iStore opens at Boston Logan International Airport
Looks what’s (unofficially) opened up in Terminal C at Boston Logan International Airport: the first US iStore Boutique.
Said to be the first of its kind in the United States, this Montreal-based shop already has outlets in the Montreal, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver airports (and maybe Calgary – the website says “2012”) and stocks all manner of Apple products as well as other brand-name items from InCase, Skullcandy, Monster, iLuv, and Sennheiser.
This and 13 other new Terminal C shops will have their grand opening on Thursday.
It’s not unusual anymore for highly regarded local restaurants or well-known chefs to open eateries in airports.
Boston’s Logan International Airport does this with a twist: at the Dine Boston restaurant, located pre-security in Terminal E, the Dine Boston Visiting Chef Program showcases dishes created by a rotating team of New England chefs. The featured dishes change every three months.
Next up in the “moonlighting chef” series is Richard Garcia, the executive chef at 606 Congress, the restaurant at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, where the menu features modern farm cuisine with regional influences using a lot of ingredients from farms in Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.
For the Dine Boston program, Chef Garcia chose a New England Artisan Cheese Plate and main courses of braised Hampshire pork shanks with butter beans, orange gremolata and fennel or Atlantic Hook Line Caught Haddock with white bean & chorizo stew, yogurt cheese and dill. The featured dessert is warm organic chocolate ganache cake with candied beets and vanilla bean ice cream.
Sound tasty? As an added bonus, passengers who choose to eat at Dine Boston before going through security can request a special pass that allows them to use the security-line ‘shortcut’ usually reserved for frequent fliers.
In response to my At the Airport column in USATODAY.com last week: How the airport experience has changed since 9/11, I got a couple of calls from folks at Smart Money who were also pondering then and now changes.
Quentin Fottrell, one of Smart Money’s Pay Dirt bloggers, wanted to know if there was anything fun to do at airports.
I put down my coffee and rattled off some of my faves, starting with the Chinese, Japanese and Hawaiian gardens at Honolulu International Airport.
Based on our chat, here’s how Fottrell wrote up the five other airport diversions we talked about for his Pay Dirt post:
“Palm Beach International Airport: Practice Your Golf
Operated by hospitality firm HMS Host, the airport provides an indoor putting green and, for $3, you can walk away with a souvenir golf ball.
Boston Logan Airport: Make Your Own Sundae
The MooBella vending machine makes Sundaes in 30 seconds. You can choose from 12 flavors on the touch screen. They’re at Terminal C near the Back Bay Café and Lean & Green food store.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport: Workout at the Gym
For $15, take a workout in the Hilton Hotel gym, which is attached to the airport, or relax in the sauna and steam room, or have a dip in the pool. AirportGyms.com has details of similar offers.
San Francisco International Airport: Visit the Museum
On Level 3 of the International Terminal, there are free exhibitions on vintage televisions and a photography exhibition on the San Francisco Seals Baseball Team from 1903-1957.
Portland International Airport: Take Your Bike Apart
After you’ve taken the cycle track to this airport, you can use the tools and facilities at this area near the Lower Terminal roadway to take apart your bike so you can bring it on the airplane.”
Busy in Boston? Too busy to get a flu shot? If you’re heading to Boston Logan International Airport you can now get a flu shot for $25 at a flu shot kiosk set up in the pre-security area of Terminal C.
In the next few weeks, flu shot kiosks at Logan will also pop up in the post-security areas of Terminals A, B. and E. They’ll also be offering the H1N1 vaccines when they become available.
As the flu season marches on, more airports are deciding to join the trend and offer flu shots in the terminals. So this year, too much traveling is no excuse for getting sick.
