yes. Don’t go there. 

This is good advice. I've eaten at the Chilis in CLT too many times.

Really don't know if anything makes it past Covid, so this may be outdated by now, but Sushi Kyotatsu near NRT gate B33 was always good.

Posted
16 hours ago, BurntOrange&White said:

I'm always a fan of Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless in O'hare.

Could have locked the thread after the first post. Only airport spot in America I look forward to eating at. 

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Posted
18 hours ago, Enchubben said:

I would never step in an establishment like this outside of an airport, but the chili’s in the Dallas LUV airport used to serve some banging margaritas when you only had like 10 minutes before jumping on a plane.

I just ate at that Chili's. Good burger and fries for like $10.50. Service was excellent (it is in Dallas). Sometimes you just need a meal like that. 

Posted
19 hours ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Any Charlotte(CLT) recs?

Used to go through there a lot because I’ve got a second office in Greenville, SC and flight schedules direct to GSP are limited.  Nothing great in the food department but one of the best shoe shines in the country. Allow a solid 15 to 20 minutes. I’d often pack a second pair of dress shoes and get to my return flight a bit early to double up. Haven’t been through post COVID though. 

Posted

Pre Covid, I would be flying all over the country on a weekly basis and the second I saw this thread I was going to post the Rick Bayless Torta in H/K at O'Hare with chips and guacamole is the best meal you will find.  You can hit up some expensive places in DFW and Miami like a Abacus/Shula's but those Tortas in Chicago are fantastic for a quick meal.  In Philly I always go to Legal Seafood and grab some fried whole belly clams and a cup of clam chowder or if you want the cheap cheese steak experience there is a Genos in the food court in Philly.

Also, I got food poisoning from that sushi joint in the middle of the concourse at Charlotte Airport so my vote would be a hard pass on that place.

Worst airport and worst food in the country (talking about major airports) easily goes to Kansas City.  

Posted
23 hours ago, DonkeyCigars said:

My go-to pre-Covid at DFW:

I would always get to the airport 20 minutes early for lunch/dinner because I would always enter in Terminal A, gates 16/17 area where the Precheck is. Walk down to A16 and hit up Salt Lick BBQ; because I was expensing my meal I went a la carte eschewing the meals. Was always around $35-40 bucks, but it was good.

Then because you are there at A16 you can take the escalator up to the skylink that is adjacent to the Salt Lick seating and go to other terminals. 80% of the time my flight was leaving out of Terminal A anyways.

I haven't been in Texas for several months and ate there a few weeks ago on a layover and it was awful

Posted

When I was a kid in the RGV, Harlingen’s VIA had an airport grill that was legit one of the top choices around. It was basically greasy burgers, fries, stuff like that but it was damn good, good enough that plenty of people would go get a burger there even if they were not flying anywhere.  It got ripped out during a big remodel and replaced with a throughly mediocre place.

Posted
On 6/15/2021 at 8:12 AM, BurntOrange&White said:

 

I'm always a fan of Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless in O'hare.

I may have run up a $150 bar/food tab at the one in K during a long rain delay without going top shelf liquor.  I may have also expensed it as a client meeting.

  • 1 month later...
Posted
On 6/15/2021 at 8:12 AM, BurntOrange&White said:

I'm always a fan of Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless in O'hare.

smoked pork sandwich is pretty great

Posted
I think I ate at a sushi place in the center concourse in CLT. It was not terrible. 

Sushi before getting on a flight?
That’s a bold strategy, Cotton.
  • 3 years later...
Posted
On 6/15/2021 at 9:13 PM, Sam Lin said:

Really don't know if anything makes it past Covid, so this may be outdated by now, but Sushi Kyotatsu near NRT gate B33 was always good.

Went through Narita last month and Kyotatsu is still there and still great!

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Posted
Sorry for the late notice.  I land in ATL in 2 hours.  Delta.  
 
What’s for breakfast?

Way too late now but yeah, Delta lounge is fine…egg frittatas, fruit, oatmeal, biscuits and gravy.

If you need to be special go get Avacado toast and bacon or a Bento box at one flew south. Both very good.
Posted (edited)

I almost always fly American, so these are generally restaurants in AA concourses. I would love it if other AA fliers posted their recommendations, too. I have considered making this thread for years, so I'm glad to see it bumped. 

ORD breakfast: Frontera at H/K is great but can be quite slow, especially when busy. It's also pretty messy, so leave enough time to wash you hands afterwards. Their napkins might as well be notebook paper.

ORD lunch/dinner: Publican Tavern. Very close to the security/exit at the H/K concourse. Absolutely outstanding peri peri turkey avocado sandwich. Fries are almost always perfectly crispy. I would eat this meal in non-airport contexts once or twice a month if I could. If another traveler is sitting near me and I can tell that they don't know what to order, I will offer the unsolicited suggestion that they order this unless they don't like spicy food. I can't recommend this sandwich enough. 

SFO: Starbird - Nashville chicken (non-spicy chicken also available). Bourbon Pub - Crab Louis salad. 

PHL: Chickie & Pete's - both traditional and unconventional (lobster, etc.) cheesesteaks. Miscellaneous crab stuff. 

LGA: Soleil Brasserie (on a mezzanine level slightly above gates) - lobster roll. Good, but small. Order two if your clients footing the expense account won't mind. Friendly bartender. Also Hunt & Fish Grill - chicken BLT is often quite good, but very occasionally meh. 

MIA: La Carreta (Cuban - better than Versailles, but after having lived in Miami for a decade, I find the whole Versailles thing - and most of the people who go there - to be quite irritating...). 

LAX: Everything sucks. Cole's (allegedly invented the French Dip at the non-airport location) has been going downhill, but it used to be good, and I'd say that it still sucks the least, relative to your limited options. The spicy mustard is outstanding. There's a female bartender who is always so grumpy and short-tempered that it's entertaining, so sit at the bar. 

CLT: I'm a sucker for Bojangles, partly because I don't live near one. Cajun chicken biscuit. Try it with honey. But it's just fast food.

I probably have plenty of other recommendations, but these are the ones that truly stand out in my mind without having to think about it. 

Edited by Prepuce of Doom
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Posted
On 3/24/2025 at 5:00 AM, Sam Lin said:

Went through Narita last month and Kyotatsu is still there and still great!

I was just going to mention this. Also the JAL lounge has a damn good sushi bar that opens at about 6 AM. Nothing like fresh tuna and Asahi for breakfast. 

I’m on the road a lot, so I’ll try to come up with a list like Prepuce did. 

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Posted
3 hours ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

 

MIA: La Carreta (Cuban - better than Versailles, but after having lived in Miami for a decade, I find the whole Versailles thing - and most of the people who go there - to be quite irritating...). 

La Carreta is solid. I used to go to Miami all the time for work, and the ropa vieja and rice always hit the spot before flying home.

Don't sleep on Kuva if you're down in the low number gates. Vaca Frita slams.

Versailles is only good for a drive by cortado to go.

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Posted
26 minutes ago, TornACL said:

La Carreta is solid. I used to go to Miami all the time for work, and the ropa vieja and rice always hit the spot before flying home.

Don't sleep on Kuva if you're down in the low number gates. Vaca Frita slams.

Versailles is only good for a drive by cortado to go.

I used to travel to Miami often for work, staying right by the airport.  You could do a lot worse there than the Latin Cafe 2000 right outside the airport  Marriott compound.

 

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