Aldo Lamberti Trattoria, Philadelphia Airport

As you've been reading, I recently had a layover at the Philadelphia Airport, my first time.  After stopping at Red Mango for froyo immediately upon landing, and picking up takeout from Legal Seafood for my next flight, it was time to grab some savory food to actually eat then.

I know that the order in which I did things didn't make sense in many ways.  Yes, ideally, I'd get my savory lunch first.  Follow it with froyo.  And pick up the takeout last.  But each was in a different terminal, and I landed in the terminal with the Red Mango, was passing through the one with Legal Seafood on the way, and took off out of the one with Aldo Lamberti Trattoria, where I wanted my savory food.  I could have just picked other establishments that made more sense logistically, obviously.  There were a slew of options.  But I did my research, and I knew what I wanted.  Red Mango and Legal Seafood were not new to me, but Aldo Lamberti Trattoria was.

Reviews told me that it was the place to go for good pizza.  Not just good pizza for an airport, good pizza in general.  Pizza may not be what I often pick, but sometimes there is a place for it, and it certainly sounded better than lackluster sandwiches or salads, or random fast food.  The reviews did not lead my astray.

I'm not familiar with the Lamberti name, but I guess they own a handful of Italian places in New Jersey, and one in Philadelphia.  This is obviously a fast concept for an airport, with everything pre-made, but the quality still showed.

Menu Board.

The menu board was pretty simple: pizza, salads, sandwiches, paninis (oh, and breakfast, including french toast!)

No frills here, and nothing to imply it would be any better than the slew of other airport dining options.  I hoped my research paid off.

Specialty Pizzas.

They make a variety of pizzas throughout the day, so options are always changing, and nothing is labelled.  The menu just lists "cheese", "1 topping", or "specialty".  I felt obnoxious, but asked the server what they all were. He rattled them off with ease, so I'm sure this is common.

I was tempted by nearly all of them.  The margarita and margarita with sausage looked incredible, the fresh mozzarella perfectly melted.  Then there was the buffalo chicken and bbq chicken, with fantastic looking sauces and toppings.  And plenty of classics like onions, peppers, and sausage.  I think probably 10-15 types total?

The pizzas are pre-made, and looked varying degrees of fresh.  All slices are heated to order in the oven, and handed over once they look good as new again.

Sandwiches, Paninis, Salads.

A few assorted premade salads (caesar, house, caprese) and sandwiches came next.  I imagine they heat the paninis up too.

Prices were very reasonable, <$5 for a small salad, $8 for a large.

Desserts, Fruit, Drinks.

An assortment of other treats completed the lineup, including cookies, tiramisu, and some really, really good looking muffins.  If I hadn't just chowed down on a massive Red Mango froyo, and hadn't just picked up Legal Seafood takeout for my next flight, I definitely would have taken one to eat on my next flight.

Specialty Pizza: Margarita with Sausage. $5.50.

And finally: the pizza!

Slices are huge, served in slice shaped boxes.  I loved the boxes, and, our slice literally fit perfectly.  How did they do that?

My research paid off.  This was good pizza.

The crust was thin, crispy.  The sauce flavorful and tangy, plenty of it.  The fresh mozzarella perfectly melted (Ojan thought there wasn't enough, but I actually like this style with it in islands on top and not encompassing the entire thing).  A generous amount of nicely seasoned well sized sausage chunks.  Fresh torn basil.

Overall, very good.  No real complaints here.  Actually, shockingly good, particularly given that this was airport food, and, it wasn't made fresh to order.

The price of only $5.50 was also a shocker (plain cheese was only $4 and a single topping $4.75.)  Seriously? In an airport?  For a monster slice?  Incredible.

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Koi Palace Express, SFO

Update Review, October 2019

Another day, another mid-day return through SFO with delays (this time, with a airport wide power outage taking down ... everything, including border control, global entry, baggage claim!).  Let's just say, I was hungry, but time zone confused, and had no idea what I really wanted by the time I finally escaped and was able to get food.

Thus, Koi Place Express it was as I knew it was reliable enough (see my earlier reviews, starting with the original in 2017, and from early and later in 2018) .  I was pleased with my order.

Price Increase!

The label on the salad made me laugh - crossed out price with new, higher, price written on it (which is fine, inflation, yadda yadda), and the "NET WT (0 g)".  If you are going to bulk print labels, uh ... not sure about that weight - weightless salad!.

Kale Salad w/ Chicken ... Minus Chicken.

The salad was exactly as I remembered.

Torn crispy kale, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots.  All crisp and fresh enough.  A decent base for the salad.

I removed the lackluster looking chicken (since I didn't want it anyway, and can't order without), and added some of my own ingredients, and turned it into a nice salad.

The peanut sauce I again thought was delicious, just, not with the salad.  It is far too thick and rich to be a salad dressing.  (I used a mayo based korean spicy sauce + poke sauce instead, which worked great!). The peanut sauce I later used for other things.

Sesame Balls.

The sesame balls were good, but I thought they'd be slightly warm (why were they with the hot foods if not?), but, alas, just room temp.

Still, decent sesame balls, good crunch from the sesame seeds, nice soft glutenous rice wrapper, plentiful sesame paste filling. Good for a treat, but not sweet, when time zone confused and kinda just want ... something.

I took the rest home, heated in toaster oven for a few minutes, and liked them *much* more.  Being served warm really makes a difference.

Update Review, July 2018

Another day, another early afternoon arrival at SFO, with my logical side saying, "you should probably get lunch, at least to eat in the cab in a bit, its past lunch time here", and with my body saying, "its 6am, and you've already had two breakfast courses, what on earth are you talking about? Let me sleep!"

On these days, I always wish there was a Napa Farms Market *outside* security so I could grab something reasonably light (they really do make some tasty stuff, see review).  The options in the food court in the International Arrivals terminal are ... limited.  Burritos, Wendy's, greasy Chinese ... and Koi Palace, which I often resort to (see previous reviews below).

