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What to Eat in Airports
The dilemma of the in-transit culinary wasteland
I'm sure you can relate to being roused from bed at an obscene hour of the wee dawn to catch a flight. Still in delirium, you pass the finish line, so to speak, of actually making it to the airline terminal and checking in on time. But then you are faced with an even more difficult dilemma. Your stomach is rumbling and your brainpower failing: It's time to feed the machine. But what among the paltry, undercooked, and overpriced items here in the terminal can you stand to actually to put in your mouth?
Your food choices at this critical juncture will determine your energy level and mood for the rest of your travel day (and play a big role in whether you'll be cranky and constipated when you wake up tomorrow).
As someone who passes in and out of airports up to 10 times a month (with all my connecting flights), I'm happy to share what little expertise I have on the subject. Honestly, it's still hit and miss for me, but check out this food diary of the bad decisions I made on my way from New York to the British Virgin Isles, and either learn something from my mistakes or send me your analysis of where I went so terribly wrong.
American Airlines Terminal, JFK Airport, New York, 6:05 a.m.:
I'm practically sleepwalking at this point and suddenly spy a familiar and fragrant "happy place": Starbucks. Yay! I stand in line behind flight crews and my mouth waters at the idea of a Venti soy latte with sugar-free vanilla syrup. But if I have that, I'll have to pee like a racehorse (and I'm in a window seat) the whole flight, or it might inspire an explosive bout of digestive unrest. Plus, coffee adds to the already desert-like dehydration of flying all day. I opt for a $5 Tazo soy chai latte, but it's so sweet, I can feel the early-onset diabetes manifesting in my blood. I also skip the luscious-looking maple scone, fearing a white-flour carb-crash. But in retrospect, what would have been so bad about being passed out on the three-hour flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico?
Your food choices at this critical juncture will determine your energy level and mood for the rest of your travel day (and play a big role in whether you'll be cranky and constipated when you wake up tomorrow).
As someone who passes in and out of airports up to 10 times a month (with all my connecting flights), I'm happy to share what little expertise I have on the subject. Honestly, it's still hit and miss for me, but check out this food diary of the bad decisions I made on my way from New York to the British Virgin Isles, and either learn something from my mistakes or send me your analysis of where I went so terribly wrong.
American Airlines Terminal, JFK Airport, New York, 6:05 a.m.:
I'm practically sleepwalking at this point and suddenly spy a familiar and fragrant "happy place": Starbucks. Yay! I stand in line behind flight crews and my mouth waters at the idea of a Venti soy latte with sugar-free vanilla syrup. But if I have that, I'll have to pee like a racehorse (and I'm in a window seat) the whole flight, or it might inspire an explosive bout of digestive unrest. Plus, coffee adds to the already desert-like dehydration of flying all day. I opt for a $5 Tazo soy chai latte, but it's so sweet, I can feel the early-onset diabetes manifesting in my blood. I also skip the luscious-looking maple scone, fearing a white-flour carb-crash. But in retrospect, what would have been so bad about being passed out on the three-hour flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico?
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17:09 EST, 31.Jan.08