Airport food

Can’t miss: giant cheese & maple syrup at Burlington Int’l Airport

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It’s only Monday, but we already have a contender for “Airport amenity of the week.”

Travelers passing through Burlington International Airport in Vermont will certainly notice the 7-foot-tall jug of Dakin Farm maple syrup and the 7-foot-long block of cheese from the Cabot Creamery.

Dakin Farm and Cabot Creamery are ecstatic to add a little extra Vermont flavor to the Vermont’s most traveled airport, Burlington International Airport – BTV. Our hope is to promote the importance of pure maple and artisan cheese as Vermont’s marquee agricultural products and to put a smile on weary travelers faces. We're making it easy to send a taste of Vermont, nationwide, so anyone can enjoy Vermont’s delicacies anytime, anywhere. Next time you travel through, snap a pic and send it to us! We are already loving the pictures we've seen! 💚 @cabotcheese . . . #dakinfarm #cabot #cabotcheese #vtmaplesyrup #dakinmaplesyrup #btv #bulington #worldslargestmaplesyrupjug #maple #maplefordays #cheddarcheese #cheedarfordays

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The giant, selfie-friendly food items not only promote Vermont-made products, they’re linked to a special on-line offer that includes a discount on a quart of real maple syrup and a free box of buttermilk pancake mix.

Many a Vermont visitor has likely ended up discarding or handing over just-bought bottles and jugs of maple syrup at the BTV security checkpoint, so the mail-order syrup offer is a good way to make sure souvenirs of Vermont make it home.

We’re putting this temporary airport amenity into the pot for Airport Amenity of the Week. But it is only Monday, so if you spot something cool at an airport this week, please add a note in the comment section and we’ll consider your nomination as well.

Travel Tidbits from SEA, TPA and Changi airports

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Happy Friday! Here are some travel tidbits and ‘coming atttractions’ from several airports.

Happy Birthday Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which is marking its birthday month with a variety of local events. The airport first opened to the public on July 9, 1949,

Courtesy Port of Seattle

Looking forward, travelers will soon be able to drink beer brewed on-site at Tampa International Airport:

And for long-haul travel, Singapore’s Changi Airport has rolled out a new stopover program that includes a (one-way) hotel transfer, a SIM card and an overnight stay at one of 20 participating hotels.  Packages start at S$63 – about $46 US dollars.

Coffee-making robot coming to Austin-Bergstrom airport

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Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is well-loved for its weekly schedule of live, local music and for the great array of local food outlets in the terminals.

Now AUS is getting a new “attraction” – a robotic coffee-making machine, courtesy of Austin-based Briggo.

The machine will be located across from Gate 8 and travelers will be able to order coffee, hot chocolate or Chai tea via an app or at the machine. App users will get a text when their order is ready to pick up.

Briggo says theirs is the first app-based, robotic, 24/7 specialty coffee system installed in an airport, although Orville the robot prepares and delivers coffee in the IT Experience Zone in Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport in South Korea – photo below.

Fresh food & drink options at Raleigh-Durham and St. Louis airports

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NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has teamed up with HMSHost to open the Whisky River restaurant and bar at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The menu looks suitably honky-tonkyish, with Spicy Beef Chili, Beer Can Chicken, Texas Tequila Bacon Cheddar Burger and (for breakfast) Peaches & Cream Pancakes and Carolina Biscuits.

But what really makes this spot a nominee for airport amenity of the week is the fact that there’s a wall covered in belt buckles, live music six days week and a ‘made-for-selfies’ stationary bull that passengers may sit on.

Meanwhile, Three Kings Public House has opened in Terminal 2 (by Gate E33) in St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL).

The popular St. Louis-based pub honors three kings – Elvis, Henry VIII and King Kong – has three locations in town and at this fourth ‘streamlined’ airport branch will be serving pub food, house-made infused liquors, local craft brews and an extensive list of specialty beers including the Three Kings Dry Hopped Blonde Ale, made by 4 Hands just for these pubs.

Enjoy!

Gate-delivery at airports going worldwide

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We definitely have a trend. Or a new way of doing things at airports.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is the latest airport to offer a service that allows passengers to order meals from airport vendors and have it delivered to them wherever they are in the airport, in about 15 minutes.

Schiphol is working with food-delivery company Deliveroo and HMSHost International on a pilot program for deliveries in Piers (or concourses) D and E, and in the Mercure Hotel in Departure Lounge 3, and so far the pilot is a big success.

“The reactions from the passengers have been very positive,” Schiphol spokesman Paul Weber told me via email, “Passengers are smiling and waving to our deliverers, taking pictures of them and saying how innovative & quirky the service is. Most of them are very surprised by the existence of such a service, calling Schiphol “The airport of the future.”

For now, the meals available are prepared at Kebaya and The Market, The Grill and The Oven, which are located in Schiphol’s Street Food Market and are delivered by scooter, for a delivery charge of €2.50 (about $3) – but free delivery is being offered through March.

Schiphol isn’t the first airport to offer gate delivery. Airport Sherpa offers gate delivery of food and merchandise at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. At Your Gate recently began offering gate delivery at San Diego International Airport. Both companies plan expansions to other airports.

And, as part of an Airport Innovation Challenge, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, a start-up called Fetchy Fox received a $15,000 prize to develop a delivery program for food and retail at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington’s Dulles Airport.