Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Airport Food

I don't think that anyone looks forward to eating at the airport. Airport vendors are dealing with a captive audience, and so the food is often overpriced, underwhelming in flavor, and of questionable nutritional value.

Airport food presents an additional challenge to vegetarians: is there even anything veg to eat? In some small regional airports, the only available options are pre-packaged meat sandwiches or salads with meat in them. In a small airport, I consider myself lucky if I can find a grill or sandwich shop where I can ask an employee to make a cheese sandwich for me.

In a larger venue like Denver International Airport (DIA), it's less a question of whether a vegetarian option exists, and more a question of whether the vegetarian option is 1) affordable and 2) something that I want to eat. During recent trips, I've found myself ordering the hummus plate (pictured above) at the Pour la France on the B concourse. It's relatively affordable ($5.95 plus tax) and actually tastes like something I would eat even if I wasn't at the airport. Bonus points for including some fresh vegetables.

What have your airport food* experiences been? Do you have any suggestions or tips for travelers looking for a veg meal at DIA?

*some commenters might ask why I don't just bring food from home. If it is a short trip, I do, but if I'm going to be gone for a week or more, I clean out the refrigerator before I leave, making this option less viable.

5 comments:

Kitt said...

I'm assuming there's actually hummus under that pile of chickpeas. Looks pretty good! I don't eat in airports at all if I can help it. I do occasionally buy something the night before to take with me.

Beatrice said...

Yes, the actual hummus is partly covered by chickpeas, and partly by the pita.

bee said...

denver is actually one of the better places. most airports have nothing even remotely vegetarian after "regular hours" when there's just one place open. at seattle (which is supposed to be one of those veggie friendly places), once, the only veggie option at 10 p.m near our concourse was "coffee".

A Blog Bug said...

Its always been a big issue for me while travelling...not only at airports, but during long drives as well...I usually try and avoid eating at airports...in the worst case, I resort to a fruit bowl...

Unknown said...

In a pinch I can usually find an energy bar or a bagel of some sort. However I'm relatively obessive about packing my own food, so I rearely have to resort to this.