If you want to find the best restaurants, you have to go to someone on the inside. While food writers like me think we’re the experts, the true voices of reason come from inside the kitchens themselves: the chefs. That’s why I put so much stock in this list that Conde Nast Traveler put together of the Best Airport Food in the World. They asked some of the biggest names in food today (Grant Achatz, Anita Lo, Morimoto) where they like to eat when they fly and the list they came up with is wonderful. Make sure to click over to the slideshow so you can see the original article, but for the click-averse, here are the picks organized alphabetically by airport code. Have you been to any of these? Tell me about your experience in the comments.
(note: I’ve only included the picks from chefs. For picks from non-chefs, see the original slideshow)
ATL
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
One Flew South, Terminal E —Geoffrey Zakarian, chef/ partner, N.Y.C.’s Lambs Club/more
BNA
Nashville
Yazoo Brewing Company, Concourse C — Jonathan Waxman, chef, Barbuto in N.Y.C. and Adele’s in Nashville
BOS
Boston Logan
DFW
Dallas/Fort Worth
HKG
Hong Kong
JFK
The Palm Bar & Grille, International Terminal 4 —Marc Murphy, chef, Landmarc/Ditch Plains in New York
Uptown Brasserie, Terminal 4, near Gate B32 —Richard Blais, chef/restaurateur
LGA
LaGuardia, New York
Bisoux, Terminal D, Gates 3–4 —Marc Murphy, chef, Landmarc/Ditch Plains in New York
Custom Burgers by Pat LaFrieda, Terminal D, Food Court —Richard Blais, chef/restaurateur
LHR
London Heathrow
MIA
Miami
La Carreta, Terminal D West, Gate D37 —Jesse Schenker, chef/owner, The Gander/Recette in N.Y.C.
NRT
Narita, Tokyo
Sushi Kyotatsu, Terminal 1, No. 3 Satellite, Third Floor —Chris Cosentino, chef, Boccalone/Porcellino in San Francisco
ORD
Chicago O’Hare
Tortas Frontera, Terminal 1, Gate B11; Terminal 3, Gate K4; and Terminal 5, Gate M12
*Note: this one was the big favorite. Check out all the chefs who endorsed it: Anita Lo of N.Y.C.’s Annisa; Michael Chernow of N.Y.C.’s Meatball Shop; Jonathan Waxman; Daniel Boulud; Chef Grant Achatz
SFO
San Francisco
Fung Lum, International Terminal, Main Hall –Masaharu Morimoto, chef, Morimoto restaurants
Cat Cora’s Kitchen, Terminal 2, Boarding Area D —Grant Achatz, chef, Alinea/Next in Chicago
Lark Creek, Terminal 2, Boarding Area D —Jonathan Waxman, chef, Barbuto in N.Y.C. and Adele’s in Nashville
SIN
Kampong Cafe. Terminal 3 —Ken Oringer, chef, Clio/Uni/Coppa/more in Boston
Cousins bbq? In dfw seriously? It’s not even good bbq, terminal A has the salt lick which has won numerous awards. Terminal D has Stephen Pyles and Reatta.
Amy’s Ice Cream at AUS should be on this list, and as a bonus, it’s next to the Salt Lick BBQ
Next time I’m there, I’m going sausage/ice cream combo. Thanks for the tip, Erndog!