"How does airport food measure up?"

Wednesday, April 3, 2002

How does airport food measure up?
The San Francisco (CA) Chronicle


To help frequent flyers who don't have time to pack a meal, we scoured the
three major Bay Area airports to find out where a decent bite can be had.
The Food staff sampled food both before and after security checkpoints,
discovering good places to buy carry-on food as well as places to sit down
and eat.

SFO

-- INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL. This terminal is clearly the key to decent eating
at SFO. The high-quality Asian offerings undoubtedly is one reason the
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine named it the healthiest
airport to eat in among the nation's 10 busiest.

Even if you are flying out on United or another airline in the domestic
terminal, it makes sense to sacrifice five minutes or so and walk to the
small,

upscale food courts outside of the international security checkpoints. You
can easily have food packaged to go and be the envy of every passenger in
your row.

-- International Terminal G, before security. Visit the three-restaurant
food court around the corner from the United terminal. Good picks are sushi
or tempura from Ebisu, which has a small sushi bar, a large sake selection,
and Japanese dishes packaged to travel. A pair of maguro is $4.50 -- only a
quarter more than it costs at the legendary San Francisco restaurant. Or,
you can opt for a dish of chow fun or Mongolian beef from the steam table at
Fung Lum Express or a cheeseburger from Lori's Diner, which operates 24
hours.

-- International Terminal G, after security. If you're anxious to get
through security, there are several good eating choices after you've passed
muster. One of the best is Tomokazu, a very nice sushi bar and full-service
Japanese restaurant. Sushi rolls go for $4.75 for a vegetable roll or a good
California roll to $12.95 for a Phoenix roll of shrimp tempura, unagi and
avocado, or a spider roll of soft shell crab. Nigiri sushi, two pieces per
order, is $3.95-$5.50.

If you're in a bit more of a party mood, head to Andale, a Mexican taqueria
and bar. Here you order tacos, burritos, enchilada plates and the like at
the counter, and your food is brought to the table -- or to your seat at the
full- service bar. On the other hand, you'll get a birds-eye view of all the
runway goings on at the Il Fornaio wine bar and panetteria at the end of the
concourse.

-- International Terminal A, before security. The little food court offers
Harbor Village Kitchen dim sum samplers ($9.95) with sui mai, a barbecued
pork bun, pot stickers and a spring roll. The real treat is the barbecued
meats, though, which come plain or with rice, soup and vegetables
($7.95-$9.95).

Other Terminal A hits include sublime sashimi or sushi and a side of edamame
($3) from the understated Osho (prices start at $4.80 for a California roll)
or a deluxe bento box ($15), featuring whatever might catch the chef's eye
that day. Other good options include the Burger Joint, a favorite of Mission
denizens who like hormone-free burgers.

-- International Terminal A, after security. Skip the slick looking but
over-priced Harry Denton's and head back to Il Fornaio's Caffe del Mundo,
where several top-quality sandwiches like mixed Italian meat, provolone,
lettuce and a little olive oil comes on a fresh ciabatta roll ($6.50).
Across the way at Firewood Cafe, decent, thin-crusted pizzas dressed simply
with mozzarella, tomato and basil ($7.95) or a surprisingly kicky Caesar
($3.50 or $6.50) are good options.

-- DOMESTIC TERMINAL. Food options are hit-and-miss here. There are some
chain restaurants; a couple of full-service restaurants including Allegro,
which the airport considers its "premier" domestic restaurant. Here are a
few places to look for behind the security lines:

-- South Terminal. Starbucks and Jamba Juice live in this terminal, and
Pizza Hut is easy to come by. But in a pinch, head to the snack bar by Gate
25 and get a Max's corned beef and pastrami sandwich ($7.49).

-- North Terminal (United and American). One of the biggest surprises at SFO
came at the Crab Pot, a warm, family-style restaurant with unremarkable
chowder and fish and chips. But they do offer a truly noteworthy Dungeness
crab cocktail with a sourdough roll ($11.50). There is also an fairly big
food court in the middle of the United terminal, with soba noodles or
edamame at San Raku or a sandwich at Noah's Bagels. Vegetarians can grab a
package of cold Imperial Noodles ($4.40) from the otherwise non-descript
snack bar at Gate 62.

OAKLAND

-- TERMINAL 1 (MOST AIRLINES). 360 degrees offers good ham, cheese and egg
breakfast quesadillas on flour tortillas ($3.50), as well as standard-issue,
Mission-style burritos. Across the way at the Bay Bridge Deli, freshly
carved turkey sandwiches on soft sourdough rolls ($7.50) are another good
option to grab to go. Support the kids from Oakland's Castlemont High School
by letting them make you a latte at the Knight's Cafe, located at the end of
the terminal.

-- TERMINAL 2 (SOUTHWEST). Although there are cafeterias and quick-service
salads to find here, the most Oakland-like option is to grab some moist,
aromatically spiced prune bread, a bean pie or some honey-sweetened cookies,
along with a Ginseng Up to drink, from the Your Black Muslim Bakery stand.

MINETA SAN JOSE

-- TERMINAL A (SOUTHWEST AND AMERICAN). Nearly all the food in this busy
terminal is behind security, but the food doesn't go much beyond the usual
suspects. There's McDonalds, Cinnabon, California Pizza Kitchen and
Starbucks, but also a Max's deli, where there's a choice of eight types of
fresh sandwiches.

-- TERMINAL C. All the food service is before security. The best choice is
Expedia.com Cafe, the first of its kind from the travel Web site. Sandwiches
are provided by Max's, but are freshly made, including a generous and very
good corned beef and pastrami, with a side of potato salad or cole slaw, for
$8.49. The bar and cafe, with about 50 seats, also offers free Internet
hook- up and battery recharging, a big attraction for Silicon Valley
travelers. Other nearby choices include Senor J's, with decent burritos,
along with a Burger King and Harbor House for Chinese snacks.

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