Food

Airport Restaurant Week at O’Hare & Midway Airports

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The 17-day Chicago Restaurant Week festival is underway in the Windy City and the Chicago Department of Aviation doesn’t want air travelers to miss out.

So, through February 9, both Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) are hosting Airport Restaurant Week events to coincide with the food fest events in town.

At O’Hare, the Airport Restaurant Week offers include free in-store samplings, combo meal deals and menu specials such as the Cucumber Crush Cocktail being served at multiple venues.

O’Hare is also offering a free tote bag deal as part of Airport Restaurant Week.

The Airport Restaurant Week deals at Midway Airport include a free lunch tote (with purchase) as well as free tastings and special menu and beverage pairings.

You can partake of these Airport Restaurant Week offers if you’re traveling through O’Hare or Midway Airport between now and February 9.

Food festival today at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int’l Airport

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If you’re passing through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) today (Oct 29), be sure to head to the Domestic Terminal Atrium for a fun food festival.

ATL is holding its fifth annual Taste of Hartsfield-Jackson event today.

The pre-security event gives travelers and locals a chance to sample dishes from more than 30 airport eateries.

Participants range from One Flew South, Cat Cora’s Kitchen, Atlanta Chophouse and Brewery, Atlanta Braves All-Star Grill and Paschal’s to Piece of Cake and Krispy Kreme.  

Tasting tickets are $15 for a book of 10 and you’ll need to hand over 1 ticket per taste.

You can purchase tickets on-site and 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank, a local nonprofit that distributes millions of pounds of food to community kitchens, shelters, senior centers, food pantries and more throughout the year. 

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes music and a cooking competition with two airports chefs competing for the title of Taste’s Top Chef 2019,

Airport Restaurant Month

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60 airport restaurants participating

October is Airport Restaurant Month at more than 60 HMSHost restaurants in more than 40 airports around the country.

And this year there’s a fun contest on the menu.

Airport Restaurant Month features tasting menus much like those you’ll find in many cities this time year: diners can select from three appetizers and a variety of entrees.

Menus may vary slightly by restaurant, but some of the core Airport Restaurant Month dishes include: 

·      Orecchiette Pasta featuring sautéed super-food greens, parmesan, and buttered herb breadcrumbs

·      Shrimp Scampi Flatbread with garlic shrimp, grape tomatoes, mozzarella, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes

·      Harissa Burger topped with arugula, pickled red onions, harissa aioli, provolone cheese, and smoked bacon

·      Crispy Chicken Sandwich with crunchy Asian slaw, gochujang BBQ sauce, and pickle chips

Now here’s the contest part, which runs through October 31, 2019:

When you eat at one of the participating HMSHost restaurants, ask for an Airport Restaurant Month Passport.

Collect a passport stamp for each Airport Restaurant Dish you purchase.

When you have four stamps, snap a photo of the completed passport and post the image to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #airportrestaurantmonth. Be sure to also tag @HMSHost.

At the end of October 2019, HMSHost will choose a winner at random. The prize will include airfare, a hotel stay and dinner at a James Beard award-winning restaurant in New York City for the winner and a guest. See the full contest rules for Airport Restaurant Month.

Travel Tidbits from an airport near you

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Free paletas at LAX

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is celebrating Latino Heritage Month with a wide variety of cultural performances, art and guest experiences, including complimentary tastings.

Today, Friday, Sept 20 there will be a cart with free paletas (Mexican popsicles) in Terminal 1 near the L.A. Original store from noon to 3 p.m.

Next Friday, Sept. 27, the cart will be in Terminal 2, next to Barney’s Beanery, from noon to 3 p.m. And on Friday, Oct. 4, free paletas will be offered in the Terminal 6 W Kitchen Food Court from noon to 3 p.m.

TPA has a special drink

This may be a first: Tampa International Airport (TPA) has a airport-wide, signature cocktail.

On September 13, TPA rolled out The Spirit of Flight, a signature cocktail that is now available at all restaurants and bars airport-wide.

The one-of-a-kind cocktail is a blend of guava, white rum and orange and is meant to give travelers a taste of Tampa Bay.

To come up with the perfect drink, TPA called in mixologists from Ulele, Mise en Place and Cigar City Brewing – three of Tampa Bay’s well-known concepts.

“We wanted to create a drink that would represent the area,” said Ulele Manager Phil Cacciatore, who helped craft the drink. “We wanted guests to think ‘Wow this is unique.’”

Guests who order the drink will receive a Spirit of Flight coaster with the ingredients listed on the back, so whenever they see it, they’re reminded of their trip to Tampa.

The drink is also available in non-alcoholic version.

Here are the ingredients and mixing instructions in case you’d like to try this at home.

2 oz Guava Nectar

1 tbsp Guava Marmalade

1 oz Florida Orange Juice

1.50 oz White Rum

0.50 oz Orange Liqueur

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake all ingredients and strain over ice into a Collins glass.

Garnish with a slice of orange and mint leaf.

SFO’s plastic water bottle ban.

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The ban on the sale of single-use plastic water bottles at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) goes into effect on September 20th.

The move requires all airport retailers, restaurants, airline lounges, and vending machines to sell or provide water in recyclable aluminum, glass or BPI-certified compostable bottles.

The policy applies to purified water, mineral water, carbonated or sparkling water, and electrolyte-enhanced water, but does not include flavored beverages such as sodas, teas, or juices.

In a statement, SFO says it has provided retailers with a list of approved alternatives to plastic water bottles and will continue to update this list as the market for plastic-free bottled water evolves.

Of course, you don’t need to buy a bottle of water at SFO. A great option is to bring along a reusable container and fill it up at any of SFO’s approximately 100 free Hydration Stations and drinking fountains, located in all terminals both pre- and post-security.

If you don’t have your own bottle, Brita will help you out. On September 20, when the single-use plastic water bottle ban goes into effect at SFO, Brita will hand out more than 1000 complimentary Stainless Steel Premium Filtering Water Bottles. These have a double wall insulation to keep water cold for up to 24 hours and come with a replaceable filter that reduces chlorine taste and odor.