Airplane Food...Yuck! I mean...Yummers?

Ahh, the good old days, when air travel was a grand event. There's some newer (worse) stuff in here, too:

http://www.library.northwestern.edu/tra ... index.html

This was in Phil Vittel's blog on the trib.

Hese's a site for airline meal food porn.

I flew Singapore Air, and the food was excellent. Just like the old days.

Pitt, did you make a wrong turn and end up in LTH? Don't you belong in the BShare room? I'm Vet30yrs. I haven't noticed you before.

Last year for our Bohemia trip we flew Air France business class over the water and the food was terrific. Real, perfectly sauteed foie gras was our appetizer. Good thing the flight didn't leave from Chicago. The rest of the dinner and wines were very good.

This year we flew Iberia out to Italy, (also business class) and the food was very good. The big surprise was Delta on the way back. I expect the foreign carriers to have good cuisine but Delta was spot on. MsRev actually had perfectly cooked sea bass. Not sure what is being served in economy. Miles are a wonderful thing. Thank you credit cards, although they are probably thanking me more!

I'd like to formally welcome Pittrader as the newest member of the LTH community. Pitt is an insightful and valuable poster on another forum, totally unrelated to food. I believe he will be a very welcome and interesting addition to our neighborhood.

11/17/07 AA1785 ORD - PVR First Class

stevez wrote:11/17/07 AA1785 ORD - PVR First Class

Steve,

I had what appears to be the same breakfast on our honeymoon flight to Los Cabos about a month ago. Although, I opted for the biscuit, and instead of water went with a bloody mary.

Flip

Flip wrote:Although, I opted for the biscuit,

That is a biscuit...at least according to American Airlines.

stevez wrote:

Flip wrote:Although, I opted for the biscuit,

That is a biscuit...at least according to American Airlines.

Wow, mine was actually pretty decent. The melon, now that is another story.

Flip

11/24/07 AA1852 PVR - ORD First Class


Salad (including good pickled onions)
Shrimp Empanada W/Steamed Shreaded Squash
Stale Roll
Peach/Custard Tart

I recently flew LAX->MEL and didn't detect any significant decline in Qantas' culinary offerings. In fact, in terms of food, physical comfort and courtesy, Qantas in 2007 still does an excellent job of making a long flight as comfortable as possible. (I acknowledge that Qantas is shabbier than, say, most...maybe all...of the Asian airlines, but I remain fond of it overall.) The menu from my flight:

Supper
Celeriac and Carrot Remoulade

Choice of
Marinated Lime Chicken and
Spanish Rice with Corn and
Capsicum Salsa
or
Penne with Spicy Tomato, Caper
and Olive Sauce

Raisin Flan

Coffee Tea
Cadbury Hot Chocolate
Organic Chamomile Tea

Because I had had chicken for dinner at ORD before the first leg of my trip, I didn't want chicken again and chose the penne. The sauce was very tasty—not as spicy as I expected (actually not spicy at all), but it carried the capers and olives beautifully. I asked for more bread so that I wouldn't miss any of it. I also really enjoyed the raisin flan, which was more like custard in consistency. I don't think I'd ever had raisins in an egg-heavy dessert before (I know this type of thing is easy to find in the UK, but I didn't eat much traveling there as a student)—it's a delightful combination with the sweetness seeming to come mainly from the very few raisins than from the custard mixture. I could have eaten several servings of this stuff.

I took a picture of my supper, which doesn't do it justice because I'm a horrible photographer and also because I just think that the plastic compartmentalization of airplane food in coach/economy class (I've never flown business, but food up there is usually served on normal plates, right?) will just never make the food look good.



Even on Qantas, where the design of the “compartments,” utensils and condiment packages is very MoMA-fied, the meal still doesn't look good even if it actually tastes much better than what's served on most other airlines.

Eleven or so hours into my flight, breakfast was served.

Breakfast
Choice of Continental Breakfast
Fruit Juice
Seasonal Fresh Fruit Salad
Orange Muffin
Cereal

or Hot Breakfast
Fruit Juice
Seasonal Fresh Fruit Salad
Orange Muffin
Mixed Vegetable Frittata with Pork
Sausage and Roma Tomato

Coffee Tea

I chose the hot breakfast, which was very satisfying. The omelet-fresh tomato-sausage combination is one of my favorites to prepare at home. I prefer a very mild sausage for my morning meal, which is what this was, even further tempered by the tomato—just the way I like it. My only complaint about breakfast was that the tea was pre-steeped and darker than I prefer.



