Jetblue Mint Eastbound - The New 2020+ Experience!

As you hopefully read about in my posts last year , JetBlue entirely revamped their soft product (food, wine, amenities) in late 2020, and I quite enjoyed my two westbound flights - really, some of the food was restaurant quality, as in, *nice* restaurant quality.  Sadly, my first eastbound flight was not nearly as successful, but my second was better.  And so on.  Read on for all my Eastbound experiences with the new catering.

June 2024 Flight

Flight Details:

Flight: B6 734

Departure: SFO, 3pm (scheduled), 3:11pm takeoff.  

Arrival: BOS, 11:41pm (scheduled)

Seat: 2A

Relatively on time flight, boarding started right at 2:15pm as planned, standard A320 Mint cabin (not the new Neos).  I got my favorite seat (2A, single suite, with drink table on the right hand side since I'm right-handed).

Service & Amenities

Service was fine.  It wasn't the super friendly JetBlue of the original days, but, still very personable and not generic feeling.  JetBlue seems to have adjusted their service flow for the start of Mint service as well - previously, Mint guests didn't get their drinks until after main cabin, and meals closer to 2 hours in, as the FA would go help with main cabin drink service, and this time had an FA the whole time.  I had my drinks within 30 minutes of takeoff, and I had my meal right at the hour mark, as is more standard with other airlines.

New Amenity Kits.

Sometime since my last JetBlue flight in December, they introduced new amenity kits.  These are smaller, and changed out a few things (no more toothbrush, just mouthwash, which makes more sense for a domestic daytime flight anyway).  Nothing particularly interesting in the kit, but I appreciated the lotion for my hands that dry out easily.

Food & Drink

Cocktails and Spirits.

I didn't have any of the cocktails, beer, wine, or spirits, but the seasonal venetian spritz did sound interesting.

Wine List.

Instead I stuck with wine.

For summer, JetBlue offers a choice of 2 red, 1 white, 1 rose, and 1 sparkling (at other times of year there is no rose, and two whites instead).

I decided to try both reds, and was given a full pour of each. 

Presqu'ile Pinot Noir.
Santa Barbara County. 2022.  Light Red.

"While Presqu’ile is located in California, its wines share more in common with those of France than the big, rich reds the state was long known for. In the Santa Maria Valley on the cool central coast, they make this pinot noir that’s simultaneously spicy, earthy, and ripe fruited."

The pinot noir was fine.  A fairly mild, inoffensive wine, very little tanin.  Definitely fruit forward, it seemed perhaps a bit young.  But perfectly drinkable, and better than most US domestic airline wine.  Higher ***.

Querciabella Il Turpino Super Tuscan.
2020.  Big Red.

"A family winery based in the heart of Chianti - makes this rich, full-flavored red from organic

vineyards along the Mediterranean coast. As is common for Super Tuscans, it’s made with grape

varieties more commonly found in Bordeaux than central Italy."

The super Tuscan was indeed a bigger red as advertised.  I found it a bit harsh, but still good enough.  My least favorite of the two.  ***.

Eastbound Lunch/Dinner.

Well, this menu felt like deja vu.  I had this same menu last year in June when I flew this route, the only changes were marinated feta now instead of goat cheese with the cucumber salad, crostini served with the burrata, and the tomato sauce for the lasagna re-branded as "late summer tomato sauce" instead of "fresh tomato sauce".  While I enjoyed my meal a year prior, I was a bit disappointed, as there wasn't a 3rd dish I really wanted - the lasagna was a bit boring, I don't like chicken, and I don't really have faith in airplane steak.  I wished for a seafood option, or their great pork shoulder (which is on the westbound rotation right now).  Alas.

Welcome Snack: Taralli.

After our drinks were served, we were brought the welcome snack (rather than with the drinks, as I thought was standard?).  They were the curly Italian bread sticks that I've had before.

I don't really like these much, as they are kinda just hard, and somewhere in-between sweet and savory.

Meal.

As always, the 3 dishes I selected were served at once, along with bread and butter.  I think the butter is new?  No chili oil was available, and now just a packet of Maldon sea salt (instead of the old tins).  I'm still confused why they don't provide pepper, but I know to bring my own.

Roll & Butter.

The roll was cold, and not very fresh or good tasting.  Just chewy.  I have never liked the JetBlue bread, and it is a surprise as it is really lower quality than everything else in the meal.  The butter was good.

Cucumber Salad.

"Cherry tomatoes, marinated feta, Italian vinaigrette."

To start, the cucumber salad.  I did ask for this with no dressing, as I've had it a few times in the past that way before, and was told it already had the dressing at the base.

Previous versions of this dish had goat cheese, and I was happy to see it changed to feta, but ... if it was feta, it was definitely a very goaty one.  I tried to avoid it as much as possible, as I really didn't like the taste.

The rest of the dish was very good though - the cucumbers remarkably fresh and crisp, the tomatoes roasted and full of flavor.  The vinaigrette just accented it all nicely.  I added my own salad greens to round it out into a real salad, and added salt and pepper, and really did quite enjoy it.  ***+, my favorite of the trio.

Burrata (no pine nut crumble).

"Zucchini, pine nut crumble, basil, crostini."

This burrata dish I've had on the JetBlue summer flights for many, many years.  Eastbound, westbound, they rotate it through every single year.  As I once had pine nut syndrome, and I'm terrified of them since, I asked for no pine nut crumble, which was easily accommodated (that's the NF call out on the menu itself).  Mine also came with no crostini, maybe because she thought I wanted no gluten (although still served the roll).  I didn't follow up on the missing crostini as I didn't mind.

This dish can be a bit hit or miss in terms of ripeness of the burrata.  Sadly, this was a miss - it was just a firm solid cheese, no lovely cream flowing out.  The portion was great, but, I really wanted runnier, riper, cheese.

