Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

An upgrade gave me not only more leg room but a much-needed lunch. I believe that this plate was advertised as a Reuben. It was more of a pastrami sandwich---the mustard is the tell. But it was tasty with good meat and some crunch in the rye toast. This meal was welcomed, appreciated, and enjoyed.

A connection through Minneapolis back to Atlanta, coupled with an upgrade, gave me the chance to enjoy this steak dinner on Delta. It was a welcomed bit of nourishment and comfort in the middle of a hectic flight.

My flight to Amsterdam gave me the chance to try breakfast on KLM. Given the choice between sweet and savory breakfast, I chose sweet. Luckily, the breakfast wasn't smothered in sugar. When I opened up this warm plate, I wasn't sure what I was eating. It turned out to be bread pudding. The warm dish was very soothing after a night on the plane. The blueberries were a nice touch.

My transatlantic flight gave me a chance to try Chef Linton Hopkins' latest menu for Delta. Out of several choices, I opted for the beef short ribs. They were tender and richly meaty. The thinly sliced ham was another treat. Everything was excellent; the menu translated very well to the specialized domain of airplane food.

My Lufthansa flight was delayed by weather so the crew handed out this snack to everyone as we boarded. The bag contained crackers the shape of little calimari rings. They were made with potatoes, something I wouldn't have guessed, and spiced with paprika. The paprika kick really made the snack and helped to distract from our delay. I had time before I boarded my train. I stumbled across a food court at Frankfurt airport that I hadn't seen before. I decided to try Thong Thai for a change of pace. I thought that I had ordered tofu in a sauce. Thanks to my extreme lack of ability to comprehend even written German, the dish I received was nothing like what I ordered, but I did enjoy it. The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The food court had plenty of tables so I could relax a little before the next leg of my journey.

Delta upgraded me on a flight that was long enough to deserve a meal, giving me a chance to survey their food. Since we departed from Seattle, I asked for the salmon. That turned out to be a good choice. I'm not sure, however, if it was wild or farmed. The salad was OK but the texture was a little wimpy. The dessert was Cherry Garcia ice cream, something that I haven't had in a long time and which was a lot of fun.

Delta advertises wonderful food available on its flights. Unfortunately, that food isn't always available. I'm not talking about the short flights under two hours---they state they don't offer food on those flights. On several occasions, I and many other passengers have not been able to purchase food on our flight. Today, the food ran out extremely early; a flight attendant told me that they loaded very little food. On another flight, the flight attendant told me that they didn't load any food at all. Delta doesn't tell you before you board whether food will actually be available, although they very easily could do so. My travel agency tells me that they can't figure out in advance how much food will be available on a flight. I suspect that they load food based on the weight of the air plane, making the food supply essentially a random function. Once you are 35,000 feet in the air, it's way too late to buy some food. I recommend that when you fly D...

Here is my report on United's coach food flying eastward across the Atlantic. The first service was a cracker and piece of cheese. Sorry for the lack of a picture but I was hungry. Both were of high quality and tasty. For my main course, I selected the chicken. I asked about the vegetarian option b t the stewardess could tell me what it was. The chicken's sauce was a very strong teriyaki. The bread was pretty good. No dessert, though. The light breakfast turned out to be a croissant and strawberry jam.

My return from Europe was on an Air France flight, which allowed me to sample their food. Here is the rather impressive shopping area in my departure at Charles De Gaulle airport. We started with an introductory course. The foie gras was excellent, served with a melange of tomatoes. We also had parmesan cheese. The salad was served with a choice of two dressings served in little tiny bottles; I chose the olive oil-based dressing, which was quite good. The roll is walnut bread and was outstanding, exceeded only by the butter. For my main course, I ordered smoked salmon, which was outstanding. The smoking was subtle and the flesh was very tender and juicy. IT came with little balls of potato, zucchini, and tomato. I also had two cheeses: Camembert and Sainte-Maure. I didn't complain about the second helping of walnut bread and that firm, salty butter. Dessert included a small praline, a smallorange cupcake, and a banana in vanilla cream. The entire meal was outstanding a...