Chicago Restaurant Week is underway now through April 4, with special events and a wide variety of prix fixe menus offered throughout the city.
The food festival extends to Chicago’s airports.
Restaurants at both O’Hare and Midway Airports are offering special meal and drink pairings and there are chef demos and special events as well.
The airports are also sharing recipes and celebrating iconic dishes with short videos all week.
Here’s a sampling.
The food festival team at Stuck at The Airport perks up when airports organize events around food.
So we’re looking forward to Philadelphia International Airport‘s (PHL) week-long celebration of National Cheesesteak Day (March 24) from March 21 to March 25.
The cheesesteak party menu includes special events and freebies. There will also be cheesesteaks and cheesesteak-inspired items at more than a dozen airport eateries.
March 22, noon-1 p.m., Chickie’s & Pete’s, D/E Connector
Four panelists, including Philadelphia Eagles’ fan favorite and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins, will sample items from Chickie’s & Pete’s cheesesteak menu. While they eat, they’ll chat all things Philly: cheesesteaks, football, and more. The event highlights will be shared on PHL Food & Shops’ social media and website at PHLfoodandshops.com.
March 21-25
Interactive tour maps, with QR codes, are displayed throughout the airport highlighting 13 PHL Food & Shops restaurants offering cheesesteaks or cheesesteak-related items.
March 21-25
Want free cheesesteak pretzel rivets?
Place a delivery order with the Grab app or via orderatphl.com during delivery hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m).
Use the keyword “Cheesesteak” in the order notes and you’ll get a free order of cheesesteak pretzel rivets from Philly Pretzel Factory.
If you’re lucky, PHL Food & Shops’ delivery robot, Jawnbot, will deliver the order.
Eating healthy while traveling is more important than ever.
So the food review team at StuckatTheAirport.com is pleased to see that Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) has installed Farmer’s Fridge vending machines in the terminals.
The smart-tech refrigerated vending units are filled with fresh salads, meal bowls, and healthy snacks in jars that can be returned to the machines for recycling.
At MSP, you’ll find seven vending machines in Terminal 1, with locations in the Main Mall Food Court, and near gates F8, E12, C7, C10, C18. Additional machines are in baggage claim near Carousel 6 and in T2 near gate H10.
You’ll find Farmer’s Fridge vending machines at other airports too. Multiple machines are located at JFK Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Philadephia International Airport (PHL) and O’Hare (ORD).
Indianapolis International Airport (IND), Milwaukee Mitchell Airport (MKE), Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) have Farmer’s Fridge vending machines too.
Farmers Fridge also has an app to help you find vending machine locations in airports and out in the world at hospitals, office buildings, universities, and other locations.
For the next 30-days, COVID-sniffing dogs will be on duty at Miami International Airport (MIA).
The detector dogs are specially trained by the Global Forensic and Justice Center (GFJC) at Florida International University (FIU) and will be on duty at an employee security checkpoint.
The two dogs in the pilot program at MIA – Cobra (a Belgian Malinois) and One Betta (a Dutch Shepherd) – have been trained to alert to the scent of COVID-19.
How do they do that? According to a statement from MIA, the virus causes metabolic changes in a person that result in the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The VOCs are excreted by a person’s breath and sweat, producing a scent that trained dogs can detect.
During this test, which MIA says is the first at a US airport, if a dog indicates someone is carrying the odor of the virus, that person will be directed to get a rapid COVID test.
More ways to get your food at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) has joined the growing list of airports offering a mobile food ordering service.
OrderSEA works with the Grab and At Your Gate programs to offer pick-up and gate delivery options from 16 airport food outlets, with more on the way.
There is a tipping option available in the app and a small fee for delivery. And while you may not order alcoholic drinks for delivery, you may order from any participating post-security food outlet.
So if you are at the A Gates and you’d like something from the newly-opened Tundra Taqueria in the N Satellite, go ahead and order it.
As a bonus, some travelers who order gate delivery will find the At Your Gate delivery person accompanied by this very cute Gita robot.
At Your Gate has robots helping to deliver food at several other airports, including Los Angeles International (LAX), where they have named the robot NomNom.
Vaccinated and mindful of the evolving advice on traveling to places beyond our kitchen, we load up the car and drive from Seattle to Oregon’s Mid-Willamette Valley Food Trail, including Corvallis, Albany, Philomath, and other towns.
A leisurely, self-guided meander to farm-to-table restaurants, locally-focused wineries, breweries, and distilleries, and to farmers markets, museums, and other charming spots seems just the ticket for our first easing-out-of-the-pandemic road trip.
So, we say yes to an invite, restock the dop kits, air out a duffel bag, pack way too much for a 3-day trip (our packing skills are so rusty!), and hit the road.