The rest of the dish was good though, the pesto at the base flavorful and a good pairing, and the squash nicely cooked (although it was really, really remarkably cold).  I am sure the pine nut crumble adds a welcome crunch, but I didn't mind it missing.  I had my own crackers with me that I spread the burrata on, and did enjoy it.  ***+ squash/pesto, **+ burrata, so *** overall.

Lasagna.

"Late summer tomato sauce, ricotta, parmigiano."

The lasagna I had without modifications, and it was kinda funny because the FA actually specifically asked if I wanted the cheese on that one.  She seemed to catch on to the fact that I was customizing by removing the toppings, but in this case, it is a cheese lasagna, so removing the parmesan they sprinkle on top wouldn't really change it much.  

The lasagna was fine, but boring, and a bit pedestrian, just as in the past.  Well constructed, nice ratio of ricotta to noodle, not too mushy pasta, but ... just very simple.  If a restaurant served it, I would be pretty let down, but I'd say it is better than most frozen dinner lasagnas, and likely on par with your standard homemade version.  I also lamented that it doesn't get any nice crispy edges, as we all know that's the best part of lasagna.  I added red pepper flakes I had with me, and that helped, and now that I think of it, I suspect adding the squash and pesto in here would jazz it up quite a bit too.

**+, my least favorite of the dishes.

Vanilla Gelato.

"Roasted peaches, hazelnut shortbread crumble." 

The gelato was served very solid, so it took quite a while for it to get nicely melty.  It was uninteresting plain vanilla gelato.

Usually JetBlue has a warm topping to spoon over it, but the peaches were barely warmed, really room temperature.  And usually they have more of a sauce/compote/goo.  This was basically one hunk of peach, plus a smaller second piece, minimal goo.  That said, I didn't like them anyway, seemed just like canned peaches.  Meh.   I added my own fresh fruit instead.

The "hazelnut shortbread crumble" I think must have been swapped out, as this didn't taste anything like hazelnut, nor shortbread.  It was just two hunks of very stale soft cake.  I did not like this at all.

My Version.

So overall, one of the least good desserts I've had on JetBlue.  Average gelato, meh toppings.  ** as served, but at least I had my own fruit.

June 2023 Flight

Flight Details

Flight Number: 1734

Departure: SFO

Time: 3:02pm (scheduled) 3:33pm (actual)

Arrival: BOS

Time: 11:41 PM (schedule)

Seat: 2A

We had a slightly delayed boarding, and slightly delayed takeoff.  Compared to all the other flights that day, and the two prior though, we were very, very lucky.  For example, the 2pm scheduled flight didn't take off until nearly 5pm, and the 2pm the day prior was delayed over and over until 11pm and then ... took off at 6:30am the next day instead.  Ooph.  6700 flights delayed/cancelled the day before alone, and more the day before that.  The meltdown was all due to extensive storms on the east coast that results in full ground stops for most east coast airports.  So I was fortunate, and thrilled to only be slightly delayed.

Service / Amenities

Since I've covered JetBlue Mint many times, and they haven't updated anything about the seat or amenities in years, I won't go into much detail this time.  I had my favorite seat, 2A, the single suite with drink table on the right hand side, as I booked plenty far in advance.  My review of the suite remains unchanged - yay for privacy! A door!  Pillow and blanket!  But it isn't actually all that comfortable, and the electronics in particular are showing their age (my headphones wouldn't stay plugged in at all).

I had a fairly amazing crew.  They were welcoming and set the tone immediately.  Very friendly but not fake, took meticulous care dealing with another passenger's food allergy.  They took a moment to socialize and personalize the service for those of us they could tell would appreciate it, and left the less chatty folks alone.  Really, just top notch crew all around.  They made me remember why I once loved JetBlue so much.

Drinks

JetBlue always has a decent drink lineup, including Bubly Lime which I appreciate for non-alcoholic, and Dunkin' brand coffee.

Wine and Cocktails.

On the alcoholic side, the cocktail menu started with the signature Mint Condition, and the seasonal offering was a summery Venetian Spritz.  Both are available without the booze too.  The wine lineup is where I was most interested, with one sparkling, one white, one rose (per JetBlue custom in the summer), and two reds.

I was tempted by the Ventian Spritz, but decide to go with just wine.  I asked to sample both of the reds, which was easily accommodated with a "Of course!  We'll do a little wine tasting for you.  Make it fun!"

I enjoyed my drinks, but, I do lament the days of the really fabulous JetBlue wines (before the 2020 catering changes).  The current lineup is "fine" but, generally priced at $20-30 per bottle, rather than $40-50 as they once were, so not quite as premium

Vineyard Project 004 Gober & Freinbichler Blaufrankisch 2021.  "Light Red".

"If you’re a fan of light reds like Beaujolais and Pinot Noir, then check out this organic wine made from an Austrian grape variety called Blaufränkisch. It’s peppery and crisp, ideal for when you want a red wine that’s refreshing and vibrant."

My tasting started with the "light red".    

This was a decent wine.  A light red, indeed.  Not much complexity, but quite balanced.  Easy drinking, no acid, minimal tannins.   An easy drinking wine that I enjoyed.  Retails around $20 per bottle.  ***+.

Condello Romagna Sangiovese Predapippio 2020.  "Big Red".

"Made by the talented Chiara Condello in Emilia-Romagna, this spicy red wine is made entirely with Sangiovese. Surrounded by olive trees, the grapes are farmed organically, yielding a rich and herbal

wine without being sweet or overly fruity, reminiscent of the best wines from Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino."

Next up, the "big red".  Definitely bigger.  Far more complex.  Some tannin, but not too much for me.  I preferred this with the bold flavors of the red sauce in my lasagna.   Retails around $26 per bottle. ***+.

Food

My meal was pretty good.  Definitely better than any other domestic airline, but not as good as some previous JetBlue flights.

Linner Menu.

