Airport food: Seems to have improved a lot but prices still crazy expensive
 

I've been on the road a lot this past year and with all the time spent at airports, it seems the food I have eaten is greatly improved over the first 35 years I traveled.

- Is it better quality restaurants?
- Needing to improve since it is so expensive?
- Am I just immune to shitty food and tolerate it?
- I have poor taste?
- I'm so hungry I would eat dog shit if they served it?
- I know some secret high class places for special people I go to?
- I think Airline Lounges serve good food for free?
- I drink too much and have no idea what the hell I am eating?

I'm currently sitting on an American Airlines flight from Norfolk to Charlotte and will be drinking soon, very soon. :D

So who is the travel food expert that can set the record straight? :hmmm:

I once paid like 20 bucks for a Jersey Mikes sub at the Vegas airport. Now that's just what it seems to cost. Honestly, the only way to do it is just buy the sandwich, if you add on Chips and Drink they are just robbing you. Cost them like 30 cents, charge you 4 bucks.

Airports make money on the fees they charge vendors. They've all started waking up and realizing that they can get people to spend more money if their food and shopping is decent instead of just shitty fast food and convenience stores.

To one of your questions, yes, airport lounges are a good value if you travel a lot. However, overcrowding has become the norm lately, so they're not the quiet escape they once were.

Ain't going to lie I had some badass lasagna at an Italian place in the Dallas Airport back in March.

Had lunch at the Baltimore airport about and hour and a half ago and breakfast at KCI this morning. Is it overpriced? Sure, but I don’t think it’s egregious. $20 for a good sized omelette, potatoes, and a soda. $25 for a decent, but certainly not great, bacon and blue burger with fries and a soda. Feels like fairly standard bar pricing though the quality isn’t quite there.

That said, I did notice that they had Blanton’s on their shelf and I know how overpriced it is in a normal bar setting, so I had to ask their pricing. $54 for a standard neat pour. Now that is absurd.

Up there in cost with theaters and stadiums

It isn't no Olive Garden with an escort for lunch in suburban Phoenix though

I ate at Maggiano's in the Dallas airport a few weeks ago... the baked ziti was tasty and they had surprisingly good drinks.

JFC, you could buy a bottle for $60.

Air travel is like going to a sporting event where I'm always blown away by the "need" to consume by people

Its typically 3-5 hours of your life and you can't go without paying 100x more than market price for food and drink

Its a phenomenon for sure

Get off my lawn rant: If you're going to do it though, keep it the terminal. People who nibble on some dank smelling Korean bibimbap in the terminal just to bust the rest of it out while sitting elbow to elbow on the flight deserve a special place in hell

Yeah, I expected stupid, but I expected $35 stupid.

Big baller like you shouldn’t care what anything costs

Yep, I see people rant about stadium prices and I think... uh, you know that's not a required part of the experience, right? Especially a place like Arrowhead or any downtown stadium/ballpark where there are tailgating or restaurant options.

I'll sometimes kick off a vacation with an airport beer, but I think the past few times I've eaten at one was a 3 hour layover, a 4+ hour delay, and the novelty of eating beyond security at the new KCI. I don't usually show up at the airport on an empty stomach.

The last thing I want to do before flying is eat. I dread having to blast a shit on an airplane toilet.

I'd like to take the time to say **** O'Hare.