This time I tried something new, a grab-n-go item since the lines for the hot food were really long, and, I really didn't think I wanted a full hot meal anyway.  I was impressed with the quality of the fresher food.

Vietnamese Spring Roll. $8.95.

Grab-n-go chilled items are limited to a few types of sushi (like the California roll I have reviewed before), a chicken salad (also tried that), and, an item I don't think I had seen before, fresh spring rolls.  And, of course, the mango pudding (I had my first time)

The idea of something lighter like this was quite appealing after my ~24 hours of flying, and feasting out of boredom on every flight, in every airport lounge, in every airport along my journey.

They only offered one variety: shrimp.

The serve was two massive spring rolls, not appetizer sized at all, with a pot of peanut sauce on the side, for $8.95.  For airport food, this was actually pretty reasonable.

Vietnamese Spring Roll & Peanut Sauce.

The rolls were well constructed, nicely wrapped up.  They didn't fall apart, not even after a few hours when I had the second one.  The rice paper wrapper was soft and pliable, not too thick, not dried out.

The shrimp were 3 pieces in each, right along the skin to show off, but were cut in half, so, this was actually only 1.5 shrimp total in each roll.  The shrimp was fine, not rubbery, properly deveined, but not exactly substantial.

I'm fairly certain the spring roll sauce was the same I had with the kale/cabbage/chicken salad before, and I liked it this time around too.  A bit oily, and it did separate and require mixing, but, good flavor from the soy and peanut. I think it really was just soy/peanut/sugar/salt, not really spiced in any way, but still, good enough.

Vietnamese Spring Roll: Inside.

The rolls were generously stuffed with greens (mint, lettuce, cilantro), shredded carrots, batons of cucumber, and vermicelli.  And ... apple slices.

All ingredients were fresh and crisp, and in good proportion.

The apples were a bit weird.  They were fresh, juicy, not turning brown, and added a refreshing bite, but, apples?  Usually I see something like jicama instead.

Overall though, very well made, very fresh spring rolls.

Update Review, February 2018

Sometimes, I get off a flight ravenous, because the in-flight options were less than spectacular.  Usually when that happens, I'm traveling domestic, in terminal 2, where I have plenty of great options air side to grab a quick bite on my way out, like Napa Farms Market or even Pinkberry.  But on my recent trip from Sydney, it was international, which meant, I wasn't able to get food until I cleared customs and everything, and thus was left with the pre-security food court.

Options were limited.  I considered just getting in a cab and heading home, but, I wanted salad.  It had been a long, decadent time in Sydney, and my body was clearly missing vegetables.  And, then, once I saw it, I wanted sushi.  So I got these things.  From Koi Palace of all places.

Sometimes, you just want what you want.  Even if it doesn't make sense.  Koi Palace is a good restaurant, but, their SFO outpost hasn't impressed before, and, um, salad and sushi is not at all what they specialize in.

They had only one salad, pre-packaged, and it had chicken.  I still got it.  The sushi I wanted was a California roll, even though made with imitation crab, even though made with avocado that I'm allergic to.  Just go with it.

My selections I'm sure weren't actually very good, but, I enjoyed them at the time.

California Role. $10.95.

The sushi was pretty basic, imitation crab, avocado, cucumber, seaweed wrapper, rice, sesame seeds.  I was impressed by the amount of crab filling actually, which I think is why I decided I wanted this.  I like "krab"!

And the krab was fine, shredded, pretty standard.  The rice was fine.  The ginger was fine.  The soy sauce was a packet of Kikoman's.  The wasabi was fine.

All, fine.  Worth $10.95 for 8 pieces?  Nah.  But it was airport sushi, from a Chinese restaurant.  It was what it was, and I liked it at the time.

Kale Salad W/Chicken. $12.95.

I was really, really craving salad though.  They had one type of salad, just called a "Kale Salad w/ Chicken", but I'd call it more of a Asian kale and cabbage slaw with grilled chicken and peanut sauce.  Which might be a bit more of an indication of why I picked it.  If it was just kale and chicken, meh!

Kale Salad w/Chicken: Close Up.

The base was shredded cabbage in assorted colors, shredded carrot, and shredded kale. All very crispy, and what I was in the mood for, it turned out.

On top was sliced  almonds, which I appreciated for the crunch, but I would have preferred something like fried wontons.

The dressing was very thick sesame peanut sauce, like you have with spring rolls.  In fact, I think it really was just spring roll or satay sauce.  Very thick, not a dressing, but quite tasty.  I thinned it with some soy sauce to make it a bit more dressing like, and used the rest to dip things in.

Original Review, June 2017

While I do a fair amount of airport dining, I don't usually dine at the San Francisco airport, particularly landside (not sure I've EVER done this actually), as it is my home base, and I usually just head home for food once I arrive.  But on a recent flight I was delayed taking off in Boston, and by the time I arrived in San Francisco, it was dinner time, and I didn't have anything waiting at home.  It seemed easier to just get a bite at the airport.

I was in the International Terminal, which has two landside food courts (North and South).  I actually almost went to Wendy's, as I haven't had Wendy's since I was in high school, and fondly remember my order of Biggie Fries, Small Chili with Cheese, and a Junior Vanilla Frosty (each from the $1 menu at the time).  But the International Terminal has been trying to bring in better options, and more local offerings, so I needed to check those out.

I headed to Koi Palace Express, an offshoot of the popular Koi Palace in Daly City.  They also have a second Express location airside in the International Terminal.

It ... was mediocre, generic food court food, and served at airport prices.  Not recommended.

Hot Wok Table, Dim Sum, Sushi.

The majority of the offerings were served from a steam table, as combo meals or individual entree, like any other generic Chinese food court offering, with items such as orange chicken, kung pao chicken, mapo tofu, etc, served with fried rice or lo mein.

