Flight Details
Departure: JFK, 8:07pm (scheduled), ~8:40pm (actual).
Arrival: 11:57 pm (scheduled), (actual)Seat: 3D
Class: Mint
Date: June 2018
So this is a sad story. I'll spare you all the details, but, I missed my actual flight. I was booked on the previous flight, at a nice reasonable 3:55pm departure time, and ... let's just say, everything people say about getting to JFK from Manhattan is unfortunately very, very true. I doubled the time I thought I needed, and still missed my flight. On *that* flight, I had the single suite. On this flight ... no so much. Anyway. At least I was able to fly out that day, just, many hours at JFK later :(
Amenities
I've reviewed Mint extensively before, so, no full review this time around. Not much has changed, as always, a wonderful experience, both hard product and soft.
I was seated in 3D, aisle seat at least, with a neighbor. I'm always shocked by how different the experience is in the single suites vs having a neighbor. It doesn't really matter how nice that person is, the lack of storage space really is just dramatically different. Basically ... just the little pocket in seat in front of you, no place for bag during takeoff/landing, etc, compared to the huge cubbies in the suites. Just a small shared place for drinks. Etc.
But, it was still Mint, at least.
I was seated in 3D, aisle seat at least, with a neighbor. I'm always shocked by how different the experience is in the single suites vs having a neighbor. It doesn't really matter how nice that person is, the lack of storage space really is just dramatically different. Basically ... just the little pocket in seat in front of you, no place for bag during takeoff/landing, etc, compared to the huge cubbies in the suites. Just a small shared place for drinks. Etc.
But, it was still Mint, at least.
Dining
Dining on this flight was fine, but lacking any standouts.
 |
| Westbound Dinner, June 2018. |
WELCOME TASTE
- ARTICHOKE AVOCADO DIP WITH TARO CHIPS
Choose three. Please note: The first two dishes listed below are chilled
- WHEATBERRY & SMOKED ALMOND COUSCOUS: cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives
- HOT & COLD SMOKED SALMON: baby beets, oranges, watercress, crème fraîche
- HEIRLOOM TOMATO GRATIN: fennel pollen, breadcrumbs
- CHICKEN TAGINE: pasta fregola, green olives, almonds*
- PORCHETTA: spicy peach ragout, arugula, radishes
- ICE CREAM: Blue Marble Ice Cream, New York, NY.
- COOKIE, milk bar, NYC and beyond
This was a pretty unexciting menu for me, the first time I think I've ever *not* been excited about the lineup. Not a single dish was one I really wanted, and, I knew I was allergic to the starter dip that went with the amazing taro chips, which made me pretty sad, as I adore their dips!
 |
| Drink Menu. |
And of course, a drink list with the usual beer, liquor, coffee, tea, and wine, the exact same lineup I had on my flight to the east coast.
- Sparkling: RAVENTOS I BLANC DE NIT BRUT ROSÉ, 2015, Penedès, Spain
- White: SANDHI CHARDONNAY, 2015, Sta. Rita Hills, California
- White: VON WINNING ESTATE DRY RIESLING, 2016, Pfalz, Germany
- Red: COUNTY LINE PINOT NOIR, 2016, Sonoma Coast, California
- Red: BROC VINE STARR ZINFANDEL, 2016, Sonoma County, California
 |
| Country Line Pinot Noir, 2016. |
Pre-takeoff, as always, drinks were offered, and I decided to just move right to red wine. It was one of those days. The only red option on the ground was the pinot noir, which was fine with me, given that I had liked it before.
It was again fine, very drinkable.
 |
| Broc Vine Starr Zinfandel, 2016. |
It was a much bolder wine, a lot more bite, a lot more complex, but, not tanic, and I liked it. The pinot was certainly more likely to be a crowd pleaser, light, drinkable, but this was much more interesting.
Our Welcome Taste was delivered once underway. Even though I'm allergic to avocado, I still wanted the taro chips, and, one little bit wouldn't hurt right?
I liked the taro chips as always, crunchy, satisfying. As always, I found the serving way too small. And, when I told my FA that I loved the taro chips, she offered without a beat to bring me more and more.
The dip was nicely plated up, topped with an artichoke heart and topped with some kind of spice. I did try a bite of the dip, and it was creamy and flavorful, herby too, but, alas, I felt the effects of the avocado nearly immediately, so, I stopped. And I didn't really want the artichoke heart anyway.
My tray arrived with all three of my small plates. This time I finally remembered to say that I didn't need a roll.
"Cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives."
First up, a chilled "salad"
If you like healthy grain based salads, this was a nicely done dish.
