Bars

The coolest airport now has a speakeasy

Bars, , , ,

Locals and visitors have been raving about the ZGF-designed main terminal expansion at Oregon’s Portland International Airport (PDX) since it officially opened to the public in August, 2024.

Everyone loves the greenery, the 9-acre mass timber roof, outposts of beloved local shops and restaurants, the comfy lounging spots sporting bits of the famed PDX carpet and the fact that the coolest new amenities are pre-security.

Now there’s one more reason to make a beeline to PDX even if you’re not flying.

PDX now has a speakeasy bar, called Aurora, hidden inside Loyal Legion, the pre-security beer hall on the mezzanine level.

The celestial-inspired bar is named after the Roman goddess of dawn and was designed by Portland-based ELK Collective.

And rather than being speakeasy-dark, Aurora has a bright, art-deco interior, technicolor window treatments and west-facing windows offering views of the runway and Portland sunsets.

The menu includes local beers and wine and shareable small plates as a well as a creative and very reaonably priced cocktail menu with creative pours such as the Aurora Sour (RIttenhouse Rye, Midori, lemon, egg white, red wine float), Diamond Tooth (Haku vodka, yuzu, coconut, lemon) and Hot Soup (Wild Turkey, bone broth, sesame, green onion tincture).


Want to get into the PDX speakeasy?

The entrance to the Aurora speakeasy at PDX airport is in the Loyal Legion beer hall space, on the pre-security mezzanine level, between the main bar and the restrooms. Look for the words “Curiosity Opens the Door” next to the unmarked entrance.

Hours are 4-8pm Monday through Friday, though airport officials say those hours may expand as the summer travel season picks up.

The password to get in?

No password is required. According to our insider at PDX airport, “Guests only have to approach the bar team and ask a question to receive the access code,” because… ‘Curiosity Opens the Door.’

(All Aurora speakeasy images courtesy ELK Collective/Christopher Dibble)

Miss the airport bar? Now you can belly up to SEA’s Shot Bar

Bars, ,
The Shot Bar at SEA

Here’s a fun, new airport amenity that goes right on the list for Airport Amenity of the Week.

At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) – as in a lot of other airports right now – there’s limited seating in bars and restaurants due to social distancing requirements.

That means you may not feel comfortable ordering a cocktail at an airport bar and hanging around nursing that drink a while at a table or on a barstool before your next flight.

Seattle’s celebrity chef Kathy Casey thought about that travel challenge and came up with a creative solution. She’s opened a pop-up concept at SEA airport called the Shot Bar in her existing Rel’Lish Burger Lounge on Concourse B.

The bar is a quick-serve counter with ‘grab ‘n go’ shots of alcohol served in the tiny two-ounce version of the familiar red Solo cup. That makes it easy to “Just order, shoot your shot and go,” according to an announcement declaring the Shot Bar the first concept like this to open in a U.S. airport.

Shots are $7 for a single. $10 for a double.

Here’s the menu. Let us know if you think this will – or should – catch on.

Louisville International Airport on Kentucky Urban Bourbon Trail

Bars, Restaurants, , ,

Louisville International Airport now has a spot on the Kentucky Urban Bourbon Trail.

 

Book & Bourbon Southern Kitchen, located in the pre-security of Lousiville International Airport, is now an official stop on Kentucky’s Urban Bourbon Trail.

The trail consists of more than 40 bars and restaurants that embrace the state’s Bourbon culture.

To get a spot on the trail a venue has to offer at least 50 different bourbons. A trail ‘member’ also has to  celebrate and honor the role bourbon plays in the the city’s history and modern-day culture.

Louisville airport’s Book & Bourbon Southern Kitchen fits the bill because it offers more than 85 world-class bourbons (including several rare labels) and has a staff eager to teach guests about everything bourbon, including tasting notes and distilling history.

Traveling along the Urban Bourbon Trail isn’t just about drinking bourbon. It’s also about winning t-shirts. Participating restaurants and bars on the Urban Bourbon Trail hand out passports that guests can get stamped when they make a purchase at venues along the trail.

Anyone who collects six stamps can redeem their passport for a t-shirt. And you can get a stamp for any purchase – it doesn’t have to be a something made with bourbon.

And now that Book & Bourbon Southern Kitchen at Louisville International is officially on the Kentucky Urban Bourbon Trail, passengers can pick up their trail passsport as soon as they land at the airport and get started on collecting those stamps right away.

