In Praise of Airport Food

How about a big, How-to Guru shout-out for the airport food at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina? I refer specifically to the Speedway Grill, where last week I could be found, sitting out a connection from Miami and stuffing my face with a first-rate pulled pork and mashed potatoes plate. The meat was tender and spicy, the Carolina vinegar sauce tangy, the hush puppies loaded with onions, and the mashed potatoes were real and served with corn. I ask for nothing else from my airport food. And to top it all off, the WiFi was free. Nice going, Charlotte!

Come to think of it, the grub is getting better at many airports, thanks in large part to the airlines' refusal to serve food anymore. At Sea-Tac airport outside of Seattle, you should make a point of stopping by Dish D'Lish, a new chain by local chef and author Kathy Casey, for first-rate prepared foods. Her tasty stratas and sandwiches blow fast food out of the proverbial water.

For that matter, I'll take local food over chain food practically anywhere. At the Rochester, New York airport I always stop at Red Osier for a good, thick, roast beef sandwich on an oniony "weck" bun. The meat is juicy thanks to being simmered in a broth, and the horseradish sauce is just right. There is free WiFi there, too, and pleasant, wicker rocking chairs from which to watch planes take off while you wait out your connection and dribble roast beef juices down your shirt.

In Miami you stop at the airport for Cubano sandwiches of ham, pork, pickle and cheese, and wash them down with a "cortado" coffee of dark espresso with a shot of milk. I like it that the ladies who work at the Cuban place don't speak English; it lends some local atmosphere to the place. And in Paris, once you arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport, run, don't walk, to the Paul bakery outlet in the arrivals area for thick wedges of coconut flan, or your first excellent baguette of the trip.

You may never go back to cold sandwiches and hotdogs again. What are some of your favorite airport food finds?