The wheatberries were cooked exactly as I prefer, still quite al dente, crispy, chewy. Mixed in with the wheatberries was chopped almonds, more good texture and crunch. Also in the mix was I think red peppers and feta cheese? A little more color and pop, following the Mediterranean theme. On top, slices of olives and cherry tomatoes, and mint and cilantro garnish. It was very lightly dressed as well.
So, for what it was, a nicely done dish. Good textures and flavors. Years ago, I would have loved this (I was on a healthy kick, and really into wheatberries in particular). These days, it wasn't really what I wanted, but, I can recognize all the good aspects of it. My second pick, but I wouldn't want it again.
"Baby beets, oranges, watercress, crème fraîche."
Next I had another cold dish, the smoked salmon. It was really beautifully presented, with the watercress on top, globs of crème fraîche, and colorful oranges and beets.
The oranges were even supremed. They were juicy and fresh. But I wasn't really into the orange and salmon combination, so I saved them for last, and just ate them as a refreshing palette cleanser before dessert.
The beets were raw, thin slices, pretty things, fresh, crisp. Again, not quite sure about them with the oranges and salmon, but, a good component. The watercress too was fresh and nice.
I adored the crème fraîche. Super creamy, and plenty of it.
But this *was* a salmon dish, so, where was the salmon?
The salmon was under all the other layers.
There was two styles, one hot smoked, one cold smoked.
The cold-smoked salmon was thinly sliced, oily, not fishy, slightly smoked, and kinda slimy. Basically, kinda just like lox, exactly as expected, and the style that I don't generally care all that much for.
But the hot smoked was great, fully cooked, flaked, really smoky, not fishy, and in the very bottom of the dish.
So, overall, some components I didn't like, some elements that didn't combine great, but, some parts that I really did enjoy. The smoky hot smoked salmon + creamy crème fraîche + fresh crisp beet slices really were tasty.
My favorite dish, and I'd actually be happy to get again, just because the hot smoked salmon was so good!
"Fennel pollen, breadcrumbs."
My final choice was the hot vegetarian item, a tomato gratin.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one, and I'm still not 100% certain I figured out everything that was in it.
I liked exactly one thing about it: gooey cheese! Oh, and it was piping hot. But otherwise ... it didn't do it for me.
So, what did we have?
Slices of colorful heirloom tomatoes, yellow, red, orange. Soft but not mushy. But also not very flavorful. Within the layers was a bit of cheese, onions, and some kind of mild green pepper. All ... fine but again, not very flavorful.
The real reason I wasn't into this though was the bread crumbs, generously topped, and within. They weren't crisp, and just added a lot of mush to the dish. So much mush.
As you can see, it also separated quite a bit, so, the gratin was sitting in a pool of oil, and the cheese was a bit congealed. I never figured out what the cheese variety was (gruyere maybe?).
So ... flavorless tomatoes/onions, in oily congealed sauce, with lots of mushy crumbs? Yeah. Not great. But the flavors of congealed cheese were good.
My least favorite dish.
And ... dessert time! As always, ice cream, served from a local ice cream maker from the port of departure. For NY, this is Blue Marble.
Before takeoff, as customary (for me), I asked the FA what our flavor would be. She laughed and noticeably perked up, telling me it was one of her favorites: raspberry chip! Per JetBlue's standard, we received 2 scoops of the flavor of the day, and one scoop vanilla.
As always, I brought my own toppings. I'm a pro! This time, I cam prepared with white chocolate chips, graham cracker crumble, and rainbow sprinkles (from Milk Bar no less). I'm totally normal, really ...
Our parting gift was again a cookie from Milk, this time, confetti.
 |
| Welcome Taste: ARTICHOKE AVOCADO DIP WITH TARO CHIPS. |
I liked the taro chips as always, crunchy, satisfying. As always, I found the serving way too small. And, when I told my FA that I loved the taro chips, she offered without a beat to bring me more and more.
The dip was nicely plated up, topped with an artichoke heart and topped with some kind of spice. I did try a bite of the dip, and it was creamy and flavorful, herby too, but, alas, I felt the effects of the avocado nearly immediately, so, I stopped. And I didn't really want the artichoke heart anyway.
Dinner
For my meal, I went for the two chilled dishes, and the hot vegetarian dish, ruling out the chicken and porchetta. My neighbor selected the same dishes, so, I didn't get to spy on the ones I didn't order.
 |
| Dinner. |
 | |
| WHEATBERRY & SMOKED ALMOND COUSCOUS (Chilled). |
First up, a chilled "salad"
If you like healthy grain based salads, this was a nicely done dish.