As always, the menu had 5 options, and we could choose three.  The first two were chilled.  Three vegetarian options, one meat, one chicken.  No seafood this time.

We had a severe nut allergy in our cabin, so no nuts were served on any dishes - no nuts for the welcome snack, no pine nut garnish on the burrata or steak, and, the tragic one to me, no hazelnut shortbread crumble for the gelato :(. But as someone with a severe allergy myself, I get it and really appreciate the precaution on their behalf.

The welcome snack should have been warmed nuts, but instead we were just given bags of pretzels, which I declined.

My choices for the meal were pretty easy: tomato salad, burrata, lasagna, as I don't eat chicken and airline steak didn't exactly sound compelling.  I can't say I was particularly excited about any of the dishes though, as I've had previous versions of each, and while "fine" they weren't great.

Meal.

I frequently comment on how long it takes for meal service in the Mint cabin, but, our FA was totally on top of things.  Our drinks came out quickly, and our meals, within 1 hour of takeoff.  Which of course, meant it was 4:30pm when my meal arrived, and I wasn't remotely hungry.  In retrospect, I probably should have asked for it to be served later, or had a smaller lunch.  Rookie move!

Meals came with the standard bread and our 3 savory selections, gelato was presented later.  

Bread & Condiments.

As always, I didn't really care for the bread ... it didn't taste particularly fresh, and was what you'd expect on a plane.  I usually ask to not get it, but forgot this time.

Chili oil is nice, quality sea salt I appreciate, but, why oh why no pepper?

Tomato Salad (no vinaigrette).

"Cucumbers, goat cheese, italian vinaigrette."

When I ordered, I asked if the dressing was already on the salad, as I don't care for vinaigrettes generally, and last time I had this dish it was very overdressed.  I was told that it was not, and the FA immediately suggested, "do you want it on the side or left off entirely?  It is much better that way."  I said yes, to just leave it off.  

When I last had this dish, it was specified that it was roasted cherry tomatoes, so I was curious if it was still cherry tomatoes, and still roasted, or not.  Indeed it was exactly the same - cherry tomatoes, roasted.  The tomatoes were fairly flavorful.  The cucumbers, remarkably fresh and crisp.  The goat cheese, well, goaty, and I wished it wasn't there.  It absolutely did not need the vinaigrette, particularly once I combined it with the burrata and salsa verde.

Overall, fresh tasting, vibrant, and nicely done.  I did add my own greens as a base to make it more salad-like.  ***+.

Burrata (no pine nut crumble due to allergy in the cabin).

"Zucchini, salsa verde, pine nut crumble, mint."

Next up, the burrata.

I've had a lot of JetBlue burrata over the years, and sometimes it is reasonably ripe, but often it is not.  But I knew it would pair beautifully with the tomato salad, and brought my own crackers to round it out too, as I never care for the bread.  As always, it came as a pretty huge portion, a full bulb.  

The burrata was bursting open, perfectly ripe.  Nicely done this time, JetBlue!  The zucchini and summer squash again amazed me at how good they were, really nicely cooked, and so great with the flavorful pesto-like salsa verde.  I don't generally love summer squashes, but, they do these well.  As always, I did find that I wanted pepper, which JetBlue doesn't provide (only high quality maldon salt for some reason), but of course I had that with me too.

Overall, a good dish, and really nice to combine with the tomato salad.  ***+.

Lasagna.

"Ricotta, fresh tomato sauce, parmigiano."

And finally, lasagna.

I wasn't really that excited for the simple lasagna, as I had a similar one once before and found it a bit underwhelming.  The bolognese version however was fantastic, as were butternut squash ones with the old catering, but this one, a bit, well, simple.

My feelings were unchanged on this version.  It was a generous serving, served at the right temperature.  I liked how much ricotta was in it (although, with the burrata, and goat cheese, wow, I was having a cheese fest!).  The tomato sauce was decent, relatively flavorful.  Extra parmesan sprinkled on top made it even cheesier.  It was better than a standard grocery store frozen lasagna, but not as good as you'd get at a nice Italian restaurant.  For an average airline, I'd say it was quite good.  For JetBlue, it was "fine", if that makes sense.  They set a pretty high bar in general.  ***.

Vanilla Gelato (Toppings on the side).
(No hazelnut shortbread crumble due to allergy in the cabin).

"Roasted peaches, hazelnut shortbread crumble."

As always, I asked for my toppings on the side, as sometimes the fruit topping just is too sweet.  This was easily accommodated (and my FA agreed with my assessment).  Because of the nut allergy of my fellow passenger, I wasn't able to try the hazelnut shortbread crumble, which made me sad, but, I did have my own fresh fruit and sprinkles to jazz it up.  

The gelato was good as always.  Served quite hard so I did need to wait for it to get nicely melty.  Decent vanilla bean flavor, no freezer burn, creamy.  Not an exciting base, but, JetBlue has opted to go this route of always serving vanilla gelato, and embellish with the toppings. ***+ gelato.

The peaches were warm, lightly spiced, not too sweet.  But definitely gave off "canned peaches" vibes, and I didn't really like them much. **+.  I was glad I had my own fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and cherries with me.  I suspect the crumble would have been a nice addition as well, but alas, allergies.

Overall, one of the least exciting desserts I've had on JetBlue, but again, not having the hazelnut shortbread crumble definitely hurt here.

December 2022 Flight

Flight Details:

Flight #: 1734

Departure: SFO, 1:50 pm
Arrival: BOS, 10: pm
Duration: 5h 18m
Seat: 2A (single suite)
Class: Mint

Some things about this flight went very well.  We boarded exactly on time, pushed back from the gate at right at 1:48pm, had a short taxi, and were quick to depart.  My cabin crew was friendly and attentive, and had fun but not annoying personalities.  The flight was pretty smooth, and my cabin mates all well behaved.  No babies, dogs, or other "troublemakers".