A few of takeaways before we share photos and some details about places that welcomed us so warmly:
(Our trip was hosted, but all comments and opinions, are our own)
We did focus on tasting and touring food-focused places. But we did squeeze in visits to a few museums, including the new Corvallis Museum and, on our way down, the Abbey Museum at the Mount Angel Abbey in Saint Benedict, OR, which is home to one of our favorite items; the World’s Largest Hairball.
We could stretch it a bit and say this is food-related: the hairball was discovered inside a pig at a Portland meatpacking plant many years ago. The meat inspector on duty that day declared the hairball the largest he’d ever seen. It may have lost some heft over the year, but today it weighs in at over 2 pounds.
Our beer, wine, and spirits tasting tour took us to Block 15 Brewery and Tap Room (Corvallis), Sky High Brewing (Corvallis) – be sure to try the Blueberry Rosehips Berliner Weisse – Cardwell Hill Cellars (Philomath), Compton Family Wines (Philomath), and 4 Spirits Distillery (Corvallis).
Each place has a great story and wonderful products and the staff at each site shared heartwarming stories of how supportive their communities have been during the pandemic and how these venues are welcoming tourists now.
We were wowed by the cocktails, the wine, the dishes, and the dedication of the staff at Castor (Corvallis), which offers locally sourced and locally inspired dishes. Our chef’s choice meal included pea & farro salad, shrimp & grits, and a rhubarb bar – among other dishes.
We were charmed, well-fed, and educated by the staff at Eats and Treats Cafe (Philomath), a gluten-free eatery (but don’t tell anyone) known for its BBQ, hearty breakfasts, and desserts.
And we were honored that Sybaris Bistro in Albany created a special menu for our small crew. This unique and very welcoming Northwest Bistro also leans heavily into local sourcing and we dined on with nettle soup, cracker-crusted halibut cheeks, asparagus ice cream with the freshest new strawberries, and warm rhubarb brown betty.
Our Mid-Willamette Food Trail tour included stops at two farms.
Lilliputopia is a tiny-but-mighty 4 acre farm in Monroe, OR that uses dry farming to grow fruits and vegetables without irrigation, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. There’s also a petite-but-packed farm store on site.
Leaping Lamb Farm & Farm Stay, in Alsea, OR, is on land originally homesteaded in 1862 and is now a family farm that welcomes visitors for tours and stays. Owner Scottie Jones answered all our questions (even the stupid, city-people ones) and let us hold these 5-day old lambs!
This is just a sampling of the agricultural treasures to visit and the tasty places to stop at on Oregon’s Mid-Willamette Valley Food Trail. If you go, you can download a brochure here or get in touch with the helpful folks at Visit Corvallis and the Albany Visitors Association for help in planning your trip.
We nibbled our way through the research for a story you’ll find on the Runway Way Girl Network about how Seattle Chocolate and Alaska Airlines worked together to develop an exclusive chocolate bar flavor for upper tier flyers as an in-flight perk. And how that bar is now available to the rest of us. Take a look.
If you like aviation history and anything related to airlines, airplanes or airports then, like me, you’ll enjoy visiting the rebooted website called The Airchive, which I profiled for The Points Guy site. Take a look at that story here.
Getting an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination is hard enough. But many people also have a hard time getting to and from the vaccination centers. So it is nice to see Delta Air Lines offering some bonus miles as a reward for those who donate cash to make rides available. Details that offer here.
Just looking back at some favorite airport snacks. Can you ID the airport?
We’re just getting started. Please add a snack from your favorite airport.
The newest trend at airports right now seems to be expanding the options for mobile food ordering, no-contact pickup and food delivery to the gate.
We recently wrote about some of the latest efforts in airport food delivery for APEX, when Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) rolled out its LAX Order Now program.
Now Miami International Airport (MIA) has a new program called MIA2 Go.
The contactless mobile platform lets travelers browse menus, order, and pay for their meals before picking up the order.
The program is put together by MIA, concessionaire Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Airports (URW) and Grab, and is available on MIA’s mobile-friendly website or mobile app. Food venues are searchable by food type and airport terminal. And orders are scheduled for pick-up at pre-set times, so customers don’t have to wait in line.
At Denver International Airport (DEN), the new Eats Delivered program works with At Your Gate. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, passengers can order meals from seven participating restaurants (so far) and have the meals delivered to them anywhere in the terminal, including baggage claim.
More and more airports are offering on-site COVID-19 testing options.
One of the latest to do so is Bradley International Airport (BDL), near Hartford, CT.
And this week American Airlines, British Airways, and oneworld announced the launch of an optional coronavirus (COVID-19) testing trial on select flights from U.S. cities to London Heathrow (LHR).
