Restaurants

Fresh sit-down dining options at O’Hare and Atlanta Int’l Airport

Food, Restaurants, , ,

If you find yourself stuck at O’Hare International Airport or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (and this time of year, it’s a fair chance you will) keep and eye out for these new sit-down restaurants:

At Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, a branch of local favorite Stefani’s Tuscany Café is now open in Terminal 1, Concourse B near Gate 18. The cafe serves northern Italian dining specialties including pastas, pizzas and wines. (The restaurant has a popular location on Taylor Street in Chicago’s “Little Italy” neighborhood and branches throughout the Chicago area.)

And Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL) now has its first fine-dining restaurant: One Flew South.

The menu highlights ingredients from regional producers and includes items such as BBQ Duck Sandwich, Benton’s bacon & Sweet Grass Dairy goat cheese salad, and pecan & Georgia honeysticky bun with whiskey ice cream, pecan brittle, and sweet potato crisp.

Sounds yummy!

In addition to a sushi bar, the restaurant’s cocktail list, dubbed “Salute to Aeromarine,” pays homage to the four years starting in 1920 that Aeromarine Airways carried wealthy passengers from Miami to Nassau and Havana aboard flying boats(‘Floatplanes’) so that the guests could drink legally during the Prohibition era.

The restaurant is located in the E Concourse and is open daily.

No whining: Vino Volo now at San Antonio International Airport

Food, Restaurants, ,

Vino Volo, which has been steadily opening soothing wine-tasting restaurants at airports around the country, officially opens another one today (November 12th) at San Antonio International Airport (SAT).

Coming soon: a second branch at Philadelphia International Airport and a new branch at Newark Liberty airport.

New eats and treats at Boston Logan & Nashville Int’l airports

Food, Restaurants,

Nantucket Island’s Cisco Brewery has lent its name – and sent its beers, wines and spirits – to the newly opened Cisco Brew Pub at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). Look for it in Terminal B (American Airlines). In addition to seafood and pub fare, the menu includes ales and lagers from the brewery, wines from Nantucket Vineyard, and spirits from Triple Eight Distillery.

Down south, Nashville International Airport (BNA) is celebrating the opening of yet another batch of new food and retail outlets. Included in this round are La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant, Neely’s Bar-B-Que, the Tennessee Tavern, Boswell’s Music City Harley-Davidson and, yum, a branch of Godiva Chocolatier.

Love the layover: Encounter Restaurant at LAX

Food, Restaurants, ,

Don’t let the scaffolding fool you:

While the landmark Theme Building in the center of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is about to undergo a year-long $9 million restoration, the space-age themed Encounter Restaurant at the top of the building will remain open.

In February 2007, a 1,000-pound, 5-foot by 10-foot section of stucco coating fell off an upper arch of the Theme Building, onto the roof above the Encounter Restaurant and on the ground below. No one was hurt, but the restaurant was closed for eight months during the emergency repairs.

(Postcard from the Encounter Restaurant)

To the delight of travelers with long layovers, the Encounter Restaurant re-opened last November. It has the same Jetsons-inspired theme music in the elevator, the same great views, an updated menu, new lava lamps, and a host of other retro-repairs.

It’s pre-security, so you can meet up with friends from town. (Unfortunately, the restaurant’s Web site seems to be in for repairs.)

Hours: Lunch daily (11 a.m. to 4 p.m) and dinner Thursday through Sunday (4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m).