cesco.g

I travelled last week from Zurich to Washington and I'd like to report on the food service of this flight. This was my second UA transoceanic F-Class flight since UA revamped their F-class menues this spring. So I was curious, how my second experience compared to my first one. The flight is operated on a 767-300, 9h15 min scheduled flying time, Seat 1C, a first row single middle seat. The menu:

To begin

Join us in a sampling of appetizers:

Hot egg flan with spinach, ricotta cheese, pistachios and tomato sauce
Smoked salmon and mango salad with chili
Slices of smoked breast of duck in cucumber band
Saffron Mayonnaise


Salad

Garden fresh salad with hot prawns piri piri
Caesar or sun-dried tomato dressing


Main Course

Filet mignon with roasted garlic demi glace

Boursin cheese stuffed breast of chicken with mushroom sauce

The above entrees include your choice of: Roasted red skin potatoes or potato dumplings with spring onions, Yellow squash and carrots or sauteed spinach with shallots

Roast pork loin with dark beer sauce
Potato wedges, maple glazed nectarine wedges and savoy cabbage

Vegetable-stuffed zucchini with creamy corn risotto and tomato coulis
Creamy pine nut pesto sauce and Parmesan cheese


Dessert

International cheese selection
Gruyere, Brie and Stilton cheese

Haagen-Dazs ice cream with sundae topings

Warm wild berries gratin

Fresh seasonal fruit


Prior to arrival

Fresh seasonal fruit appetizer

Eggplant and turkey bruschetta with a red bell pepper coulis
Lyonnaise potatoes, mozzarella cheese and a pine nut pesto sauce

or

Chilled deli plate
Parma and Farmhouse ham, salami, Appenzeller cheese and tomato
A low carbohydrate alternative


Featured Wines


Champagne

Billecart-Salmon, 1997
Pol Roger, 1996

White Wine

Josepf Drouhin Rully 2002, Chardonnay
Pierre Sparr Alsace 2002, Pinot Gris Reserve
Kunde Estate Sonoma Valley Kinneybrook Chardonnnay 2001
Williamette Valley Pinot Gris 2002

Red Wine

Sacha Lichine Nuit-St-Georges 2001, Pinot Noir
Chatau Ranzan-Segla Margaux 1999
St. Supery Napa Valley Merlot 2000
Estancia Pinnacles Monterey Pinot Noir 2001

Beverages

Apertifs and cocktails
Spirits and liqueurs
Beer
Sandeman's Porto
Starbucks coffee


All courses except the main course and the pre-arrival meal were served from the cart. This service modus made the dining experience very indvidual, giving the FA the opportunity to serve passengers multiple choices of appetizers, cheese, fruit and dessert. Very staisfying in every way!

I had the eggflan spinach and the breast of duck. Both were excellent. The eggflan was a nice portion of spinach enhanced with the flavors of ricotta and a very tasty tomato sauce. Really delicious along with a glass of the Bilecart-Salmon Champagne. The spicy prawns distinguished this salad along with the sun-dried tomato dressing. I then opted for the chicken, which was moist, creamy with that Boursin filling, accompainged by a real mushroom sauce. I enjoyed it with a glass of St. Supery Merlot, a dry red with a great bouquet. I kept the wine along with a couple of pieces of Grueyre and Brie, both first-rate cheeses. Finally, I tasted the gratin, a lighly sweeted treat full of berry flavors. Pre-Arrival the eggplant & turkey bruschetta was a delicate balance of flavors along with the red pepper sauce.

All in all an outstanding meal, putting UA in the upper league of F meals. This experience was an equally-satisfying match of my first F-class ZRH-IAD flight a couple of months ago. Highlights remembering from my first flight were spicy chicken tikka strips as a salad topping and an out-of-this-world chocolate-date gratin for dessert. Having enjoyed F and C-class catering on many transatlantic-pacificbroutes I would also rate the Catering Quality out of Zurich as one of the best ones UA has to offer!

oontiveros

You know, that chicken tikka salad and dressing is outstanding...I was on FRA-ORD last month in F and several of us who were chatty made positive comments on this yummy dish on the way to immigration... The fish dish was outstanding as well...I think it was a halibut with creamed spinach...one of the best meals I ever had on a plane.

Also, I have to say that these routes, IAD-ZRH, has really great service and FAs on it. Also that particular FRA-ORD flight. Two of my best experiences on UA. A vast contrast to transatlantic flights for the most part. All crews were "seniors."

Rudi

nöd schlächt - I bi ifersüchtig

cesco.g

Rudi," hoffentlich bald emol zaeme!"

SMART51

Can somebody translate the above messages. Thank you

Rudi

Rudi: Not bad - I am sooooooooooooo®© jealous

cesco.g: Rudi, I hope you will join me in the near future.

we are proud of our different swiss-german dialects

(well if we really should speak a language that a majority in this world speaks and understand, we probably should start learning mandarin.)

airoli

And just to add another dialect here:

Ja, das tönt würklich fein, danke für de Pricht! Als was mues ich mir de "Hot Egg Flan" gnau vorstelle - Omelette?

SMART51

I could type in Arabic too

peteropny

But I can't type in Thai

cesco.g

airoli: to your question, what that Hot Egg Flan was like. Actually it came in the shape of a souffle/cupcake consisting primaily of spinach with some egg & cheese; light yet very tasty, complemented by that delicate tomato sauce.