They also had dim sum items available, again pre-made, on display in steamer baskets, including har gaw, pork bao, sui main, and sesame balls.  , They do make xia long bao to order.  The menu also listed other cook-to-order noodle dishes and rices, but they didn't have descriptions, and I never saw anyone order these.

The cold case had pre-made sushi rolls, seaweed salad, mango pudding, and drinks.

I'll admit, I was skeptical, as this looked like any food court asian offering, and really nothing like Koi Palace.  Do they even have sushi normally?

BBQ Pork Bao. $6.50.

After my long flight, what sounded good to me was simple, comforting, fluffy carbs.  So I got the BBQ Pork Bao, served 2 to an order for $6.50.  Ooph.  Not exactly dim sum prices.

Pork Bao: Inside.

The bun was good, soft, not dried out, not slimy, slightly sweet, very fluffy.  It tasted reasonably fresh.

But I didn't like the filling.  I was expecting BBQ pork, you know, little bits of pork in a strangely red sauce.  This was more like minced pork with onions?  The flavor just wasn't at all what I wanted.

Since I didn't care for the filling, I didn't really want these, even though I thought the dough was well done.  Would not get again.

Soy Sauce Chow Mein. $4.25.

My travel companion also sought simple comfort food, and for him, this was chow mein.  While most folks got this as the side to their combo meals, he went just for a side of the noodles.

The noodles were served from the steam tray, but were decent.  Basic noodles, not mushy, simple soy sauce flavoring, a few bits of green onion.  I thought this was really boring, but he seemed to enjoy, and they were good for what they were.

Mango Pudding. $6.50.

Finally, I wanted a sweet treat.

I was going to get the sesame balls or egg tarts, but, they really looked like they had been sitting there for far too long, so I opted for the mango pudding from the fridge instead.  Plus, I love pudding of all types.

It was thick and gelatinous, more like jello than what I think of as pudding.  It had some little bits of mango that I enjoyed, but was very, very sweet.

Overall, it was fine, but, I really wanted coconut milk, whipped cream, or something to compliment the otherwise boring pudding, so I brought it home, and added coconut whipped cream.  I enjoyed it much more this way.

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Airport Dining: Timberline Steaks & Grille, Denver Airport

Airport dining.  Ugh.

While sometimes I have fun with these types of "adventures", and sometimes I do find some gems, often dining at an airport is an act of necessity.  Which, my first adventure to Timberline Steaks & Grille was.  My second visit was just to give it one more shot, as I saw a little potential the first time.

So, my first visit.

I ended up taking a later flight than I wanted to Denver, CO, with a final destination of Boulder, CO, about an hour away.  I knew if I waited to eat dinner in Boulder it would be far too late, and at that point, I wanted to just check in to my hotel anyway.  So ... airport dining it was.

I was lucky enough to land in Concourse C, which I believe has the most dining options.  I opted for a full service restaurant, although in retrospect, I think I would have been happier just grabbing something at McDonald's or Einstein's bagels ...

"Timberline's menu offers organically raised natural beef and buffalo burgers, all natural chicken and USDA prime steaks, sandwiches and salads served in a log cabin atmosphere with 30 wines and 40 beer selections to choose from. Desserts include Kosher options and Haagan Daz ice cream."

Instead, I went to Timberline Steaks & Grille, a sports bar meets steakhouse, in the airport.  It was exactly what you'd expect.

Mediocre Dining: Visit #1.

Having just come off a flight, I was a fairly queasy, so opted for a rather boring lineup: a non-alcoholic drink, a salad, and of course, dessert.

The drink was awful, the food mediocre.  

The staff however were quite friendly, accommodating, and efficient.

Mediocre Dining: Visit #2.

My second visit was when I was leaving Denver, and had allowed plenty of time at the airport to get dinner before my 6:55pm flight, arriving at the airport before 5pm.  It ... was barely enough time, as security lines were very long, and I had quite a wait to be seated.

The food ... again mediocre.  The staff ... less friendly, although they work hard and it shows.

Setting

Storefront.

Timberline Steaks & Grille is a full service restaurant, with a bar, located right near the main food court and train entrance to Concourse C.

Bar.

Like many airport establishments, the bar was a hot spot, filled with people, and of course, their luggage.  Most were watching "the game", whatever it was.  I heard some guests requesting to be seated somewhere they could watch.

Seating.

It was dark outside, but I think the restaurant has a decent view out the large glass windows that wrap around most of it.  The decor was a mix of practical (easy to wipe down tables, good space between tables to allow for all the luggage, etc) with a bit of flair (nice light fixtures, slight "mountain lodge" feeling).  Decently attractive overall, for a airport restaurant.

Food & Drink

Timberline has a fairly large menu, with all your typical sports bar style appetizers (I saw a lot of nachos, wings, and quesadillas going by), burgers and sandwiches galore, and ... a full steakhouse menu, as it is a steakhouse after all.  They also have a large drink menu, with plenty of cocktails, including some interesting sounding boozy ice cream floats.

Club Soda with Lime: Visit #1.

I was planning to get wine or a cocktail, but, alas, I was feeling fairly meh from my flight, and decided that alcohol would not help me out.  Pepsi based soft drinks were the option, along with fruit juices.  I just wanted sparkling water though, and I was pleased when I was told that was an option ("we have club soda, will that do?").  I was even offered lime, which I accepted.

I was not pleased with what I got though.  It was clearly just sparkled tap water, with a bad flavor and aftertaste.  The lime did not help mask the murky flavor.  Maybe it was the ice, but, since I wasn't charged for it, nor was I given a bottle or can, I am pretty sure it was just sparkled tap.  I'm glad they have free sparkling water, and aren't going through so many cans and bottles, but ... I did not like this at all. 

Club Soda with Lemon: Visit #2. $3.

My next visit, I again asked for sparkling water, was correct that they had club soda, and this time it came with a lemon.  The lemon masked the flavor a bit more, but it still tasted pretty bad.

This time ... I was charged $3.  Hmm.