The flight was not without issues though.  No in seat power was working on the entire plane, which, for a 6 hour flight, meant my laptop battery did not last the entire time.  There was also no water ... including in the bathrooms.  No amenity kits were provided, and it seems the parting gift (previously chocolate covered cashews or looong ago Milk Bar cookies) has been eliminated.

Food & Drink

Drinks

As we settled in, pre-departure beverages were offered, as menus were distributed personally, and the FAs introduced themselves.  I opted for just sparkling Bubly (lime), and was provided a full can, which I greatly appreciated.

Wine List.

The wine lineup was all new (to me) wines, with the standard winter lineup of a sparkling, two whites, and two reds.  They were from all over, including Portugal, Italy, and Oregon.  I opted to try several throughout my flight.  I do think the quality / price point of the wines served in Mint has gone down considerably in the past few years.  The wines were all "fine" but not great, and were mostly in the $12 / bottle range.  Basically, like most other business class offerings at this point.

Muxagat Branco.
2021 Light White.

"There’s no better time to drink Portuguese wine than now. This white made from native varieties is similar to the best Sancerre and Chablis. It’s salty and goes down very easily."

I asked for a small pour of the rather interesting sounding "light white", which seems to retail for nearly $40 and is well regarded.  White isn't my regular choice, but it sounded worth a try.

It was interesting.  Slightly sweet, not a sweet wine exactly, but it had more sweetness than I was expecting.  Fairly high acid, but not in a harsh way.  Somehow well rounded, even though it could easily come across as oddly sweet or acidic.  I wouldn't get it again, and I didn't finish the larger-than-I-wanted pour, but it was nice to try something different.

***.

Buona Notte Semifreddo.
2021 Light Red.

"Semifreddo translates to ‘a little chilled’. This natural red wine from Oregon was made with the intention of being served cool and crisp. It’s light, peppery, and very delicious."

For my "real" glass of wine, I went for the also kinda interesting sounding "semifreddo", a term I am quite familiar with, but in very different context.  I liked the description though - "peppery, and very delicious".  I was in!

It was an ok wine, a light red for sure (reminded me of a light pinot).  It didn't have much complexity to it, nor really much promised pepperyness, but, it was inoffensive, no real acid nor tannin to speak of.   It was fine, and I finished my glass easily, but I wouldn't really opt for it given other choices.

***.

Triennes Les Aureliens Rouge.
2019 Big Red.

"Some of the most acclaimed winemakers of the century like to vacation in southern France. Good news, they also decided to make wine from their vacation spot too. This is a smoky and big red from the Mediterranean coast."

Later in the flight, I decided to continue my wine tasting journey, and tried the "big red".  This was hands down the winner of the bunch.  A big wine, as advertised, and reasonably complex.  Balanced, bold, and quite enjoyable, and apparently not a particularly expensive bottle ($12-15).  This is the one I'd definitely get again in the future.

****.

Food

Menu.

The menu as always offered 5 choices for small plates, and we could pick 3.  The first two were chilled dishes.

My choices were easy - JetBlue always does a nice job with the pork shoulder, so that was a given.  I also wanted seafood, and thus, shrimp it was (although I was a bit let down to see shrimp rather than fish, and I wasn't really into the accompaniments).  For my final dish, I wanted vegetables to round out the meal, and thus, carrots it was ... even though I'm not a huge fan of cooked carrots, and those would be served cold.  I wasn't into the bulgar salad, and although I wanted the creamed fennel from the chicken dish, it seemed silly to get it just for the sides.

Welcome Snack: Grissini.

With our drinks, we were brought the "Welcome snack", which had shifted back to the cheesy grissini.  I preferred the spiced nuts, but my FA told me that too many people wrote in about them being too spicy. The grissini are good though, crispy, savory, lightly cheesy, and go great with red wine. ***.

Meal Tray.

I'm always surprised by how long it takes for meal service on JetBlue Mint flights, just compared to other business class offerings.  It was over 1.5 hours into our flight before my meal was served (which actually was totally fine, that was still only 3:30pm in my departure time zone, so an odd time for dinner), and over 2 hours for the back rows of the Mint cabin.  Everything was served at once, with all my assorted toppings on the side in their own containers (which looked ridiculous, but is exactly what I wanted).

Meals normally come with a bread roll, but I never like it, and asked to just have it left off.  I had my own bread with me just in case I wanted some.  I still received the standard condiments of olive oil, chili oil, and salt, no pepper (why oh why?).

The gelato was served at the same time as our meals, which wasn't ideal, and I'm not sure why this crew chose to do that.  I prefer it offered after, so I don't have to rush eat to avoid it getting too melty, plus, the topping is served warm, and it would cool down.

The meal was a mixed success - two excellent dishes, one ok, and one eh.

Roasted Carrots.

"Carrot puree, cumin yogurt." 

The chilled roasted carrot dish was a mixed bag for me.  As I kinda expected, I didn't really care for the cooked, chilled carrots (the menu said "roasted", but these didn't seem really roasted).  They tasted like, well, cold cooked carrots.  Not my thing, hot nor cold.  They seemed well prepared though, not too mushy, not underdone.

Nor did I care for the cumin yogurt, as I don't really like cumin.  But it was nice creamy yogurt.  The carrot puree was tasty, and I used it with my shrimp and with some celery sticks I had with me as a dip.

So, tasty puree, but the rest was a miss for me.  If you like cooked carrots and cumin though, I think this would be a nice dish.  **+.

Shrimp.
(No pine nut crumble).

"Salsa verde, pine nut crumble, herbs."

If you know me, you know that I have a pretty strong aversion to pine nuts (I got pine nut syndrome once about 12 years ago, and I entirely avoided pine nuts until earlier this year.  Yes, it was that awful that I just avoided them entirely for more than a decade.)  I still am very, very cautious with pine nuts, and pine nut crumble on a flight absolutely did not seem worth the risk, so I asked to have that left off, which was no problem (it is an option even listed on the menu to make it nut free for allergies anyway).