I typically don't drink anything except water and tea on flights, but I can still appreciate Qantas' range of offerings.

Beverages
Australian Wine
A selection of light and full
bodied white and red wines.

Australian Sparkling Wine
200ml Chardonnay Pinot
Noir by Jacob's Creek

Spirits
Bacardi White Run
Bundaberg Dark Rum
Gordon's Gin
Jim Bea,m Bourbon
Johnnie Walker Red Whisky
Smirnoff Vodka
St Agnes 3 Star Brandy

Beers
Hahn Premium Light
Tooheys New
Victoria Bitter

Non Alcoholic
Apple Juice
Cranberry Drink
Orange Juice
Spicy Tomato Juice
Soda Water
Tonic Water
Bundaberg Ginger Beer
Cola or Diet Cola
Ginger Ale
Lemonade
Solo – Lemon Squash

My recent meals in flight were surely less than those documented in the menus of NU's Transportation Library but pleasant enough.

Wow, the plating on your brekkie is indeed tragic.

The last time I recall getting a hot brekkie on any airline was in 1993, flying Lauda from LHR -> Vienna. It was a fantastically creamy omelette.

Food of course varies by airline, and sometimes by starting point or flight crew, but the reason I always enjoy airline food is because if I'm eating it, I'm on an airplane -- I'm going somewhere. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate a better than average airline meal (Jet Airways in India has, I believe, the best food of anyone flying), but I am never really unhappy with an airline meal.

And when you think about it, not many really good restaurants could serve 300 or more people within a half-hour time frame and hundreds of miles away from their kitchens.

Can't say the same for airport food. But at least things have improved somewhat at O'Hare in recent years.

Cynthia wrote:...but the reason I always enjoy airline food is because if I'm eating it, I'm on an airplane -- I'm going somewhere

Amen to that. My best airline food memory goes to Thai Airlines on my first trip to Nepal. A shrimp curry I would happily have paid much for.... And the worst, our just-completed trip to Rome on Alitalia. Mediocre food at best and nearly inedible at worst. Served by some of the most self-involved staff it has ever been my pleasure to be unhappy with.

Sorry to hear that Alitalia wasn't so hot. At one time, they were fabulous -- but then my last trip to Italy was 30 years ago. But how was Rome?

Ah, Rome. Nothing like the first time there. Or anywhere fun and exciting, eh? Am putting the finishing touches on my review of a week's worth of eating and will be posting soon. (It's only twelve pages long, with pics! Look for it.

There was a time in my life when I flew a lot. I rarely fly now, though I am quite the road warrior when given an opportunity.

Most of my flight destinations were to the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. When I took a SwissAir flight from Chicago to Zurich, I ate every darn morsel provided to me. It was my last really western meal I might have for quite a while. If I took a SwissAir flight from Zurich to my final destination, then I had yet another final meal. If I took Aeroflot or any other airline who could afford spare parts and hard currency fuel, then I was in for the inevitable cultural adjustment just a bit earlier.

On SwissAir would be these carefully arranged modular dishes on a small tray. Everything was precisely fitted together with undersized stainless steel utensils that fit just so on the carefully considered tray. Whereas on Aeroflot your meal came on a clumsy cafeteria sized tray with full size dishes arranged in the middle. Invariably a black olive escaped to roll around the tray catch-me-if-you-can style.

On SwissAir the food was Continental with nice rolls, butter, a small green salad, a beautifully arranged entree and a pretty dessert that tasted as good as it looked. There were usually two entree options: beef or chicken, I always went for beef. Sometimes I would call ahead to order meals to various religious sensitbilities: Kosher, Muslim or whatever tickled my fancy. While it was fun to see what may come, I was usually sorry I did this because my seatmates food looked so divine. My drink of preference was Schweppes Bitter Lemon, of course.

On Aeroflot the meal was very functional with no presentation plating considerations at all. There would be dry black bread, butter, a cabbage or beet salad, a pasty entree with lots of gravy to mask whatever was present. I know they had dessert, though I cannot recall what. It really is too bad I wasn't photographing my meals during this time. All I conjure up in my mind's eye was grey food. I would drink tea to avoid the fermented apple juices they always seemed to have. If you like drinking vinegar, then their apple juice might please you.