Visit #1: Mountain Wedge Salad, Large.  Add Glazed Pecans. $9.

"Crisp iceberg, Peachwood smoked bacon, Affinee Bleu Cheese crumbles, red onion and grape tomatoes."

For my savory item, I was planning to get the sweet potato fries, but, after flying, I felt pretty blah, and fried food actually did not sound appealing.  Salad did.

I was trying to decide between the spinach pomegranate salad and the wedge salad, but realized that I actually didn't want most of the toppings on the spinach salad (feta, pomegranate seeds), and I didn't want the vinaigrette it came with, and really the only thing that was catching my eye there was the glazed pecans.  So ... I asked for them on my wedge salad instead.  My request was easily accommodated.

The salad was ... decent.  The huge wedge of iceberg was fresh, crisp, classic steakhouse style served as a full wedge.  It was nice and refreshing after my flight.

The red onion was ... entirely missing.  Ooops?

The grape tomatoes were very generic, basically the flavorless kind you expect on a fast food salad.  Eh to those.  Blue cheese was also fairly lackluster, just a few crumbles.  The bacon ... I really didn't care for, kinda oily, with a bad aftertaste.

But the glazed pecan were excellent, I appreciated the crunch and sweetness.

I'd actually consider getting this again, just leave off the blue cheese, tomatoes, and onions, and add the nuts again.  And, um, hope they gave me the red onion that time?  Or I'd get the spinach one, leave off the pomegranate and feta, and opt for different dressing?

I was not asked what size I wanted, but when I got my bill I saw that this was the large, rather than the small for $6.  I'd also just go for the small next time, this was a lot of lettuce for one person.

Honey Mustard / Wedge Salad Dressing.

I wasn't sure which dressing would come with my wedge, I assumed some kind of blue cheese or ranch, but I knew enough to ask for it on the side in case I didn't like it, or in case they were prone to overdressing.

It was ... fine.  I'm still not sure what kind it was actually, I think this was their play on ranch, it seemed to have a slight tang, perhaps buttermilk?  Herby I guess.  Thick, creamy, rich, flavorful, whatever the flavor was.

After about half my wedge though I was hoping for something different, so I asked for the honey mustard.  It was very sweet (hello, honey!), slightly mustardy, and very, very thick.  I did like it though, particularly with the nuts.

In the end, I ended up combining both dressings, and that worked really well.  Creamy dressing + sweet thick dressing resulted in a fairly pleasing blend.

My final creation of iceberg + nuts + both dressings satisfied me enough.

 Spinach Pomegranate Salad

. $9.

"Baby organic spinach tossed in vinaigrette and topped with pomegranate seeds, glazed pecans, feta cheese and thin sliced red onion."

My next visit, I opted for the spinach pomegranate salad, since I had liked the glazed pecans before that I stole from it.  This one also came with the promised red onion slices, plus pomegranate seeds and feta chunks.

It was ... ok.  Fine.  The spinach was reasonably fresh, larger spinach leaves than I was expecting, not baby spinach.  The red onion was quite harsh.  The sprinkle of pomegranate seeds seemed fine, not too underripe.  Feta wasn't exactly flavorful, but it was there.  These elements, all, fine.

But not fine?  The dressing.  I HATED it.  A very, very unbalanced vinaigrette.  I'm glad I requested the honey mustard to use on my fries, to use it here too, but it was still too thick and sweet as a real dressing.

I think with a decent dressing I might have enjoyed this, but I struggled to get through much just to "eat my greens".

Side Sweet Potato Fries w/ Honey Mustard. $4.

To go with my salad, I also ordered a side of sweet potato fries, not on the menu.  I knew they had the sweet potato fries (and many other sides) to go steaks and burgers, but no where on the menu does it actually list these as an option to order a la carte.  I went rouge and did so, which was no problem, as I expected.

I selected the sweet potato fries because all reviews spoke so highly of them.  They, like everything else, were ... fine.  Delivered hot enough.  Decent sweet potato flavor.  Not really crisp though.  Mediocre.

I knew I wanted a dipping sauce, so I asked for honey mustard on the side, a classic pairing with sweet potato fries, although I knew the honey mustard was the strange thick and very sweet style.  I meant to also ask for pub sauce, but, forgot.  It ... didn't really work that well.  Too thick, too sweet.  As I thought it might be.  I really wanted a dipping sauce though, so, eventually I remembered that I had a mayo packet in my bag (this is normal, right?), and mixed it with some honey mustard to make ... honey mustard aioli?  That was better, but, still I needed something else (like maybe that pub sauce, or ranch).

Anyway, these were fine, not remarkable, needed sauce.  $4 price for a side was fine.

Lemon Creme Cake. $9.

"Rustic vanilla cake layered with lemon cream and topped with Gran Marnier marinated berries."

After my giant wedge of salad, I was ready for dessert.  The dessert menu had a few decent sounding options, including bread pudding (I love bread pudding, but this one came with bananas and nutella, which I don't really care for, and, gasp, no whipped cream nor ice cream!), cheesecake (classic, likely decent enough since I'm sure they purchase frozen), bacon donut holes (yes! but ... a huge serving), and a signature ice cream sundae that is supposed to be different each week.  I asked what the sundae was, and my server said it was just vanilla ice cream, with all the sauces, and whipped cream.

Hmm.  I was ready to order the ice cream sundae, but I had read tons of positive mentions of the lemon creme cake, not something I'd normally order since I don't really like lemon desserts nor cake, so I asked my server which she'd pick.  Without hesitation she said the cake, and went to check to make sure they had some still.  She came back saying there was exactly one left, and that it was definitely the best dessert.  If I wanted it, she wanted to get my order in to claim it ASAP.

Well, that made up my mind for me.  I was also kinda cold, so ice cream wasn't all that appealing anyway.

The cake was ... interesting.  Uh, "rustic", yes.  A split in half cake, filled with lemon cream.  On top were the berries, mostly blueberries, and a token raspberry or two.  And, a white chocolate decoration which said "Lemon C".  Uh ...

