Alaska Airlines First Class Dining, SFO - SEA

My first flight on Alaska Airlines.  Just a short flight, so not tons to evaluation, but, I was reasonably impressed.

Flight Details

Flight: AS 1099

Aircraft: 737-800

Departure: SFO, 5:45pm

Arrival: SEA, 7:57 pm

Seat: 1C

Cabin and Service

This adventure, my first on Alaska Airlines, did not start out favorably.  The evening before my flight, our aircraft, planned to be a 737-900, got swapped for a smaller 737-800.  It had fewer rows.  Including the one I had booked.  When I went to do online check-in, exactly 24 hours before takeoff, as I diligently do, I was met with an error message, no seat assignment, and instructed to bring my travel documents, and see a gate agent.  Doh.

I did use chat with the Alaska Airlines staff online, both that evening, and the day of the flight, trying to get more info, but all I knew was that the flight was now very oversold, and they couldn't give me any indication of where on the list I was, or what my chances were of getting a seat assignment.  They did tell me that status mattered, and since this was my first flight with Alaska, I clearly had none.

Anyway, much stress, getting to the airport early, etc, etc, and I did get a seat.  1C, so no under seat storage, no foot rest, but, hey, it was a seat, on my originally scheduled flight.

Flight attendants were reasonably friendly, although did require I put away my Chromebook, even when converted to tablet mode, for takeoff, because it had a keyboard.  Most airlines don't care if it is in tablet mode (particularly if flying a premium class).  

There were no pre-departure beverages offered, although we did have boxed water waiting at our seats.  Alaska has gone no plastic, just like SFO airport itself.

Meal

Even though it is a relatively short flight, <2 hours, Alaska does offer a meal service in First Class.

Menu.

The menu was pretty boring.  All cold meals.  Two kinds of cheese plates, either with crackers, fruit, and a truffle, or with naan, ham, and labneh, a salad, or wrap.  I was interested in the labneh that came on the protein platter, but wanted an actual meal, and I'm allergic to avocado (which was in the wrap), so, I had really only one choice: the wedge salad.   I pre-ordered in advance, as did nearly every passenger.

Straightaway Oregon Old Fashioned.

"The Old Fashioned is revered for its versatility and simplicity. This variation on the classic speaks to wistful days spent in Milton-Freewater, OR, and we’ve transposed our fondness for the Pacific Northwest bouquet into our own bitters. Whether consumed around a mountain-top campfire or from the safety of your drawing room, tradition has it that one’s first Old Fashioned should be served by a friend."

Drink orders were taken very quickly once underway.  Assuming the domestic red wines would be lackluster, and excited that they had canned cocktails from Straightaway, a Portland based brand.  I was even more excited they had the old fashioned (often my cocktail of choice anyway), I opted for that, along with sparkling water.  Both came served in glasses with tons of ice.  My seatmate went for the other canned cocktail, the margarita, but made skinny, e.g. mixed with some soda water.  Those were the only cocktails available on the flight, but Straightaway also makes a slew of other great sounding cocktails (bottled or canned).

The cocktail was good.  Very boozy.  Basically, well, a reasonably made old fashioned.  I did lament not having a cherry or citrus zest garnish, which Straightaway even says you should add if you are "civilized".  ****.

Wedge Salad.

"Roasted red potato | red onion | blue cheese | roasted tomato | Applewood bacon | vinaigrette."

I had read reviews of the salad, all of which mention that it was quite small, but I still wasn't prepared for how tiny it was.  The amount of lettuce was remarkable ... in that there was barely any.  This was an appetizer sized salad, and I often think portion sizes are ridiculously large, but this, yeah, wow.  It was a snack salad.

That said, it was a good salad.  The lettuce was crisp.  The thin sliced red onion added a nice acidity.  The potatoes gave it a bit of substance, some needed carbs.  The "roasted tomato" seemed more like sun-dried, but they were flavorful and fairly juicy.  I don't generally get excited for blue cheese, but this too was actually fairly good, not too funky, just enough, and it added a slight creamy element.  The bacon was pretty greasy and flabby and not very good, so I salvaged the most crispy bits and ditched the rest, a bit of a shame.  But overall, it really was a good salad, just, so tiny.  If I could add anything to it, besides a larger portion, I'd add something for crunch, maybe some candied nuts?

The salad didn't come with anything else (besides some crackers), which I knew to expect, so I brought my own chips.  There was also no dessert (besides a chocolate), so I brought my own fruit and cookies.  I assumed I wouldn't like the vinaigrette, so of course, I had my own condiments - a different dressing, furikake, salt & pepper, onion and garlic powder, and steamed asparagus and broccoli jazz up the salad and round it out.  #alwaysPrepared.  The vinaigrette was fine, but, yes, a vinaigrette. It seemed to have some parmesan cheese in it maybe?  I did end up drizzling it over my broccoli and asparagus.

So overall, yes, good, particularly when I added to it, but, beware of the small size, and don't count on this for a full meal.  ***+.