The tests will be free. They’ll be available to customers on American Airlines Flight AA50 from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to LHR; on British Airways Flight BA114 departing New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to LHR; on BA Flight BA268 from Los Angeles (LAX) to LHR.
This part of the program starts on November 25.
The testing includes:
The testing program will then be expanded to American Airlines Flight AA106 from JFK to LHR, on a date yet to be announced.
And in case you are flying somewhere this Thanksgiving holiday, keep in mind that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a list of foods you may and may not bring as carry-on.
The “yes you may” list includes baked goods, meats (frozen, cooked, or uncooked), stuffing, casseroles, Mac ‘n Cheese, fresh vegetables and fruit, candy, and spices.
The “pack in carry-on” or “have someone else bring it” list includes dishes such as cranberry sauce, gravy, wine, canned fruit or vegetables (the cans have liquid), jams and jellies, and maple syrup.
It is officially called an ‘integrated food service.’ And it is part of the growing trend of digital food delivery in airports.
But we say it is a ‘this makes perfect sense’ amenity that is one part convenience and two parts sign of the social distance times.
Grab, the e-commerce platform for pre-ordering meals for pick-up from airport food outlets is partnering with AtYourGate, the in-airport food delivery service.
The service rolls out at other airports soon, but the first airport to offer it is Philadephia International Airport (PHL).
Here’s how it works:
Passengers can order food through the Grab app, a special section of the PHL website, or scan Grab QR codes in the terminals. Merchants are searchable by food type and terminal. And orders can be delivered to wherever you are in the terminal.
Convenient, right?
Participating restaurants at PHL include Auntie Anne’s, Bar Symon, Bud & Marilyn’s, California Pizza Kitchen, Chickie’s & Pete’s, Dunkin’, Gachi, Geno’s Steaks, Jack Duggan’s, Jamba, Piattino Pizza, Smashburger, and Vino Volo.
More merchants will be added soon.
There is a small charge for delivery. But first-time users can use the promo code ‘RUSH’ to save 20% – up to $5 – off their first order.
In May 2020, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) introduced its team of autonomous cleaning robots with ultraviolet (UV) light technology.
Since then, other U.S. airports have rolled out cleaning robots. But PIT was the first.
Now PIT is making the hard-working robots even more endearing by giving them eyes.
The robots also have names:
Amelia is named for Amelia Earhart, the famed pilot and female aviation trailblazer.
Orville and Wilbur are named after the Wright brothers.
And the fourth PIT robot is named Rosa. She’s named after Rosa Mae Willis Alford, the sole female mechanic to work on the planes of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
In the spirit of the Halloween season and the scary, bizarro times, we’re printing out frameable copies of these science-inspired Galaxy of Horrors “travel” posters from NASA’s Exoplanet Travel Bureau.
The posters look like vintage horror movie advertisements, but they are really out of this world.
Gamma -Ray-Ghouls features a “dead” galaxy. Galactic Graveyard is inspired by an explosive gamma-ray burst caused by colliding stellar corpses. And the third, Dark Matter, is a voyage to the unknown via ever-elusive dark matter.
Bonus: the posters are also available in Spanish: Cementerio Galáctico, Materia Oscura, and Demonions de Rayos Gamma.
The posters are free to download and are produced by NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Office, which is located at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
You may be familiar with the hydroponic garden at O’Hare International Airport.
Planted in 2011, ORD’s blissful garden is tucked into the mezzanine level of the Terminal 3 Rotunda Building, over the Concourse G corridor. The ORD Yoga Room is nearby. ‘
The garden uses no soil or fertilizer. And it looks nothing like your home garden.
Here, the plant roots are suspended in 26 towers that house over 1,100 planting spots. A solution of nutrients is cycled through the towers to feed the plants.
Getting hungry? You’re in luck. Super fresh vegetables and herbs picked from the ORD garden are used in dishes served at a variety of airport restaurants.
Now Appleton International Airport (ATW) in Wisconsin is joining the grow-your-own movement.
ATW now has its own Flex Farm hydroponic farming system to grow fresh greens for sandwiches and burgers served in the airport’s restaurant, the Fox Cities Eatery.
ATW expects to grow up to 300 pounds of fresh produce each year on its indoor farm.
Like the system at ORD, the hydroponic unit at Appleton International Airport uses only water, air, nutrients, and LED lighting to grow plants. No soil, pesticides or herbicides are used.
ATW’s farming project is a collaboration with Green Bay-based Fork Farms, an indoor agriculture technology company that partners with communities to make the process of producing healthy food accessible to the world.
We think this is a great airport amenity and hope other airports give this a try as well.