Yes, the presentation on this was amusing.  Where ... was the rest of my white chocolate sign? What was it supposed to say?  "Lemon Cake"? "Lemon Creme"?  I'll never know.

Anyway.  It was ok.  The first few bites were pleasant.  The cake was light and moist, clearly soaked in some kind of wash.  Inside was the lemon cream.  It was lemony, but not in the eggy or too intense way I dislike.  It was also very, very sweet.  And there was tons of it.  I'm fairly certain that there was more cream than cake, or at least equal parts.  The cake and cream did go together well, but, wow.

The berries were awful, very mushy, not good texture, not good taste.  I know they were macerated, but, it didn't work well here.

I did like my white chocolate topper, but wished I had the full thing.

So overall, this was ok for a few bites, but really quite sweet.  Perhaps with a cup of coffee or glass of red wine it would be better.

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Lisbon Airport Dining

My visit to Lisbon concluded at, well, the Lisbon airport.

Airport dining may not normally be high on anyone's list of things to get excited about, but I read online that Terminal 1 had a great new food court, featuring actual good versions of Portuguese baked goods, from some famed establishments from the city.  I of course welcomed this chance to get “one last pastry” before jumping on my TAP Portugal flight, where I knew the food choices would be abysmal.

Although I didn't have much time in the airport before boarding, I managed to scope out all the options, and visit not one, but two bakeries to get a pão de deus from each, since I discovered that I loved them at A Padaria Portuguesa at the end of my trip.

Pastelaria Versailles

I started at Versailles, the one I had read the most about.  It is a cafe that has been around since the 1920s, apparently with amazing elegant ambiance (think: crystal chandeliers, marble counters) at the main location in Lisbon.  I didn't visit the real cafe, only the airport location.  

Display Case.

The display counter was loaded with a fairly small selection of treats, far fewer than what I was used to from swinging by bakeries around town.

I was planning to get one last Bolo de Arroz, after being fascinated by the one from Sacolinha, but the ones at Versailles didn’t really look good.  I also had my eyes on one last pão de deus, but, alas, they didn’t have any plain ones, just ones stuffed with ham and cheese.  It wasn't quite what I wanted, but is what I went for, knowing I could discard the fillings (or, perhaps be a more reasonable human and actually have some protein with my sweets?)

The ordering/payment system was kinda crazy.  You order and pre-pay at one counter.  That made sense.  No card reader, but, they do take credit cards, they just have to pull out a machine every time.  For an airport location, this seems crazy.  Then, you are supposed to know to take a few steps over, put your receipt onto a tray, and then someone else will go begin fetching your goods.  If you, like me, just throw your receipt into your pocket, your stuff will never come.  Sigh.

Then your stuff is put onto a tray eventually, and you are supposed to be watching and grab it, as nothing is ever called out when your order is complete.

To recap: no orders are sent to be filled, no orders are called out when ready.  I struggled with strange ordering/paying/pickup systems all over Lisbon, but this was certainly the worst.

I was not the only one who was confused by all of this, as I watched everyone around me mess it up.  Anyway.

Pão de Deus Misto. 3.95€.

"Ham & Cheese Coconut Topped Bread".

I had only had two pão de deus at this point in Portugal, and was eager to get one last data point.  I loved the absolutely dreamy one from A Padaria Portuguesa, but I knew that was actually not the authentic style, as it was softer and had more of a coconut paste on top, and was not crispy.  I also had the horrible ones from the Sheraton Lisboa Bistro Restaurant buffet, hard and stale, but, I have a hard time believing those were a legit version either.

This one seemed to be more like what I read about.  The top was a bit crunchy and the bread was still fairly soft, basically a cross between the two versions I previously had.  The dough wasn’t particularly interesting, soft but not fluffy, not really sweet.  Better than the Sheraton version in that it wasn’t stale and it wasn’t hard, but, no where near the perfectly lightly sweet fluffiness of the one from A Padaria Portuguesa.  Same with the top - definitely not like a paste like the one from A Padaria Portuguesa, but not quite as crispy as the Sheraton one.  There wasn’t as much topping as the A Padaria Portuguesa one, but, again, I think this was a more authentic ratio.

Overall, kinda boring, honestly, but I think this is what the bun was supposed to be like.

The ham and cheese were just a thin slice of each.  No spread of any sort, aka, mayo or mustard, to jazz it up.  I’m not sure I understand the combination of sweet coconut bun, ham, and cheese, although I guess Monte Cristos are a mix of sweet with ham and bread …

Anyway, I was glad to have one last chance to try the version that I think is representative of what they are supposed to be, but, alas, I just wished I had one more of the dreamy, soft, fluffy, not authentic ones.  Ojan however said, “that is one of the better Portuguese desserty things I’ve had”. Later, he said, "That was pretty tasty, it was like honey ham, but, with the honey in the bread!".  So, I guess it had its place.

Pastelaria Aloma

I’m a strategic person.  Although I was grabbing the pão de deus to take on my TAP Portugal flight to Paris, I tried a bite immediately just to make sure I’d like it, else, I had to make a backup plan.

If you couldn't tell from my review above, well, I didn't really like it (not tons of coconut topping, crisp top, soft but not very sweet nor fluffy bread).  I really wanted something more like the version from A Padaria Portuguesa.

So, I hightailed it to another bakery in the airport, Aloma.

Croissants, Local Specialties, Sandwiches.

Aloma too had a display case loaded with goodies.

They had pastel de nata baked on site.  While literally every single merchant had nata, these folks had ovens, right there, in the middle, and they were coming out hot.  This seemed much more promising.

And ... they had pão de deus!  The pão de deus looked softer, fluffier.  And there was only one plain one left, over with the croissants on the far left.

Sandwiches, Croissant Sandwiches, Pão de Deus Sandwiches.

