It’s becoming quite the trend these days for major media outlets to publish a list of their top airport restaurant picks and cable news giant CNN is the latest to jump on the bandwagon (or intra-terminal shuttle, as the case may be). They just published a story about their top 14 airport restaurants and, in the interest of saving you a little time, I’m sharing their list with you here:

CNN’s 14 Top Airport Restaurants

 

Airbräu Brauhaus (Munich Airport)

The hook: Europe’s only airport restaurant to boast its own on-site brewery.

The cuisine: The beer garden is attached to a Bavarian restaurant that serves roast duck, pig knuckle and cold cured meats.

The beer is brewed in accordance with the Purity Decree of 1513, using local hops from the Hallertau region.

The bar organizes brewery tours.

Airbrau in Munich.

Airbräu Brauhaus, Level 3, Terminal 1, Munich Airport; +49 89 9759 3111

 

Altitude (Geneva International Airport)

The hook: Created by chefs Gilles Dupont and Thomas Byrne, whose joint restaurants include the Michelin-starred Dupont & Byrne.

The cuisine: Classic French food in an elegant space with a glass wall onto the runway. The business lunch menu changes bi-weekly while the a la carte menu is updated every season.

On the menu: green apple and ginger crème brulée, foie gras and morel mushrooms stuffed raviolis, Brittany sole meunière style and beef carpaccio.

You can get two courses ($55-62) or the full three ($75) with dessert or cheese, though travelers with less time can grab smaller plates, burgers or sandwiches for around $27.

Altitude, Geneva Airport; +41 22 817 46 09

 

Asian Kitchen by Susur Lee (Toronto Pearson International Airport)

Opens early 2015

The hook: To be opened by fine-dining celebrity chef and restaurateur Susur Lee, whose face you may have caught on “Top Chef Canada” or “Iron Chef America.”

The cuisine: Lee is known for his twist on fine dining using fusion flavors and techniques.

Toronto Airport’s outpost will be a bistro-style eatery showing off Lee’s French and Chinese influences.

Asian Kitchen by Susur Lee, Terminal 1 International departures, Toronto Pearson International Airport

 

Boccone Trattoria (Toronto Pearson International Airport)

The hook: Opened by Canadian celebrity chef and restaurateur Massimo Capra, the chef/co-owner of Mistura and Sopra in Toronto.

The cuisine: A full-service Italian trattoria-style restaurant offering pastas, pizza and a wine list.

Capra, who is often at the restaurant, guarantees every item can be served within 10 minutes, and passengers can be on their way within 30 minutes of sitting down.

Main dishes hover around $16.

Boccone Trattoria, Level 2 gates, Terminal 1, Toronto Pearson International Airport; +1 416 776 0492

 

Cat Cora’s Kitchen (San Francisco International Airport)

The hook: Opened by TV chef and restaurateur Cat Cora, whose empire includes branches at Salt Lake City and Houston Airports.

The cuisine: Innovative Californian cuisine using organic, seasonal ingredients, with small plates such as salt roasted beets, lobster mac and cheese or a seafood slider trio of oyster, shrimp and crab cake.

A raw bar dishes up oysters, while the cocktail menu gets creative with chili-infused tequila and antioxidant-crammed juices.

Prices hover at about $14 a plate or $15 a cocktail.

Cat Cora’s Kitchen, Terminal 2, San Francisco International Airport; +1 650 821 9288

 

Dani Garcia DeliBar (Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, Spain)

The hook: A classic tapas bar from Spanish chef Dani Garcia.

The cuisine: Modern tapas with classic Andalusian flavors given Garcia’s trademark twist — cherry gazpacho, crab ravioli, as well as the chef’s famous oxtail burger.

It’s all served in as casual a setting as many downtown bars, with tapas on display.

Up to 60 can sit around the bar, while travelers can grab dishes to go.

Dani Garcia DeliBar, Terminal 3, Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, Spain

 

Hung’s Delicacies (Hong Kong International Airport)

The hook: An offshoot of the Michelin-starred Hung’s Delicacies in North Point, a tiny shop that specializes in marinated meats.

The cuisine: Chiu Chow food with a focus on braised meat in a particular style called “lou seoi,” in which a complex master stock is used to marinate goose meat, tofu and other less usual parts, such as duck’s tongue and pig’s intestine in aspic.

The stir-fried egg noodles are named after Hong Kong food critic and TV personality Chua Lam, who was apparently one of the restaurant’s earliest fans.