I have seen the best and the worst of airline food. I usually ate what was provided to me. I just didn't always know when my next meal might be, because there too many variables when I hit my destination. These issues began with locating luggage from Customs to to friends who may or may not make it to airport. At least if I was fed, I could soldier through these problems better than adding hunger to my tired spirit.

In the era I flew the most, only a health nut would bring their own food. Now it seems to be standard procedure.

In the movie the Out of Towner's wth Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis, I love the meal on their flight from Ohio to NYC. A full meal with china for such a short flight. Of course, Jack Lemmon declines which is the first of many bad choices made on this trip.

Regards,

Heh. Cathy - reminded me of flying Tarom to Romania in 1980. Lunch previews were what was smeared on the wall of the plane.

Hi,

Tarom - Romanian airlines was one I was concerned about spare parts and fuel. There was a lot of pressure on the pilots not to buy fuel abroad. There was once a Tarom airline crash directly related to running out of fuel.

Regards,

My most memorable airline meal: Flying from Shanghai to Guilin China in 1989. Just flying China Air was an adventure in those days but they did feed us and, in Chinese fashion, gave each passenger a "present." I believe I still have that cheap tote bag with the CAAC logo on the side.

Anyway, the food. At lunchtime, each passenger was handed a simple cardboard box containing various packages of Chinese peanut snacks and a single chicken leg in a fold-lock top bag. Yes, a chicken leg in a baggie. I am fairly certain drinks were provided but those details have faded from memory.

I still buy those peanut snacks.

Hi,

In my past life, there were days when I was frustrated with life in Moscow. I would collect my passport, drive out to Sheremetyevo airport and have lunch overlooking the airfield. I kept reminding myself as I watched the arriving and departing planes, I could just leave. Of course I didn't, though it made me feel tremendously better knowing I could.

The food was Soviet style unremarkable, though I wasn't there for food. I was there to recover my sense of freedom.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Tarom - Romanian airlines was one I was concerned about spare parts and fuel. There was a lot of pressure on the pilots not to buy fuel abroad. There was once a Tarom airline crash directly related to running out of fuel.

Yes, when they told us we were about to land in NY, we spontaneously broke out singing America the Beautiful (I was there with my HS choir).

I think that, at times, even the flight attendants get disheartened by either the food or the reactions to the food. A couple of years ago, on an American flight to London, the attendant asked, with no humor, "You want brown or yellow." I asked if one might assume that brown was beef and yellow chicken, and I was told that was as good a guess as any.

I think the two reasons (other than the previously mentioned "I'm on a plane" euphoria) that I don't worry too much about what they're feeding me on the plane are that (one) it's healthier to eat as light as possible on a flight, so fabulous food is not in my best interest and (two) I'm usually more concerned about getting there than what I'm eating. Having been on flights that have been rerouted, canceled, missed due to weather, or had some problem in flight or during landing that made arrival seem less likely (though nothing so dramatic as Cathy2's "running out of fuel" tale), I'm just glad to get there reasonably close to the time I'm supposed to arrive.

As for Diannie's memory of China Air, my memory is later and so different (also, the flight was out of San Francisco -- always a bit more Westernized than an internal flight), but is still fun. My friend and I were the only two Caucasians on the flight, and the flight attendant was a bit panicked before we told her we could use chop sticks. The meals were pleasant, but my favorite part was the noodle break every few hours. A cart would come around with those little paper cups with the noodles inside, followed by someone with boiling water. That and the exercise video they showed before breakfast (and which everyone followed, judging by the hands we could see stretched skyward all through the jet) wereamong my favorite momories of the flight.

For some reason my post yesterday didn't show up

Had to share this and this seems a good thread for it

Virgin: the world's best passenger complaint letter? [The Telegraph, UK, link] (there are pics at the top of the page you can click through)

My experience with food on the India-UK leg of other airlines has been pretty pathetic too.

08/04/11 AA 1014 SEA-ORD



Someone lost their kitchen sponge, which was covered in "cheese" and served to me yesterday.

We were in first from ORD-DIA and back, the food was awful. The cocktails were fine.

Now tell me this isn't the most appetizing meal you've ever seen! Courtesy of Iberia Airlines

I had a fairly yummy meal of cod and potatoes on a SAS flight recently. Looked iffy, but was very good.

I have a leg of my trip on an ANA flight tomorrow (maybe Sunday by then...) and I'm pretty excited about the meal.