Here's your first report on Alaska's transcon food offerings for the month of May, coming to you from high over Battle Creek, Michigan.

Date of flight: May 1st
Route flown: SAN-BOS
Class of service: First
Length of flight: Five hours and twenty minutes
Meal served: Luncheon
Description: Salad, followed by a choice of two entrees, then dessert



Le Menu

Comments: Having flown thirteen roundtrips between San Diego and Boston in April, I was looking forward to May's new menu offerings more so than most. This month's Nicoise Salad was - per my tastes at least - a big improvement over last month's salad with the nasty Lite Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing. The Nicoise salad is a delicious collection of mixed greens, green beans, potatoes, eggs, a tomato wedge and a small portion of albacore tuna served with an olive oil vinaigrette dressing. Best salad I've had on Alaska in a long time...



Niçoise Salad

I chose the Grilled Pork Chop for my main course. In its ongoing effort to cut food costs, Alaska's chefs evidently used a tomato slicer to cut and size these pork "chops" which looked more like pork flaps. While the thinner portion will no doubt contribute to continuing profits into the second quarter, the problem is that these 1/4" thick pork slices can't help but become dry and overcooked, especially in an aircraft oven. The BBQ Peach Sauce did little to offset the dried out meat. The polenta and green beans were tasty accompaniments.

I saw a plate of the Gemelli Ricotta pasta across the aisle. It looked like a decently sized portion and by appearances at least should please most vegetarians.

Back in Steerage, The Great Unwashed were dining on large, delicious cheeseburgers accompanied by a bag of chips. I would recommend this over the pork flap.



Grilled Pork Chop with BBQ Peach Sauce

Dessert was a Salted Caramel Budino. I'd never heard of such a concoction but it really was quite good. I'd compare it to a Crème Brûlée with crushed Oreos sprinkled on top. I really enjoyed it.



Salted Caramel Budino dessert