Airplane Food

"When I learn to fly (high)..."

I write this entry as I fly back to Boston after a wonderful and relaxing holiday back home. As I look wistfully at the slumbering man in the seat next to me, I curse my store-brand (useless) sleeping pills which had left me lethargic yet uncomfortably awake. Thankfully, the arrival of lunch provided a temporary relief from the nauseating boredom of the flight.

The combination of hunger, my general abhorrence of flying, and extreme boredom severely deteriorated my usually critical eye towards food. Nevertheless, even in my weakened state, I concur that airplane food is as bad as people claim. The grilled chicken strips in my salad tasted mushy and made me question if the strips were actually from a real chicken. The “feta” cheese tasted like plastic. I also had a sneaking suspicion that the salad was just a larger and better presented version of the meal in coach. Ironically, the tortilla soup was the tastiest part of the meal, and I usually cannot stand soups. Although the soup was a bit salty, it contained a good consistency of corn and tomatoes. By dipping my roll (which was fortunately served soft and warm) in the soup, I was able to offset the overly flavorful soup with the blandness of the roll. The dessert, a “fresh” chopped fruit bowl, looked presentable but was served as warm as the soup, which made me think that there was a high probability that consumption might lead to food poisoning.

All and all, the happiest moment of the flight was the landing.