The wheatberries were cooked exactly as I prefer, still quite al dente, crispy, chewy. Mixed in with the wheatberries was chopped almonds, more good texture and crunch. Also in the mix was I think red peppers and feta cheese? A little more color and pop, following the Mediterranean theme. On top, slices of olives and cherry tomatoes, and mint and cilantro garnish. It was very lightly dressed as well.
So, for what it was, a nicely done dish. Good textures and flavors. Years ago, I would have loved this (I was on a healthy kick, and really into wheatberries in particular). These days, it wasn't really what I wanted, but, I can recognize all the good aspects of it. My second pick, but I wouldn't want it again.
 | |
| HOT & COLD SMOKED SALMON (Chilled). |
Next I had another cold dish, the smoked salmon. It was really beautifully presented, with the watercress on top, globs of crème fraîche, and colorful oranges and beets.
The oranges were even supremed. They were juicy and fresh. But I wasn't really into the orange and salmon combination, so I saved them for last, and just ate them as a refreshing palette cleanser before dessert.
The beets were raw, thin slices, pretty things, fresh, crisp. Again, not quite sure about them with the oranges and salmon, but, a good component. The watercress too was fresh and nice.
I adored the crème fraîche. Super creamy, and plenty of it.
But this *was* a salmon dish, so, where was the salmon?
 | |
| HOT & COLD SMOKED SALMON: Underneath. |
There was two styles, one hot smoked, one cold smoked.
The cold-smoked salmon was thinly sliced, oily, not fishy, slightly smoked, and kinda slimy. Basically, kinda just like lox, exactly as expected, and the style that I don't generally care all that much for.
But the hot smoked was great, fully cooked, flaked, really smoky, not fishy, and in the very bottom of the dish.
So, overall, some components I didn't like, some elements that didn't combine great, but, some parts that I really did enjoy. The smoky hot smoked salmon + creamy crème fraîche + fresh crisp beet slices really were tasty.
My favorite dish, and I'd actually be happy to get again, just because the hot smoked salmon was so good!
 | |
| HEIRLOOM TOMATO GRATIN. |
My final choice was the hot vegetarian item, a tomato gratin.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one, and I'm still not 100% certain I figured out everything that was in it.
I liked exactly one thing about it: gooey cheese! Oh, and it was piping hot. But otherwise ... it didn't do it for me.
So, what did we have?
Slices of colorful heirloom tomatoes, yellow, red, orange. Soft but not mushy. But also not very flavorful. Within the layers was a bit of cheese, onions, and some kind of mild green pepper. All ... fine but again, not very flavorful.
The real reason I wasn't into this though was the bread crumbs, generously topped, and within. They weren't crisp, and just added a lot of mush to the dish. So much mush.
As you can see, it also separated quite a bit, so, the gratin was sitting in a pool of oil, and the cheese was a bit congealed. I never figured out what the cheese variety was (gruyere maybe?).
So ... flavorless tomatoes/onions, in oily congealed sauce, with lots of mushy crumbs? Yeah. Not great. But the flavors of congealed cheese were good.
My least favorite dish.
 |
| Blue Marble Ice Cream: Raspberry Chip, Vanilla. |
Before takeoff, as customary (for me), I asked the FA what our flavor would be. She laughed and noticeably perked up, telling me it was one of her favorites: raspberry chip! Per JetBlue's standard, we received 2 scoops of the flavor of the day, and one scoop vanilla.
As always, I brought my own toppings. I'm a pro! This time, I cam prepared with white chocolate chips, graham cracker crumble, and rainbow sprinkles (from Milk Bar no less). I'm totally normal, really ...
It always, the ice cream was served way too hard, so I had to patiently wait for it to warm up. It also didn't look great, a bit freezer burned looking.
But, once it did warm, it actually was fine. The raspberry chip was indeed a hit, really fruity good raspberry flavor, large size dark chocolate chunks. The vanilla was pretty boring, but, once I loaded on m toppings was fine.
Overall, an ok offering. I would certainly prefer creamier ice cream, and other brands I've had on JetBlue have been better, but this flavor was a good one.
But, once it did warm, it actually was fine. The raspberry chip was indeed a hit, really fruity good raspberry flavor, large size dark chocolate chunks. The vanilla was pretty boring, but, once I loaded on m toppings was fine.
Overall, an ok offering. I would certainly prefer creamier ice cream, and other brands I've had on JetBlue have been better, but this flavor was a good one.
 |
| Parting Gift: Milk Confetti Cookie. |
0 comments:
Post a Comment