In the winter travel issue of T, Jacob Z. Gross runs the numbers on one of food’s fastest-improving venues: airport restaurants. The preflight eateries have seen a dramatic uptick in both business and quality in recent years thanks to an increase in air traffic and exciting new entries from chefs like the U.K.’s Heston Blumenthal and Spain’s Carles Gaig. But where do the chefs themselves grab a bite when flying? To find out, we asked nine of the top talents in the field who don’t have airport joints — yet.
Kris Yenbamroong, chef and owner of Night + Market and Night + Market Song in Los Angeles
Ink Sack, Los Angeles International Airport
“When I’ve got a packed day, which is pretty much every day now, Ink Sack, Michael Voltaggio’s sandwich place in West Hollywood, is pretty much my go-to spot. That’s because it’s simple and fast but still feels super decadent. It’s the opposite of the gross salad your cubicle neighbor might bring to work in an office. The sandwiches aren’t huge, which means you can sample a few of them if you’re a big eater like I am. I usually get the cold fried chicken and the spicy tuna, with a bag of their housemade crab chips. They opened up in the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX as part of the huge overhaul, so grabbing a sack lunch from there and bringing it on board is now pretty much the best way to avoid airplane food on a long flight, like the 18-hour ones I take a few times a year to Thailand.”
Andrew Zimmern, chef and host of “Bizarre Foods America” on the Travel Channel
One Flew South, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
“Well-prepared Asian-tinged rooty southern chow is their thing — think pulled-duck confit sandwich with toasted peanut relish and scallion. That being said, don’t miss stalwarts like the house-cured salmon bruschetta. This is real restaurant food, not the type of thing typically found being done well in airports, and in this sense it has been the inspiration and the outlier for a whole new wave of food-service trends in the travel space.”
The Salt Lick, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
“The best airport barbecue in the country. Get the sliced brisket. Sure, it’s not the same as heading to their home bases in Driftwood or in Round Rock, but the Salt Lick kiosk’s brisket, sausage and ribs beat crappy airport pizza and day-old sandwiches every day of the week. The quality is great, the service is efficient and the meal is gut-bustingly satisfying. The platter for one is easily a great travel meal for two and comes loaded with three meats and four sides.”
Gabrielle Hamilton, chef and owner of Prune in New York City
Restaurant Patria, Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo, Uruguay
“I need to drink when I travel — something to mitigate the insult and assault that economy air travel has become. At this restaurant in Montevideo, they have real wine, the french fries are piping hot, the waiters — in waiter uniforms! — are drop-dead gorgeous and the system is highly efficient. They use an iPad-type ordering system, but it’s humane; the server uses the technology, not the customer. It feels vastly different and warmer than the tap-it-out-yourself wired experience — you alone fixed on a screen, trying to type in ‘shrimp cocktail and gin martini extra olives, please’ at La Guardia.”
Andrew Carmellini, James Beard-winning chef and owner of New York City restaurants including Locanda Verde and the forthcoming Little Park
Caviar House & Prunier, London Heathrow Airport
“I like going there for some preflight Champagne and caviar. It all feels very first class.”
Dei Frescobaldi Restaurant & Wine Bar, Rome Fiumicino Airport
“They serve terrific local products. You can make a meal out of the salumi and cheese, and they serve an excellent glass of wine.”
René Redzepi, chef and co-owner of Noma in Copenhagen
Mash, Copenhagen Airport
“It has become a ritual for me that before flights, especially ones that will be long and painful, I stop at the airport outpost of this consistently delicious steakhouse. You can have a relaxed meal away from the chaos down below in the terminal, and you’ll start your journey satisfied and feeling taken care of.”
Brooks Headley, James Beard-winning pastry chef at Del Posto in New York City
Jersey Mike’s Subs, Newark Liberty International Airport
“It’s awesome and fresh, but kind of trashy!”
Floyd Cardoz, chef and owner of White Street in New York City
Fung Lum, San Francisco International Airport
“At the food court at the United terminal in San Francisco, the Fung Lum noodles, soups and dim sum are amazing. I also always pick up a loaf of sourdough from Boudin Bakery for my sons.”
David Chang, James Beard-winning chef and founder of the Momofuku restaurant group
Rokurinsha, Haneda Airport in Tokyo
“Easily my favorite place to eat anywhere, let alone in an airport. Unfortunately you have to fly domestic in Japan to dine here, but it’s probably easier to slurp on their famous tsukemen ramen at the airport than it is to endure the long queue at their original location in Tokyo Station.”
Lagkagehuset, Copenhagen Airport
“One of Copenhagen’s most beloved bakeries opened up a spot a few years back. Besides their famous Danishes they have a great little breakfast sandwich in the morning of ham, good butter and brown Danish bread. Don’t be put off by the fact that it’s a chain. The quality is amazing.”
Crystal Jade Restaurant, Singapore Changi Airport
“There are two locations in Terminal 3 — both serve pretty much the same menu. Changi probably has the best variety of airport dining anywhere in the world, but I always pass on the hawker food as it’s usually all I eat when I’m in Singapore. I settle in here to nosh on some fantastic soup dumplings, a barbecue combo plate and noodle soup. It’s the perfect comfort food for a very long trip back home.”
Giada De Laurentiis, chef and owner of an eponymous restaurant in Las Vegas
Real Food Daily, Los Angeles International Airport
“I always think that airports are your last call to grab whatever fare the city you’re visiting is known for. I think most people associate Los Angeles with healthy eating, and RFD is just that. They have lots of options for everyone, from dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, veggie … and you would never know it!”
Rome Fiumicino Airport Food Court
“It’s not your typical food court. You can get a piece of pizza bianca, or one more scoop of stracciatella gelato or a tasty porchetta roll (which Rome is famous for) at the Colosseum. If I have time to spare, I also like to sit at the bar of Obika. It’s a delicious mozzarella bar where you can have a caprese and a glass of wine and forget that 14-hour flight ahead.”
Grant Achatz, James Beard-winning chef and owner of Alinea and Next in Chicago
Tortas Frontera, Chicago O’Hare International Airport
“My all-time favorite, and because it is here in Chicago at O’Hare I go there often. In the morning I get the eggs and rajas, and anytime after lunch it’s the roasted garlic mushroom tortas. And of course their margaritas are a great preflight relaxer.”
Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
“While not a restaurant per se, it is quick, the milkshakes are thick, sandwiches tasty and you can walk right on the plane with whatever you don’t finish. It’s the ultimate airport convenience.”
In the Kitchen With Andrew Carmellini at Little Park
The chef lets T into his next TriBeCa restaurant and shares a recipe for beetroot tartar, which he’s testing for the space’s inaugural meal: a benefit dinner for the Lunchbox Fund next week.
A Pastry Chef Masters the Veggie Burger
Brooks Headley, the punk rocker turned haute pastry chef at Del Posto, also makes what just might be the finest veggie burgers on the planet. And this Sunday, he’ll serve them at his first fast food pop up, Superiority Burger, on the Lower East Side.
Food Matters | L.A.’s Thai Wunderkind Serves Up a Second Course
Kris Yenbamroong, the 31-year-old chef behind the celebrated pop-up Night + Market, opens his first permanent restaurant in Silver Lake.