The shrimp was pretty "eh".  A decent portion of 5 shrimp (particularly considering the sizable pork shoulder I had as well).  It was a bit of an odd, soft texture and only lukewarm.  It wasn't rubbery, nor fishy, but, the texture was just a bit off for me.  I also didn't care for the very oily salsa verde.  Again, not a flavor profile I tend to go for, but also, wow, it was oily.  I extracted my shrimp from the pool and dipped them in the carrot puree instead.  As requested, the crumble was left off (I meant that I didn't want it at all, but it was provided on the side).

Overall, it was ok, I did eat all the shrimp with the other sauce, but, it did let me down.  **+.

Pork Shoulder.
(Cracklings on the side).

"Almond romesco, jus, cracklin."

The pork shoulder however was glorious.  Glorious.  Wowzer.  I knew to expect it, having had great pork shoulder on previous JetBlue flights, but, it really was wonderous.  

The portion was quite sizable.  Imagine having that, plus the chicken dish, plus the 5 shrimp?  That would be a mega-meal.  It was piping hot - not too hot, but considerably warmer than the shrimp.  All good things.

The pork was tender, flavorful, and just kinda melted in my mouth, the fat rendered well.  Just really nicely prepared, and shocking to have on a flight (unless, of course, you've had it on JetBlue flights before, and know how good it can be).  Definitely restaurant quality, and better than you find many places.  

The almond romesco was also glorious.  Very flavorful, nicely seasoned, and it went great with both the pork and the shrimp.  While I left all the salsa verde behind from the shrimp, the same was not the case with this.  I lapped up every last bit, and if I had pulled out my bread, I certainly would have used it to get every last bit.  So good.

The cracklings I had on the side so they wouldn't get soggy, and they were again excellent.  Crispy, fatty, porky, and I'd gladly eat a bag full of them.  It is a good thing they are just used as a garnish!

A fabulous dish, restaurant quality, and totally redeemed the others.  I'll continue to get the pork shoulder whenever offered, and this sauce was a particularly good one too.  ****+.

Vanilla Gelato
(Toppings on the side).

"Bananas foster, almond honey granola."

The gelato was served with our main dishes, which wasn't ideal, but since I asked for my toppings on the side, it didn't melt too badly, and the granola didn't get soggy.  I was warned that the bananas foster topping was quite hot, and indeed, it was.

This was definitely one of the better gelato creations I've had with the new catering.  I do still miss the special ice cream flavors from the port of departure that JetBlue used to have, but, these toppings were a step above the others since the changeover.

The gelato was standard vanilla bean gelato, fairly high quality.  It melted nicely, and was quite creamy.  No freezer burn nor ice crystals.  Visible vanilla bean specks.  A good base for a sundae.

The bananas foster was very sweet, but, with enough gelato, it balanced out nicely.  This was a topping that worked really well warm, and honestly felt quite fancy.  The banana pieces were soft and mushy, but in a way that works for a dessert topping.  There was plenty of warm flavorful sauce as well, again, sweet, but it worked with the gelato.  Previous versions of different warm fruit toppings were always an unbalanced sweet, and just not that great, but this was a winner.  If I could improve it in one way, I'd add whipped cream for further balance.

The almond honey granola was nice for a bit of crunch, and had slices of almond in it.  Fairly average granola, no more, no less.

Overall, one of the best of the new catering, ***+.

December 2021 Flight

Flight Details:

Departure: SFO, 11:00 am (scheduled) 11:15am (actual)
Arrival: BOS, 7:15 pm
Seat: 4F (single suite)
Class: Mint

We finished boarding early, even though a full flight.  We pushed back early.  But ... for some reason, it took forever to take off.  We were #3 for takeoff for at least 20 mins.  Still, given the seasonal winds, we were due in early.

My crew was great - not invasive, but on top of things.  Not fake friendly, but kind.  For example, they anticipated when I'd run out of sparkling water, and were back with a refill before I even had to ask.   One saw I had spilt some wine and quickly came back with napkins.  The little touches really did matter.

Food & Drink

Menu & Ordering

Menus were waiting at our seats, and our orders were taken once underway.  Drinks served one by one afterwards, with meals to follow, about an hour and 15 mins into the flight for the drinks, meals by an hour and 45 mins, a bit later than usual, but I was in row 4, so I was near the end of service.  Even with a mask on, the aroma in the cabin was amazing, and I was very much ready for my meal once it arrived!

This was my forth flight with the new catering and everything was really fantastic.  The meal seemed Italian themed, and I was impressed with how well the dishes worked together.

Menu.

WELCOME SNACK

• ROTATING SELECTION

SMALL PLATES
Choose three. 

Please note the first two dishes are served chilled.

• CHOPPED SALAD salami, provolone, roasted tomatoes, olives
• BURRATA zucchini, pine nuts*, basil, mint
• WARM TOMATO TART goat cheese, basil 
• SEA TROUT cannellini bean puree, roasted tomatoes, garlic bread crumbs
• CHICKEN CACCIATORE tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, rosemary breadcrumbs

DESSERT

• VANILLA GELATO preserved blackberries, almond crunch

PARTING  GIFT

• CHOCOLATE COVERED CASHEWS / Hu Kitchen, NY 

My choices were easy, as I loath goat cheese and chicken.  The pine nuts with the burrata would normally cause me not to order it (I got pine nut syndrome once, and it was HORRIBLE, but luckily, it was available without, for allergy reasons).

Drinks

Cocktails, Beer, Liquor.

The drink lineup as always featured beer, liquor, soft drinks, tea, and coffee.

In addition to the signature Mint Condition cocktail, the same "AL PASTOR MARGARITA" as my last flight was on offer.  Both are available as mocktails.

Wine List.

