Food

Sights & sips: Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport

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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.

Our tour included a stop at Alaska Airline’s recently renovated lounge on Concourse D, the oh-so-swanky American Express Centurion Lounge on the mezzanine of the Central Terminal area, and Salty’s at the SEA restaurant, also in the Central Terminal.

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.

National Ice Cream Month is around the corner

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July is National Ice Cream Month.

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.

(Here’s a link to the airport ice cream deals and celebrations we found last year)

In the meantime, here’s a deal for you at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) from Greater’s.

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.

(Photo courtesy Nationa Archives)

Get Mushroom Coffee at SEA Airport

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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.

Travelers passing through Seattle-Tacoma Internatinal Airport (SEA) now have a chance to check those claims out.

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.”

PHL Airport Celebrates the Philly Cheesesteak

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Friday, March 24, is National Cheesesteak Day. And Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is celebrating with a weeklong tribute of specials and giveaways.

Through March 24, the promo code “CHZSTK23” offers $3 off a cheesesteak or cheesesteak-inspired menu item from participating locations at OrderAtPHL.com.

Then on National Cheesesteak Day, Friday, March 24, PHL travelers will be treated to free cheesesteak samples from Chickie’s & Pete’s, Geno’s Steaks, Jack Duggan’s Pub & Restaurant and Passyunk Steaks. Samples of Pepsi Zero Sugar, prizes, and other surprises are also on the menu.

The “Finale Celebration” will be hosted by Lauren Rei with Wooder Ice and a live DJ from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the stage between terminals B and C.

Enter the Cheesesteak Sweepstakes

In or out of the airport, cheesesteak fans should enter the Pepsi and cheesesteak sweepstakes by March 24.

The prize is, you guessed it, cheesesteaks and Pepsi Zero Sugar for a year delivered in the form of $7,300 worth of gift cards.

Cool Airport Amenity: Smoothie Vending Machines at YVR Airport

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Here’s a great, new airport amenity we hope to see at other airports very soon.

In what may be a first for North American airports, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has partnered with the Trendi Smoothies company to host smoothie vending machines at the airport.

The 24-hour vending machines offer sippable snacks that are nutritious and eco-smart because the smoothies are made from rescued fruit and vegetables.

Each machine can blend up a smoothie in about a minute. Flavor options include Groovy Guava, Mango Tango, and Strawburst; each with no added sugars or preservatives.

But what are ‘rescued’ fruit and vegetables?

They’re imperfect foods that aren’t quite pretty enough to send to retail stores but are otherwise just fine to eat.

Traveling to or through YVR soon? Look for the smoothie vending machines at Gates B13, B27, and B28 in domestic departures and D62 and E74 in US and international departures.