The Stuck at the Airport team is always on the lookout for cool new amenities.
Here are a few we’ve spotted so far this week.
Bunnie Cakes Vending Machine at Miami International Airport
Bunnie Cakes, a popular vegan, kosher, and gluten-free bakery in Miami now has two cake-vending machines at Miami International Airport (MIA). Find them at Gates D21 & G15.
Have you seen us at the airport? ✈️ Your favorite vegan treats are now at the Miami International Airport at gates D21 & G15!!! Grab a treat for yourself or to surprise someone at your final destination 🤩💗🥳🎂
Halloween Story Time at Tulsa International Airport
Tulsa International Airport (TUL) and Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) host a free, monthly aviation-themed Storytime events at the airport. But October’s Storytime event on October 19 will be Halloween-themed, of course. This a great community-minded airport amenity.
John Wayne Airport Celebrating 100 Years
John Wayne Airport (JWA) will be holding a Community Celebration Day on October 19, 2023, to celebrate 100 years of flight in Orange County, CA. On tap in the terminal: live music, goodies, and giveaways.
Located in Terminal B, across from Gate 19, the restaurant is serving up a Signature Mac along with a wide variety of customizable mac and cheese dishes with cheddar cheese sauce, 5-cheese white sauce, grilled chicken, smoked bacon, and BBQ pulled pork.
The menu also includes Grilled Mac + Cheese Sandwiches, Breakfast Mac + Cheese Burritos, and a full bar.
First, we spotted these very comfy chairs right by the baggage claim carousels.
Then, once through security, we made our way down a hallway filled with useful – and tempting – vending machines.
We’ve seen the Fuel Rod machine that dispenses handy fully-charged chargers in quite a few airports. But the machine that’s ” a carwash for glasses and jewelry,” and the one that dispenses tins filled with licorice aren’t as common. Yet.
And how’s this for service?
We saw a gate agent sprint off towards the security checkpoint and wondered what was up. In just a few minutes she came running back with a young man in tow who would have missed his flight had she not rushed over and hustled him to the front of the security checkpoint line.
Two lounges and a restaurant to love at SEA Airport
Who says airports are no fun?
The Stuck at the Airport food and drink team joined a food and drink tour of some swanky spots at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and found plenty to love.
The Alaska Airlines lounge on Concourse D has 50% more seats and upgraded amenities, including loungers, a barista station and expanded hot food options.
Thankfully, the make-your-own pancake machine is still onsite.
We’ve been waiting for a chance to get a look inside the American Express Centurion Lounge. And it is a ‘wow’ as we’ve heard.
Besides being beautiful, and beautifully laid out, the lounge has a wellness/coffee bar, a cocktail bar, plenty of relaxation areas and work spaces, two phone rooms for privacy, and loads of artwork, including a collection of photographs of musicians and other notables who hail from Washington, including Kurt Cobain and Bill Gates.
The food offerings are top notch and include a menu curated by Chef Kristi Brown. She’s a James Beard Award semifinalist and owner of Seattle’s Communion restaurant, which serves “Seattle Soul” cuisine using fresh local ingredients.
And, over at Salty’s at the SEA, an outpost of the much-loved Salty’s seafood grill on Seattle’s Alki Beach, passengers can order from a menu filled with Pacific Northwest seafood items and creative cocktails AND get great views of take-offs and landings.
Here’s a short video of our some of the sips, sights, and bites from our tour.
And the Stuck at the Airport team is team is getting ready for the holiday by taste-testing its way through this six-pack of Greater’s Ice Cream that arrived at the office.
So far, the limited-edition Hot Honey Crunch is our favorite.
We’ve been told that ice cream eaten at an airport has no calories.
We SO want to believe that, because a cup or a cone is often our go-to treat when we’re waiting for a flight.
We’re putting a call out for great airport ice cream shops so we can do a proper round-up once the holiday month gets underway.
So please leave a note in the comments section about your favorite places to get a scoop or a sundae at an airport.
The Cincinnati-based, family-owned company started in 1870 and is well-known for handcrafting its ice cream 2½ gallons at a time. Back in 2016, they opened a storefront at CVG on Concourse A that is, as you might imagine, very popular with passengers.
For those passing through CVG this summer, we’ve heard from Greater’s that the airport shop will be carrying peach ice cream now through mid-August and offering the limited-edition strawberry sorbet starting July 1. Key lime pie ice cream will be in the shop starting August 1.
Better yet: If you download Graeter’s app and sign up for their “Sweet Rewards” program, you’ll get an offer for a free cone.
During National Ice Cream Month, Sweet Rewards members are promised a variety of other offers as well.
Where do you get ice cream when you’re Stuck at the Airport? Please leave a note in the comments section below.
Mushrooms are very ‘in’ right now. And certain types of mushrooms are said to be adaptogenic, providing a wide range of beneficial effects to our bodies.
Adding adaptogenic mushrooms to coffee is also very ‘in’ right now.
And Seattle-based start-up, Wunderground, says its coffee containing adaptogenic mushrooms can help balance stress and cortisol, improve focus, boost whole system immunity, and improve mood.
A new pop-up shop on Concourse C at SEA, Wunderground @ SEA Airport, is offering complimentary samples of all its mushroom coffees along with sales of their packaged coffee and tea products.
Wunderground is also offering discounts on their gift bundles and has shelves stocked with mushroom merch and mushroom-themed cupcakes from Seattle’s Cupcake Royale, which was also founded by Wunderground Founder & CEO Jody Hall.
“Most [people] wrinkle their nose at the idea of coffee with mushrooms,” Hall told Stuck at the Airport. “But when they try ours, they’re in love with how delicious it tastes, not to mention how it makes them feel better.”
During May, Wunderground will not only be providing complimentary samples of its mushroom coffee, but also giving 3 complimentary travel-sized packets of its instant coffees and tea to anyone who signs up for the mailing list.
We suggest pairing your complimentary mushroom coffee sample with a complimentary sample of chocolate from Seattle Chocolate, across the hall from Wunderground.
Mushroom Coffee at Your Airport?
Hall says Wunderground’s target audience is high stress, high performance’ people.
And airports are an ideal place to find those people.
So if Wunderground becomes a permanent fixiture at SEA, look for it to expand to other airports.
“I worked at Starbucks back in the early days, when we only had 4 markets,” said Hall. “Someone had the brilliant idea to put Starbucks at the airport and it paved the way to drive US market expansion. I see a similar path with Wunderground.”