Dishes run from around $6.50 for small plates to $20 for the star attraction — slices of marinated goose.

Hung’s Delicacies, Terminal 2, Hong Kong International Airport; +852 3197 9332

 

ink.sack (Los Angeles International Airport)

The hook: A second branch of the sandwich bar by Michael Voltaggio, “Top Chef” winner, Food & Wine’s Best New Chef and the chef/owner of the fine dining ink on Melrose Avenue.

The cuisine: On “Top Chef,” Voltaggio was known for inventive plating and a love of liquid nitrogen, but ink sack is a sandwich bar classic.

Tiny crusty baguettes are stuffed to the brim with fillings like cold fried chicken, Spanish cured meats or a Viet-style banh mi with pork, from about $7 — not bad for a pre-boarding snack.

It’s open 9:30 a.m.-2 a.m.

ink.sack (website is for the city branch), Great Hall, Tom Bradley International Terminal, 380 World Way, Los Angeles Airport; +1 (310) 258-9587

 

Perfectionists’ Cafe (Heathrow Airport, London)

Opens June 2014

The hook: The king of inventive cooking, Heston Blumenthal applies his science to making British classics quick.

Cuisine: English diner food with a twist and some serious physics — imagine a burger designed with an oral physiologist to determine the optimal bun size and texture.

Fans of Blumenthal’s multi-sensory approach to cooking can sit at the bar where aromas will enhance the dining experience.

Prices for main dishes from £11 ($18).

Perfectionists’ Cafe, Terminal 2 departures, Heathrow Airport, London

 

Porta Gaig (Barcelona-El Prat Airport)

The hook: Opened by one of Barcelona’s most celebrated chefs, Carles Gaig, who runs the city’s Michelin-starred Gaig.

The cuisine: Modern Catalan food, such as slow-braised beef cheeks or poached eggs over potatoes, enjoyed in peaceful, airy surrounds with plate-glass windows through which diners can watch aircraft land and take off.

Travelers in a rush can have quick tapas such as Iberico ham and pa amb tomaquet, a Catalan classic of bread rubbed with tomato.

Open noon-5 p.m., weekdays only, with main dishes from €10.70 ($15).

Porta Gaig, El Prat Airport Terminal 1 departures , Barcelona; +34 93 259 6210

 

Prime Tavern (LaGuardia Airport, New York)

The hook: Created with chef and TV personality Michael Lomonaco of NYC steakhouse Porterhouse.

The cuisine: Steakhouse diner with prime cuts of dry-aged steak and hearty burgers.

Vegetarians can go for the heirloom tomato salad or chilled cucumber soup.

Lobster rolls round off a menu of diner favorites, all buttressed by a beer list chosen by Brooklyn Brewery’s brewmaster, Garrett Oliver.

Prime Tavern, Delta Terminal, LaGuardia Airport, New York; +1 866 508 3558

 

The Gorgeous Kitchen (Heathrow Airport, London)

Opens in June 2014

The hook: Menu designed by four UK celebrity chefs including Sophie Michell of London’s Pont St restaurant, and cookbook author Jo Pratt (“In the Mood for Food”).

The cuisine: Light, wholesome fare prepared from British-grown ingredients.

Signature dishes include a chorizo toad-in-the-hole and sweet corn and coriander fritters with king prawns.

An express section of the menu can be ordered and served within 15 minutes.

The Gorgeous Kitchen, Heathrow Airport, Terminal 2 departures, London

 

Top Air (Stuttgart Airport, Germany)

The hook: Europe’s only Michelin-starred airport restaurant, it’s headed by chef Marco Akuzun.

The cuisine: Gourmet European, complete with artistic presentation, flavorsome foams and an amuse bouche at the start of the meal.

For travelers with time, there’s a seven-course menu for €132 ($183).

Top Air, Stuttgart Airport, Terminal 1, Stuttgart, Germany; +49 711 948 2137

 

Twist (Toronto Pearson International Airport)

Opens August 2014

The hook: To be launched by Canadian celebrity chef and cookbook author Roger Mooking, who also hosts cooking shows “Heat Seekers” and “Man Fire Food.”

The cuisine: Locally sourced North American comfort food with the eponymous “twist” — scones with lavender honey and peameal bacon and roast Cornish hen made with Moroccan spice rub, charred lemon and served with arugula.

Twist, Toronto Pearson International Airport