The wine list had the usual winter offerings of one sparkling, two white, and two red wines, 

• AT ROCA CLASSIC PENEDÈS SP 2018 • SPANISH SPARKLING
• SOHM & KRACHER GRÜNER VELTLINER • AUSTRIA 2020 • CRISP WHITE
• JEAN-MARC ROULOT BOURGOGNE BLANC WHITE BURGUNDY • FRANCE 2018 • FULL-BODIED WHITE 
• WEST COUNTY RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR • CALIFORNIA • 2018 • LIGHT RED 
• TIBERIO MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO • ITALY • 2020 • BIG RED

I'm not normally a white wine drinker, but the white burgundy gets great reviews.  I was also interested in the montepulciano as I rarely see it offered, and of course, a pinot noir is always a solid choice.

Jean-Marc Roulot Bourgogne Blanc.

"Made from small vineyards in and around the prime area of Meursault, this Bourgogne Blanc is 100% chardonnay, and evokes Granny Smith apples, brioche, and a bit of salt. "

I asked for a small pour of the white burgundy, mostly because I wanted to try it.  Plus, I knew it would pair well with the fish.

It was actually really lovely.  I was quite surprised.  I guess there *is* a reason it gets such great reviews, and a quick Google search says its a $80 bottle?  It was not acidic, smooth, buttery, slightly sweet, just, quite complex, and the best white wine I've had in ages.

****, and I'd gladly get it again.

It was served kinda warm though, certainly not chilled, so, sadness on that aspect.

Tiberio Montepulciano.

"After Cristiana Tiberio worked at some of the best wineries in Europe, she returned home to the Italian region of Abruzzo inspired to make the highest quality, organic wine from the full-bodied and earthy red grape Montepulciano. "

But what I really wanted was the "bold red", because it is not a common varietal for me, and I thought it would go well with the salami in the chopped salad, and the burrata.

It was an excellent wine.  Big, bold, for sure.  Full bodied, but not acidic, not too much tannin, but it definitely had something going on.  Pretty sure I got the first pour of the bottle, as I had little bits of cork floating in it.

****, and I'd get it again.

West Country Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

"Made in Sonoma County Russian River Valley—a prime area for California Pinot Noir—this classic Pinot is a light to medium-bodied wine full of floral, cranberry, and wild strawberry flavors."

Later in my flight, I couldn't help but try the pinot as well, as I do like pinot.

It was fine - a touch of acid, but basically no tannin.  Mild, light, drinkable, but not particularly interesting.  ***.

Food

The food was quite good.  Better than most international business class, restaurant quality, really.  Not top restaurant, but, reasonable restaurant.  I was very pleased with my meal, from start to finish.  I was particularly impressed with how well the different dishes went together.  It felt like a true tasting menu, designed from start to finish.

Grissini.

The "rotating selection" of welcome snack was the same grissini I had last time, again, a nice change from nuts, but nothing like the welcome snacks with great dips that the prior Mint catering featured.  Still, they were crispy, savory, salty, cheesy, and fun to munch on.

***.

Lunch!

I finally remembered to ask for my gelato AFTER the meal, so my tray was delivered with just my savory items.  

All of my modifications were done with no trouble, which I was pleased to see.  It was all *excellent*.  I've raved about some other Mint meals with this new catering, and although nothing was quite as memorable as the delicious pork shoulder from my first round of this catering, it was all very good, restaurant quality, not just good airline food.

Bread, Oil, Salt.

A new addition since my last flight was a bread roll.  As before, a lovely tin of large maldon salt and chile oil came with it.  And again, no pepper.  Of course, I was prepared and had my own.

The roll was ... fine.  Served quasi warm.  It didn't taste stale, but, it was airline bread.  However, my meal had some excellent sauces, and I appreciated having it to drag through the sauces and soak them up.

** bread, but **** oil and salt.

Chopped Salad (Dressing on the Side).

"Salami, provolone, roasted tomatoes, olives."

Sometimes the FA working the galley has a tendency to overdress the salads, or, sometimes, I just hate the dressing (as I'm not a fan of viniagrette), so I finally thought to ask to have the dressing on the side.  This was no problem, and it even came in an adorable little pitcher.  They were prepared for this kind of modification, clearly!

The salad was very good.  The base was hunks of romaine and raddichio, all the perfect size, and very fresh and crisp.  I love raddichio, and was pleased with the bitterness it added to the salad.

All of the toppings were great too - the salami was fatty and meaty, not really my thing, but it added some Italian flair.  The shards of provolone were really good - a sharp, nutty cheese, it really reminded me of a high quality parmesan more than provolone.  The roasted tomatoes were soft and flavorful, and combined with the roasted tomatoes in my main dish (the fish), they added a cohesive quality to the meal.  The olives, green, were briny and salty, again, a good Italian element, but not really my favorite.

Finally, the dressing, Italian viniagrette, not my thing, so I was thrilled I had it on the side.  I had my own dressing with me, which I greatly preferred.  Only thing missing here was pepper, but, I had that too.

Overall, a well thought out salad, and I was particularly impressed with how fresh the lettuces were, and how it was a big step up from a generic mixed greens with carrots and cucumbers garden salad.

***+.

Burrata (No Pine Nuts).

"Zucchini, pine nuts*, basil, mint."

I love burrata, JetBlue normally has decent burrata, and they let me order it without the pine nuts (the menu even had a * to say you could order without).  Phew.

The portion, as with previous flights, was huge, a full size bulb of fresh burrata.  Really kinda a lot for a person to just eat in one sitting, particularly with two other courses, AND gelato coming, but hey, I was not really complaining.  It was again good burrata, not the best I've ever had, but, seemed ripe and bursting with cream.  Mmm, burrata.

I was very surprised by the zucchini, I figured I'd just avoid it, not my favorite veggie, but actually, both it (and the not-on-menu summer squash) were quite tasty.  A cold dish, so they were cold, but well cooked, and remarkably well seasoned.  I added them to my salad, which was an excellent move.  I think the squash was a bit weird of a pairing with the burrata, but, it worked very well with my salad.  I did find myself wishing I had some crackers to spread the burrata on.

