Airport food

Voodoo Doughnuts Lands at Denver Int’l Airport

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Doughnut fans rejoice!

Good things do come in pink boxes at an airport.

If you’re a fan of Portland-based Voodoo Doughnuts, you know what’s up when you spot people flying with a pink box carefully balanced on their laps.

And if you just love the idea of having a decadent doughnut as a treat when you travel, you’re in luck.

Voodoo Doughnuts has opened its first airport location. And it is at Denver International Airport (DEN) on the Concourse B mezzanine.

Voodoo Doughnuts is credited with creating the gourmet doughnut category way back in 2003 with doughnuts such as the Bacon Maple Bar, a Voodoo Doll doughnut, a doughnut made with Captain Crunch cereal, a Dirt Doughnut, and the Pepto Bismol Doughnut – which the FDA nixed.

Voodoo Doughnut now offers more than 50, often outrageous, doughnut creations in locations in Oregon, Texas, Colorado, at Hollywood’s Universal City Walk and Orlando Universal Walk.

Fans of the doughnuts often bring pink doughnut-filled boxes of these treats with them as gifts when they travel, And they have to figure out how to get them through airport security.

Now there’s the option of indulging in a Voodoo Doughnut or buying a box to go at Denver Int’l Airport. To celebrate, the opening of this first airport location, a planeload of United Airlines passengers was treated to a doughnut festival.

Travel Tidbits from an airport near you

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Happy Thursday. Today we present a quick round-up of some travel tidbits and news-to-use, courtesy of an airport near you.

Ride public transit free to Denver International Airport

How did we miss this?!

Chicken and Waffles Now Being Served at PDX Airport

Look at You, Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Now That’s a Beer Run

Airport or Museum? You Decide

Virtual wait-lists for airport dining

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You’ve no doubt heard or read stories about how crowded airports are right now and the long lines at security checkpoints, and at airport coffee shops and restaurants.

Some airports have created virtual reservation systems for checkpoint times.

Now HMSHost, which operates food and beverage outlets at more than 120 airports, is using technology to ease the hassle of sitting down for an airport meal.

The company is partnering with restaurant platform OpenTable to power virtual waitlists at over a dozen HMSHost airport restaurant locations in 7 airports nationwide. 

At participating restaurants, guests can join the waitlist online via QR Codes or in person with the host. Diners will be notified via SMS text message when their table is ready.

Up next, the partnership will enable reservations in advance, with the goal or making airport dining part of the travel booking process. 

HMSHost restaurants featuring OpenTable reservations include:

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport

Summer House Santa Monica

1897 Market

Denver International Airport

Denver Chophouse

Great Divide Brewing

John Glenn Columbus International Airport

Hangar 815

Las Vegas: Harry Reid International Airport

California Pizza Kitchen

Chili’s

Jose Cuervo Tequileria

Las Vegas Chophouse & Brewery 

PGA Tour Grill

Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza

Los Angeles: LAX International Airport

Point the Way Café

Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport

Chili’s

St. Louis Lambert International Airport

Mike Shannon’s Grill

Farmer’s Fridge lands at MSP Airport

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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.

COVID-Sniffing Dogs at MIA; Food Delivering Robot at SEA

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One Betta from MIA’s COVID-19 detector dog team

COVID-Sniffing Dogs on Duty at MIA Airport

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.

Robot Food Delivery at SEA Airport

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.