I quickly jumped into line to order the last one, hoping no one before me would get it.  That said, they also had a ham and cheese stuffed one, and plenty of those, so, I could have gone with that to compare.

This shop's ordering made sense: you ordered from one person, they got your food, and you paid there.  No crazy multiple lines, putting out your receipt, etc like Versailles.

Pão de Deus

This pão was indeed closer to the one from A Padaria Portuguesa.  It was softer, the dough sweeter than the Versailles version.  Not quite as soft, not quite as dreamy as the A Padaria Portuguesa one, but I’m pretty convinced that no where else’s compares to that.

The top was also soft, not crisp, and more like a coconut paste.  Again, not quite as good as the A Padoria Portuguesa version in that there wasn’t as much topping, and it wasn’t as sweet, but, still, I really prefer this to the authentic crispy style.

So, overall, it was ok.  If this was the first pão de deus I ever had, I probably wouldn’t have tried another.

Turns out, the first one I ever had really was the best, I should have just stopped there.

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Wahlburgers, Boston Logan Airport, Toronto Pearson Airport

Wahlburgers is a moderately sized chain based in Massachusetts, run by the Wahlberg brothers: Paul, Donnie, and Mark.  Yes, the later two are actors.  And yes they had a reality TV show about it.  They have mostly casual sit down restaurants, bar and burger focused, but also have airport locations, like the one I visited at Logan Airport, inside security, Terminal C, and in the Toronto Pearson Airport, Terminal 1, US side.  I haven't been to one of the formal restaurants yet.

Menu.

Wahlburgers is a burger place, yes, but there are a ton of other options, many of which really appealed to me.  I'l admit that I was even tempted to get a burger.  Regular burgers are angus blend of brisket, short rib, and chunk, and come simple or as elaborately designed Specialty Burgers, with fun toppings, and even better sauces and spreads. And also, they serve the Impossible Burger!  Gluten-free diners should be happen as well, as they do have gluten-free buns available, and even make gluten-free croutons for the salads.

Speaking of salads, another big section of the menu is Wahlbowls, basically, salads, but, you can basically get a burger made into a chopped salad, lettuce, pickles, cheese, and all.  They have more standard salads as well (Cobb, Caesar, Arugula, etc), and even all the bowls sounded pretty good, again, fun toppings and housemade dressings.

I was also eying the fancy sloppy joe (finished with crispy onions, Wahl sauce, and cheese sauce? Yes!), or the panko crusted fried Haddock sandwich (balsamic tartar sauce!), and basically all the sides ... crispy onion rings! Sweet potato tots!  Skin on fries!  Imagine these with the amazing sauces?!  Yes!  They also are known for the macaroni salad, their grandmother's famous recipe.

The menu is rounded with with shakes, frappes, and ice cream.  Oh yes.

Visit #1, August 2018, Boston Logan Airport

Wahlburgers broke my heart.

And not in the way you likely expect.  They broke my heart by being essentially closed.

I was really excited to get a chance to check out Wahlburgers when I arrived in Boston, and had looked up closing times of everything in the airport before my arrival.  "30 minutes before last departure" was the stated closing time, so I then looked that up, and saw that our 8:30pm arrival would be fine.  Or so I thought.  We were delayed, not arriving until 9:30pm, but I still thought it would be fine.  It was not.

So, after a long flight, I kinda wanted it all.  Fried and salty rings and tots.  All the dipping sauces.  My first Boston fried haddock of the trip.  That macaroni salad.

I had a plan.  I'd pick one side, and settled on sweet potato tots, with a reasonable # of sauces on the side ... I'd limit myself to 3 (trying hard to not just ask for all of them ... I think they make like 15 total, all house made!).   I'd get a Wahlbowl with the fried haddock, and ask for the dressing to be on the side, the crispy onion strings to be on the side (see what I did there? I didn't pick just one side, lol), and add tartar sauce on the side (yup, I picked a 4th sauce, shh).  And I'd get a small macaroni salad.  I'd devour half the tots, the onion strings topping, and the fried fish on the spot, trying out all the dipping sauces.  I'd bring the salad home for later, and it would keep fine a few hours since not dressed.  I'd keep the macaroni salad for the next day, along with the rest of the tots to reheat in the toaster oven.  And I'd have all my sauces to keep using if I loved them.

Such a good plan, right?

Full Service Restaurant.

The airport location has a full service restaurant on one side, and a quick takeout option on the other.

To Go Counter.

I eagerly rushed up to the ordering window for the takeout area, and my heart sank when I saw the reduced menu posted there (from what I had seen online), as it was missing the panko crusted haddock and the Wahlbowl I wanted to order.  I hoped it was still an option, as I wasn't able to go sit in the sit down restaurant because I did actually have checked bags, and I didn't want them abandoned in baggage claim.

But I never got to find out, because, as we walked up, the cashier said, "Because it is so late, we only have the top two burgers, fries, and tots."  I asked if the full restaurant would have more, and she said no.  Kitchen was basically closed.  Fryers shut down.  Doh.  I pressed on, "What about macaroni salad?"  They would have that right, since it doesn't require prep?  NO.  Only the two burgers, only the two sides.  "So, uh, no onion strings?"  NO.  "And no salads at all?" NO.

Well, ok then.  I was heartbroken, hastily ordered just the sweet potato tots and sauces, and asked my travel companion to text me when the food was ready, as I was going to frantically find somewhere else that was open to get more (side note: uh, everywhere was basically shut down.  Very slim pickings at 9:30pm at Logan Terminal C!)

Our next visit to terminal was when we departed a week later to return to San Francisco, and I was determined to get that macaroni salad, just to take on the flight with me.  I was happy they were open, it was mid-day, and ... yup, they were out of it.  What?!  At 2:45pm?  Boo, hiss.

Sweet Potato Tots (and 1 regular tot!)

So, the tots.