Before you head out on the road in search of Kentucky bourbons, keep in mind that in addition to the Urban Bourbon Trail of bourbon-centric bars and restaurants, Kentucky also has a ‘Urban Bourbon Experience‘ that includes bars, restaurants and borboun experiences and events.

There’s also the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which highlights distilleries statewide that are part of the Kentucky Distiller’s Association.

That seems like a like of bourbon, but there are many places where those trails cross and intersect.

Which airport boasts one of world’s largest tequila bars?

Bars, , ,

Today – July 24 – is National Tequila Day and if you happen to be passing through Newark Liberty International Airport today you can celebrate in United Terminal C at the bar appropriately named Tacquila – which claims to be one of the largest and most exclusive tequila bars in the world.

Operated by OTG – the folks who brought tablet-ordering to airports – Tacquila features over 150 tequila bottles, including rare and ultra-luxury brands such as Clase Azul Ultra Anejo and Casa Dragones Joven.

Several other airports, including Charlotte Douglas International (which has a Tequileria in the artrium), have tequila-themed bars, but you’ll find tequila on the shelf at most every airport bar.

So drink up – but be responsible about it.

 

Tidbits for travelers at ORD, AUS and on the train

Airport shops, Bars, Food, free Wi-Fi, Music, Wi-Fi, , , , , , ,

A few fresh amenities you can enjoy at some airports – and on some Amtrak trains.

At Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, celebrity chef Rick Bayless has opened Tortas Frontera, in Terminal 1.  The menu includes Mexican sandwiches, tortas, a guacamole bar and a wide variety of other tasty dishes.  (Another branch will open soon in Terminal 3).

Today Amtrak announced that there’s now free Wi-Fi on the Cascades route between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, B.C.

And with the opening of a branch of the Saxon Pub (an iconic music venue in Austin), there are now five venues that offer live music at Austin Bergstrom International Airport for a total of 13 shows each week.

Saxon Pub ribbon cutting ceremony, photo by Carlton Wade

Stuck at DFW? Visit the observation park; learn something

Airport shops, Art, aviation, Aviation history, Bars, Exhibits, Food, Layover, , , ,

DFW International Airport

DFW International Airport is big.

Within its 30 square miles are five terminals, two full-service hotels, a multi-million dollar collection of art and a golf course. There’s also Founders’ Plaza: DFW’s public observation park.

DFW Founders plaza

The park has the airport’s original beacon, along with shaded picnic tables, viewing stations and a live audio feed of the radio conversations from the air traffic control tower.

And now it has six, black-granite sidewalk medallions, each four-feet in diameter.

DFW Founder Plaza_ medallion

Laser-etched into the surface of each medallion is information about the history of the airport and of commercial aviation in north Texas. A different piece of the story is told on each medallion.

Want to see them for yourself? Founders’ Plaza is located at North Airfield Drive and Texan Trail, just south of State Highway 114 in Grapevine.

No time to leave the terminals? No problem. DFW has some nifty stuff inside as well. My favorites: the Cereality breakfast bar where you choose cereal and toppings and pajama-clad Cereologists fill up the bowl; the two La Bodega Winery locations and all the great artwork in Terminal D.

DFW ART in Terminal D

Photos courtesy DFW Airport.

Souvenir Sunday: New York souvenirs at Newark Airport

Air Travel, Airport shops, Airports, Bars, Food, Layover, Restaurants, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs, , ,

It’s Souvenir Sunday – the day we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive gifts you can buy when you’re stuck at the airport.

This week, we ponder why the Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)- which is definitely located in New Jersey – has stores stocked with so many souvenirs that promote New York City.

I love New York magnets at EWR

NY souvenirs solds at EWR

I’m not complaining.

Last time through, I was also pleased to see that EWR also had a branch of the iconic Oyster Bar & Restaurant from Manhattan’s Grand Central Station.

Oyster Bar at EWR

EWR also has a few other new restaurants to check out on your next layover:

Currito Cantina and Tony Roma’s in Terminal A, Blue Point RA Bar (raw bar) and Champps Americana in Terminal B and Hamachi Sushi in Terminal C.

I love NY T-shirts at EWR

Did you find some great souvenirs last time you were stuck at the airport?

If the price tags are around $10, and the souvenirs are “of” the city or region and, ideally a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along.

Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Happy Souvenir Sunday from the WorldShop & Richmond Int’l Airport

Airport shops, Airports, Bars, Fun Stuff, Layover, Museums, Observation Decks, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs, , , , , , , ,

Lufthansa pilots have scheduled a four day strike beginning on Monday, February 22, 2010.  Negotiations are currently underway, but if those talks fail to avert the strike, the carrier will be forced to cancel most of its flights. And that will leave passengers stuck at the airport.