And finally, underneath the burrata was pesto!  So that is where the basil and mint were hiding.  That said ... I quasi feared that there was pine nuts in the pesto.  Gulp.  The pesto also went great with the fish, and would have worked for salad dressing if I hadn't brought my own.  The bread was useful here to lap some up too.  

***+.

Sea Trout.

"Cannellini bean puree, roasted tomatoes, garlic bread crumbs."

I know, I ordered fish on a plane, and, I did so when it came with beans (I'm generally pretty meh on beans), but, since I certainly didn't want the goat cheese tart nor the chicken, and I *do* like fish in "real" life, I still got it.

The presentation was lovely, honestly, it looked restaurant quality.  My breadcrumbs were provided on the side, perhaps because I had asked for the other modifications?  I'm not sure, I didn't ask for that here.

Anyway, the surprise hit of the dish was ... the bean purree!  I really enjoyed it.  It was not a pure puree, it had chunks left in it, and was incredibly flavorful, loaded with garlic.  With the soft roasted tomatoes, it was kinda fabulous.  

The fish was fine, it was clearly reheated airline fish, fully cooked, a tad dry, but, the piece was a good size, seemed high enough quality, wasn't fishy.  I certainly would have wanted a sauce for this, but luckily I had the pesto with the burrata, and pesto went perfectly with the fish, beans, and tomatoes.

**** for the beans and tomatoes, *** for the fish, ***+ overall.

Vanilla Gelato.

"Preserved blackberries, almond crunch."

You know I'm a dessert girl, and love my ice cream, so it should come as no surprise that I was happy about the finish to the meal.  As always with the new catering, it was just vanilla gelato as a base, and came with a fruit topping (blackberry) and crunchy element (almond crunch).

The gelato was kinda rock solid, so perhaps I should have asked for it with the meal, as it took a while to soften, but, that was fine, as I was stuffed from my meal anyway, and appreciated the digestion time.  The gelato was really quite good, lovely vanilla bean flavor, perfect soft creamy texture once it had some time.

The blackberry topping was warm, and, like most of the fruit toppings, I wasn't really into ... just, too sweet.  They really over sweeten the fruit toppings it seems, and I like my sweets!  So, eh to that, although I did like having a fruit component.

And finally, almond "crunch", which was kinda like a granola.  I definitely liked having the crunchy element.

Overall, this was a sundae that ate well, even though I'd prefer fresh fruit, or just less sweetened fruit topping, it still sealed the deal nicely.  The gelato in particular was really quite good.

***+.

August 2021 Flight

Flight Details:

Departure: SFO, 2:00pm (scheduled) 2:05pm (actual)
Arrival: BOS, 10:50pm (scheduled) 
Duration: h m 
Seat: 2F (single suite)
Class: Mint

The flight was average to below average.  We took off in a timely manner, and it wasn't too turbulent, but everything else was highly "meh".

The TVs did not work ... for anyone, in the entire plane.  No compensation was offered.  Not that I use it a lot, but, I do appreciate listening to music, or watching TV while I eat.   The wifi was quite slow, clearly struggling with everyone needing to use it.

The crew were not as friendly as usual for JetBlue, but average in terms of other airlines.  They didn't offer things like lemon nor lime with sparkling water, weren't proactive in clearing trays, asking if we wanted anything else, etc, but were otherwise ... "fine".

Amenities

Amenity Kit.

The revamped amenity kit makes me laugh, but in a good way.

It has the expected socks, lip stuff, and moisturizer, but also, some immunity gummies, deodorant wipe, and little packets you mix into water with caffeine-antioxidants.  Nearly every item was reasonably useful.

Food & Drink

Menu & Ordering

Menus were waiting at our seats, and our orders were taken once underway.  Drinks served one by one afterwards, with meals to follow, about an hour into the flight for the drinks, meals by 1.5 hours.

This was my second flight with the new catering and ... well, the food was probably my least favorite on any JetBlue flight, from any era.  Much sadness.  

Menu.

The menu card looked nicer, but format was basically the same: still a welcome snack, choice of 3 small plates from 5 (2 chilled, 3 vegetarian, classic steak and chicken, no seafood),  dessert (now called dessert, not "sweet bites".  No fruit offered now, but dessert is composed), and a parting gift (no longer Milk cookies, wah!).

The menu was as follows:

WELCOME SNACK

• ROTATING SELECTION

SMALL PLATES
Choose three. 

Please note the first two dishes are served chilled.

• BABY LETTUCE pickled pears, parmigiano, tarragon vinaigrette
• ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES cucumbers, goat cheese, italian vinaigrette
• LASAGNA late summer tomatoes, ricotta
• CHICKEN PAILLARD arugula, parmigiano, lemon
• FLAT IRON STEAK summer squash caponata

DESSERT

• VANILLA GELATO / roasted rum pineapple, vanilla crumble.

PARTING  GIFT

• CHOCOLATE COVERED CASHEWS / Hu Kitchen, NY 

For my 3 dishes, I knew I wanted a refreshing dish, so the first one, the baby lettuce salad, was a no brainer.  I also know lasagna works well on flights, so that was also an easy choice.  Given that I hate chicken, I easily eliminated that.  The last two though ... the roasted tomato was kinda interesting, but, I loathe goat cheese, and steak, while something I enjoy, is often over-cooked, and I'm not really into caponata. I decided on the chilled dish, and asked for no goat cheese, but alas, it was already added.  I hoped it would be easy to eat around (spoiler: it was not).

I didn't really like anything.

Drinks

This flight was in August 2021, so because they were still following COVID protocols, no welcome drink was offered.

Coffee, Tea, Etc.