They were ... ok.  Clearly not freshly fried, which makes sense, given the fryer was shut down.  Soft and a bit soggy.  Lukewarm.  But I loved the sweet potato flavor, and the texture was good.  It was pretty clear that if they were fresh, they would be fairly amazing, creamy sweet potato inside, crispy, very fried (in a good way), very salty (in a good way) exterior.  Perfect thing for dealing with post-flight blahs, right?

And they were awesome with my assorted sauces.

I also stole a regular tot from my companion, who went for a burger and regular tots.  He said the burger was a bit of a disaster and really poorly made.  Clearly the kitchen was ready to be done.  The tot was fine, also not very crispy but it was clear that it normally is, and it was funny to see it side by side with my sweet potato tots, as it was double the size of the sweet tots!  Crispy, very fried, and satisfying enough.

I did save half my portion, and brought them home to heat up later in a toaster oven.  Best. Move. Ever.

They were insanely good reheated.  The toaster oven crisped up the exterior, the inside was soooo creamy, and I just adored the flavor to these, even without sauce (although, better with of course).

I really want to try these fresh sometime.

Caesar Salad - Croutons + Chicken. $10.30.

"Fresh romaine, housemade croutons & Parmesan cheese served with housemade Caesar dressing."

On our next visit, my gluten-free companion ordered the Caesar salad, but had to leave off the housemade croutons.  He added chicken on top to make it an entree.  I certainly would have gone for the crispy fried haddock instead, but, alas, gluten on that.

It was ... Caesar salad.  Crispy enough romaine, nicely sized chunks.  A shake of grated Parmesan on top, no shredded cheese.  The Caesar dressing was fine, creamy, but not remarkable.  I generally prefer a stronger anchovy or garlic taste, something more interesting.

I didn't try the chicken, but it looked decently prepared, herbed and grilled.

Overall, fine, boring, not something I would have ordered.  I was glad I got to try the Caesar though?

Visit 1: Wahl Sauce, Mustard Sauce, Balsamic Tartar Sauce.

Wahlburgers makes all their own sauces, and there are lots of choices.  Mostly designed for the burgers and salads, but, who doesn't want fun sauces for dipping fries and tots?

Offerings include common things like bbq and buffalo sauce, creamy options like chipotle mayo, mustard sauce (that is actually mayo based), honey-garlic mayo, balsamic tartar sauce, and several cheese sauces, and even fun things like a orange-cranberry sauce for the Thanksgiving turkey burger or housemade salsa for the Fiesta Burger.

My first visit, I tried to pick only 3 to be reasonable.  I obviously had to try the Wahl sauce, as it is their signature sauce after all.  I also really wanted to try the tartar sauce, even though I wasn't getting the haddock.  And I wanted something aioli like.  I really did want to try the buffalo sauce too, and really, any of them, but, I had to be a normal person right?  So three it was.

The three I got wasn't quite the three I ordered, but turned out to be fine, perhaps better, options.

Starting with the signature Wahl sauce, the orange one.  Fairly classic "special sauce", creamy, tangy, a bit of texture, likely great on a burger.  It was a better pairing for the regular tot, probably good with fries too.  A secret recipe of course.  Solid.  I saved what I had left and used it with tomatoes and fresh green beans as a dip, and both were good pairings.

Next, the yellow one, which ended up being the "Mustard Sauce", a mustard-y mayo spread.  I was intending to get the honey-garlic mayo, but, oops.  This was a good sauce though, creamy, not too harsh or dijon-y from the mustard, and, well, honey mustard and sweet potato fries is a classic pairing, so creamy mustard sauce and sweet potato tots was in the same vein.  It was the best of the trio with the sweet potato tots, so, thank you for that, server.  I do still wish I had been able to try the honey-garlic mayo, as I was going for the honey and sweet potato pairing ... next time.

Interestingly, I got it another visit too, and found it far more mustard forward.  I wanted it in a McDonald's burger, but not with my onion rings (which is what I got it to pair with).

The final one was the balsamic tartar sauce, an odd pick perhaps, but I really wanted to try it even if I wasn't trying the haddock.  It was a good tartar sauce, creamy, and like the Wahl sauce had texture from some bits in it.  I didn't really taste balsamic, but, it was still good tartar sauce.  Fine with the tots.  I brought it home to use with fish sticks or something, but never ended up getting them, and instead just used it on a wrap as a spread.  When I got it another time, I used it with onion rings, and it worked well for those too.

I'd gladly eat any of these sauces again.

Visit #2: Buffalo Sauce.

Another visit, another chance to try some more sauces!

The buffalo sauce was ... well, buffalo sauce.  Not sure what I expected, I think I expected a creamy sauce since so many other sauces they offer are creamy.  Or something that reminded me of Frank's, as I love Frank's.  This was ... just buffalo sauce?  Fine, but not interesting.

Wahl Dressing.

The Wahl dressing is different from the "Wahl sauce", as it is thinner, and intended for a salad rather than a burger.

The flavor isn't nearly as intense in the "special sauce" direction, and it seems to be more acidic.  Kinda tangy.  Likely quite fitting for the Wahlbowl it is designed to go with (burger one), but I was trying to use it with another salad since I didn't like the dressing that came with, and it wasn't a good match.

Visit #2, April 2019, Toronto Pearson Airport

My next visit was when traveling through Toronto, where I was excited to finally get to try the macaroni salad, although I was quite full at the time.  I waited until just before boarding, to grab it to bring on board, and had a bag of ice with me to keep it chilled.  I was prepared.

I may have also ordered some sauces, saying, "I'd also like to get a couple sauces,", and the cashier enthusiastically said, "The Wahlsauce right? What others?".  Heh, she got me.  No strange reaction to ordering the sauces, and she was excited I was doing so.  She said she loves them and stocks up too, they do make them in house every day, even in the airport location.

From Scratch Alma's Macaroni. Side. $4.95.

Finally!  I was able to get the macaroni.

I opted for the side size, for $4.95, although a "full size" portion is also available for $7.95.  It was a generous size, so I think the full must be *very* large.

Alma's Macaroni. $4.95.