The upside? If you do end up spending more time than you planned at a German airport, you’ll be able to find plenty of things to do.

Munich Airport, for example, has an outdoor observation deck and a great indoor/outdoor beer garden with an on-site brewery.

munich airport Airbrau

The Hamburg Airport also has observation decks as well as the Airport Model Exhibition – a miniature version of the airport complete with buildings, taxiways, runways, landing strips, and 8,000 light-emitting diodes that light up the tiny airport’s night sky – all on a scale of 1:500.

Hamburg Airport model exhibition

And at the Dusseldorf, Munich, Hamburg, and Berlin airports you’ll also find Lufthansa WorldShop stores, which offer a promising spot to do some Souvenir Sunday shopping.

The airline recently opened its second WorldShop store at the Frankfurt Airport (Terminal 1, Area B) and, like the others; the store is filled with travel items, backpacks, travel accessories, electronics, model aircraft, toys, and some other fun stuff.  Shoppers can earn Miles & More award miles for items purchased here and – here’s a nice twist – also buy items using accumulated miles.

I’m especially taken with this A380 Cookie Jar

The cool container sells for about $107 – or 22,000 miles, so we can’t make it our pick for Souvenir Sunday, which usually has an upper limit of $10.  But poking around the WorldShop catalog I did find this cute guy, which sells for 9 Euros (about $12) or 7500 miles.

But since this is Souvenir Sunday and do we have that under $10 rule (which may need to be re-adjusted soon for inflation..),  we offer these items sent along by the folks at Virginia’s Richmond International Airport(RIC), where a variety of local museums are represented in the  Hudson News store in the airport’s Atrium area, next to the security screening checkpoint for Concourse B.

These items are from the Edgar Allan Poe Museum

Beer mugs - Poe Museum

(Beer mugs! )

(Poe action figure – with removable raven! )

Have you found a great souvenir while stuck at the airport? If it’s under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. It may show up as our pick for a future Souvenir Sunday.

Happy Souvenir Sunday from Munich Airport

Bars, Festivals, Food, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Shopping, Souvenirs

Happy Souvenir Sunday!

Souvenir Sunday one

Munich, Germany’s official Oktoberfest celebration is winding down now and many folks have no doubt spent all their time hanging out at the fairgrounds drinking oversize mugs of beer instead of shopping for lovely gifts for their loved ones.

So it’s a good thing that the traditional Oktoberfest frosted gingerbread, or lebkuchen, hearts sold all over town this time of year are also sold at the Munich Airport (MUC).

MUC Kimberly Krol models cookie

(Kimberly Krol of Global Traveler models a welcome cookie)

The cookies come in all sizes and most of the ones I saw (and bought) at the airport are priced under $10.

MUC many cookies

If you can get them home without tearing off the plastic and having a few nibbles, then these offbeat, very much “of the city” cookies are a perfect Souvenir Sunday purchase.

MUC BIG COOKIE

If you don’t think you can be trusted not to nibble during that long flight home, then I offer these little guys, also found at MUC, as a safe Souvenir Sunday option.

MUC little guys

Have you found a great souvenir at the an airport?  If it’s under $10, “of’ the city, and somewhat offbeat, then please snap a photo and send it along. It may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com.

Souvenir Sunday two

Greetings from Munich Airport’s Airbräu

Alcohol, Bars, Entertainment, , ,

Munich Oktoberfest

(Photo courtesy Munich Tourist Office)

Oktoberfest, the two week long festival that runs this year through October 4th, is in full swing in Munich, Germany right now.  The celebration is one part mega-county fair and the rest – well, as I learned during an evening in the Hippodrome tent with local journalists and our hosts from Lufthansa airlines and Munich Airport – it’s as advertised: all about drinking, eating, and singing with a few thousand brand new best friends.

MUNICH Airbrau

(Photo courtesy Munich Airport)

For my much tamer introduction to German beer and beer culture, I first visited the Airbräu, the micro-brewery set in the large public area between the two terminals at Munich Airport.  Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, this was Europe’s first airport microbrewery and seems to be as popular with locals as it is with travelers.

munich beergarden

Outdoors, there’s a large, festive beer garden that’s open from May through October. Indoors, the restaurant shares space with giant kettles and other machinery needed to produce about 115,000 gallons of beer each year.

There are other entertaining amenities at Munich Airport, which I’ll report on here shortly, but all in all, the Airbräu is a fun way to spend a few hours if you find yourself stuck at Munich Airport.