Airport food CAN be good!

I spend a good deal of time traveling around in airports, most often between Burbank (BUR) and Oakland (OAK). In addition to knowing the 3-letter airport code for most major airports, I am also fairly well versed on the food in many airports, targeting specific cities for stand-by favorites as I travel in and out of cities.

I recently found a new favorite and while I won't be traveling through the airports of America for much longer, I feel that I need to give a shout out to my friends in the Burbank airport at Chezzburger. I flew out at lunch time last week and had about 2 hours of delay time due to mechanical issues and then some gate changes and assorted snafus that stretched the afternoon out much further than I was anticipating - leaving me a bit annoyed and a lot hungry.

I walked through the general cafeteria area and while there are a number of salads, sandwiches, pizza and pasta - they were a little pricey for my tastes and there were very few items that I could actually eat without picking some ingredient out. I kept moving down the terminal to my gate when I saw a decent line at Chezzburger, so I strolled up to check out the menu - what is this??? They have a Gardenburger!! Add to that the option of grilled onions and there is little else that one could ask for!!

I must also put in here a ringing endorsement for either loving your job and/or being the very best that you can do at whatever is in front of you. Because of the plane issues and delays, there were a pretty good number of people in the airport, and it didn't look like the crew there was anticipating a late afternoon rush. The cashier was pretty friendly, but the grillmaster was making it happen! Solo in the entire kitchen area AND working in a fishbowl since the wall between the grill and the waiting customers is all glass, it would have been easy to expect the person assigned there to just put their head down and try to put the food up. I wish I knew the name of the gentleman working there that shift, because he ROCKED - all flair and energy, it was fun waiting to pick up our food.

As predicted, that was one tasty Gardenburger, grilled onions and all. I dined in fine style at gate A6 and thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I have to admit, that as I polished off the last of that Gardenburger, I was pretty impressed to marvel to myself that airport food CAN be good! Next time around, I will have to tell you about Andale or 360 Burrito in Oakland!