PDB of OJ or water offered. Meal choices were taken pre-departure—choice of “chicken with couscous or cheese manicotti”. I chose the former, seat mate chose the latter. Passenger directly in front of us was the only one whose first choice the crew could not accommodate, and he was loudly unhappy about it, complaining about paying for F and not getting first choice, etc. FA handled it professionally. Post-takeoff, drink orders were taken. No bubbly, we were told, because inbound flight supposedly consumed it all. Is it really the case that UA double-caters IAH-SJU-IAH when incoming aircraft spends the night and sits almost 12 hours on the ground between flights? In any event, seems like catering could have bought a couple of $6 bottles on the ground? Evidently not. Went with white wine instead.

Chicken with couscous turned out to be grilled chicken breast (and a tasty orange sauce) with rice and grilled vegetables. Chicken breast was substantially larger than any pandemic-era Polaris protein I’ve had. Salad on the side (romaine, feta and cranberries with the old Polaris bottle of olive oil and vinegar), cold packaged bread, and a packaged chocolate chip cookie. All was really good! Took a photo of seat mate’s manicotti, which had the same accoutrements.

Is this the new F normal in February? If so, nice to have some new choices! Good crew that kept the drinks flowing.