"Elbow macaroni, red onion, sweet peppers, celery, parsley & mom’s favorite mayo."

I'll admit, this definitely didn't look like particularly interesting macaroni salad.  And far less creamy than I was expecting, given the mayo ingredient.

And ... it wasn't particularly exciting.  Not sure why this gets such recognition ... I think I have liked grocery store macaroni far more.

It wasn't bad, the pasta wasn't mushy, but ... it just wasn't interesting.  I also don't really care for bell peppers, and there were what seemed like a far too generous portion of both red and green peppers.  Very lightly dressed.

No real reason to get this, sadly.  Maybe I need to add some Wahlsauce to it next time ...

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Sam Choy's Poke to the Max

Ah, the joys of airport dining.  Grumpy staff.  Frantic other customers.  Food rarely freshly prepared.  Captive audience.  High prices.  Generally, highly unsatisfying on all dimensions: taste, value, service.  And yet, there I was, in SeaTac airport, with a delayed flight, looking for some food.

Of course, I had done my research in advance and knew my options, as I knew such a scenario could arise.  I wasn't planning to be stuck in the airport or to need to get food, but, yup, it happened.  At least I was armed with my list of reasonable choices.

I could have gone to Beecher's for the famous mac and cheese (that I've actually never tried), and I could have checked out the newish bubble tea place, both of which held promise, but instead, I headed to the airport outpost of Sam Choy's Poke to the Max, located in concourse D.  It was extremely far away from my gate at the far end of concourse A, but, I had way too much time to kill before my flight hopefully got to take off (delay caused by delayed inboard aircraft, that was still yet to take off where it was coming from ... sigh).  It was a serious hike and commitment to get there, but, I was fairly excited.

"Award winning chef, author, and proclaimed, “God Father of Poke” Chef Sam Choy offers a true taste of Hawai’i!  All of our menu dishes represent the various fusions that makes Hawai’i’s food so ONO!  Don’t be fooled by the name, because we serve more than just fresh poke.  Stop in for Spam Musubi, Loco Moco, our famous Garlic Chicken, and much more.  Whether your grabbing a plate at one of our food trucks, dining at our restaurant, or having us cater your event; escape with us and enjoy local style plate lunch, with a little Aloha in every bite.  "

Sam Choy's is relatively well known Hawaiian restaurant, with poke of course, but also a slew of hot dishes like loco moco, garlic chicken, and yup, plenty of spam.  They operate food trucks and restaurants around the west coast, with locations in Seattle, but also in California (and coming soon to SFO too).   I wasn't actually drawn to the poke lineup, as it is only tuna or salmon based, and not really customizable.  Nor was I really drawn to the rice plates, but the fish and chips certainly caught my eye, as did the firecracker shrimp or shrimp tempura, the assorted styles of masubi, and even the loco moco.  But I didn't actually need a full meal, just really something to pass the time, so I opted for one side dish I was really craving (macaroni salad - after having a mediocre version in The Club lounge) and dessert of course, because, zomg, they had local made ice cream in great flavors.

Ordering was done through a tablet (or in advance online on your own phone, they had QR codes all around to scan).  My order was ready promptly.  That said ... eh.  I don't think I'd go back.

Side Macaroni Salad. $4.75.

I was shocked by the portion of the macaroni salad.  I was expecting a small 8 ounce deli container size, maybe a pint, but instead, it was the same size huge bowl they use for poke bowls.  Nearly full to the top.  It was easily more than a quart.  So much macaroni salad!  It weighed a ton.

I couldn't wait to dig in.  I was even more excited as I looked it over, and saw chunks of egg white, and ... potatoes?  It was like a hybrid potato and macaroni salad, although dominantly still pasta.  There was also small bits of green onion.  Very heavily dressed.  No visible seasoning.

I took my first bite and was met with some disappointment.  It had very little flavor.  It tasted like mayo and little else.  Now, I love mayo, but this just fell entirely flat.  No acid.  No seasoning.  Nothing.  I'll admit I also expected maybe some pineapple, furikake, or something to make it Hawaiian-like.  This was beyond bland.

Another bite, more sadness.  The pasta was fairly mushy.  I'd prefer it al dente.  The egg white pieces were kinda hard.  The potato chunks were really the only fine part, well cooked, still skin on.  But overall, soft and mushy pasta, no flavor, and just not very good at all.  I did try adding salt, pepper, and furikake, but it still just needed more, and the textures weren't winners.

For only $4.75, this was ridiculously low priced, especially for an airport, as you'd pay considerably more at the grocery store deli for this quantity.  That said, it really wasn't good at all.  **.

Laina's Homemade Ice Cream - Ube (Vegan). $5.35. 

"Small batch ice cream made in Seattle's Rainier Valley area. Ube flavored ice cream (made w/ coconut milk)."

"(V) Handmade coconut base toasted coconut ice cream."

I didn't actually realize the ube ice cream was vegan when I selected it.  I knew Laina's makes a variety of both vegan and regular ice creams, but I only saw "ube" and grabbed immediately without looking further.  That said, coconut and ube are generally a good pairing, so I didn't mind.  Sam Choy's Poke to the Max also had matcha, lilikoi, toasted coconut (also vegan, coconut milk based), and pineapple whip (vegan) in stock.

When I opened it, the color initially turned me off.  It was so purple.  Too purple.  Barney purple.  Which to me screamed 1) food coloring and 2) unlikely to use real ube.  Still, I gave it a chance.

It was fine.  Not great, not bad, just, fine.  It wasn't as creamy as traditional ice cream, and was quite solid when I got it.  I waited for it to get nicely melty, but it never melted quite like regular ice cream.  It got ... sticky?  Yes, sticky ice cream.  In those ways, it was clear it was vegan.  That all said, the ube flavor was strong, and coconut was a nice backdrop.  It was still a nice treat to have in the airport.  I wouldn't go out of my way for this brand, but, it was fine.  ***.

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