The drink lineup as always featured cider, beer, liquor, soft drinks, tea, and coffee, although there were some changes to the wine, and more notably, the cocktail programs.

In addition to the signature Mint Condition cocktail, a new seasonal offering was available, the "AL PASTOR MARGARITA" with corazón tequila, pineapple, chile, and lime.  Both are available as mocktails.

Wine List.

The wine list had the usual offerings of one sparkling, one white, one rose, and two red wines, 

• PARIGOT & RICHARD LA SENTINELLE CRÉMANT DE BOURGOGNE, FR, NV
• PRESQU’ILE CHARDONNAY SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA 2018
• TRIENNES ROSÉ CINSAULT BLEND, PROVENCE, FR
• NERVI-CONTERNO GATTINARA NEBBIOLO, IT 2017
• LÓPEZ DE HEREDIA VIÑA CUBILLO TEMPRANILLO, RIOJA, SP 2012

I couldn't decide between the red wines, as neither are what I normally go for, so I asked to try both.  Sadly I didn't care for either, which is a shame, as JetBlue often has some really nice wines.

Drinks.

I was given full pours of each, even though I asked just to try them.  Our drinks were served with the "rotating selection" of a welcome snack, which turned out to be just salted almonds.  I of course also got my lime Bubly, which was not offered with lemon or lime, as they often do.

López de heredia viña cubillo, Tempranillo, rioja, sp 2012.

"López de Heredia is a legendary Rioja estate run by its matriarch, María José López de Heredia. They

are the top producer of the region and arguably in all of Spain. Their wines are earthy and fullbodied. The Cubillo is aged for seven years before release, which makes all the smoky and spicy flavors more robust. "

The tempranillo was ... fine.  Not a grape I pick often, and, it tasted a little metallic and a little ... bloody, if that makes sense in the way rare ahi tuna can.  It wasn't offensive, but I certainly didn't care for it much at all.   Retails for ~25 bottle, lower range than JetBlue previously served.

Nervi-conterno gattinara, Nebbiolo, it 2017.

"Roberto Conterno of Barolo fame recently purchased Nervi, a historic site in the region of Gattinara,

a small village above Piedmont. The wine is full but fresh—with flavors of licorice, cherry, and

spice—and a balance of richness and snap."

The nebbiolo was a little better.  Again, not a grape I pick often.  It was a bit bolder, a touch more tannin than I really like.  This is a $50 bottle, so I think my not loving it was really just preference, nothing to do with the wine being bad.  

Presqu’ile chardonnay, Santa barbara county, ca 2018.

"Santa Barbara County is emerging as California’s premiere region for pinot noir and chardonnay. The

wines from there are distinctively Californian, but have a lighter and crisp edge in comparison to the wines of Sonoma and Napa Valley. This winery is all organic."

Later, out of boredom, I tried the chardonnay.  I don't drink white wine often, but, JetBlue has served some pretty nice chardonnays before.  It was nice, slightly buttery, not too much acid.  My favorite of the wines.

Food

Now, getting into the good stuff, or, what I hoped would be the good stuff: the food!

Linner.

My meal was a bit of a tactical error on my part, for just going with the flow.

Our meals were served all at once - all 3 savory dishes AND the rapidly melting gelato.  I forgot to ask for the gelato later, rather than immediately with my meal as they do by default now.  Doh.  I knew better.

I also should have delayed my meal somewhat, which is always an option, and waiting to eat until more like 3:30pm, since I had lunch at home right before the flight, and I was not actually hungry.

The meal came with a high end flaked sea salt and oil.  No pepper.  And no bread offering, so the oils were a bit odd - really nothing to use them on ...

Still, I really like the salt, and I was happy to just take the flavored oil home with me.

Baby Lettuce.

"Pickled pears, parmigiano, tarragon vinaigrette."

Well, I can't fairly evaluate this as it was DROWNING in the dressing. Granted, I don't care for vinaigrette in general, but this was so so so over dressed.  I couldn't even salvage the lower pieces, as the dressing was literally between every layer.  The baby lettuce was crisp though, but, catering fail destroyed this.

My portion had a single piece of the pear, it too was destroyed by the dressing, so, I can't say much about it.

I couldn't finish this, even though it was small.  I would have sent this back at a restaurant.

*.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.

"Cucumbers, goat cheese, Italian vinaigrette."

I had hoped to be able to eat around the goat cheese but ... it was sprinkled all over it.  No avoiding it.

Otherwise, this was a decent dish.  Big chunks of cucumbers, and the roasted cherry tomatoes really were quite flavorful.  I appreciated the sprigs of basil too.  It was also over dressed with vinaigrette, but not quite as badly as the first dish.

**+.

Lasagna.

"Late summer tomatoes, ricotta."

And finally, my hot dish: lasagna.

The lasagna was a very simple, as I knew it would be given the description, a vegetarian offering, but without any added veggies to amp it up.  Just, noodles, cheese, basic tomato sauce.  Simplicity can be good, but this was just lackluster.

The roasted tomatoes from the chilled dish were nice to add to it, but it really needed more.  Even some pesto maybe?  A very boring, very very average lasagna, that I'd be horribly disappointed with in a restaurant.

**+.

Vanilla Gelato.

"Roasted rum pineapple, vanilla crumble."

The new dessert offering is a mixed bag.  Rather than unique offerings from a local ice cream shop in each city of departure, it is always the same base: vanilla gelato.  Rather than 3 scoops as it was before, 2 kinds, it is now just one scoop.  Just vanilla.  Always vanilla.

But, that said, it is really quite good gelato.  Creamy, rich, good vanilla flavor.  And, it now comes with toppings, always something fruity and something crunchy.  This version had sweet pineapple (stewed in rum syrup?), a fun summer fruity offering, but not what I'd really pick.  The fruit is lightly warmed, a nice touch.  The crumble just added a little texture.

Overall, good gelato, eh toppings, and the only dish that I enjoyed.

***.