Flight Details

Flight: United Airlines Flight 598
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900 (twin-jet) (B739)
Departure: Houston IAH 4:47pm (local time) scheduled 5:18pm (actual)
Arrival: San Francisco SFO 7:08pm (local time)
Seat: 3E

Boarding was started right on time, although we had far too many big bags, and drama ensued as so many needed to be gate checked. No PDB was offered, and no little water bottles were at our seats. I was parched! We pushed back from the gate relatively on time, but, then sat to the side, and then had a looong taxi and wait, I think due to rain delays. It was nearly 30 mins from pushback before we actually took off. Once underway, it took nearly 45 minutes before they came to take our beverage orders. They weren't delivered until our meal trays were, so, more than an hour into the flight before I was able to get a sip of water, which after the lack of PDB made me fairly grumpy. The flight attendants overall weren't particularly friendly nor proactive, and everything just felt delayed.

Cuisine

Menu options for the return trip were identical to the ones I had going to Houston. Literally, the exact same. Same entrees, same salad. United ... not so good at the variety! I pre-ordered again, given that the only onboard options were the same Impossible meatballs that were sadly not good, and a chicken dish. For those who didn't pre-order, they ran out of the Impossible meatballs after row 2, which was surprising to me, given that all of row 1 just opted for snack boxes instead (from economy). For everyone else, once they had chicken as the only choice, the purser did offer to get them the burger, salad shaker, or tapas box from economy. I was actually tempted to get the falafel again, as the falafel itself really was good, but, I wanted to mix it up.

Sparkling Aha, Red Wine. My beverage selection was the same as my previous flight, given that it was a success: sparkling orange grapefruit Aha, and "red wine". The Aha came with far too much ice this time, which made the liquid portion run out fast, but also, diluted it considerably as it melted. The wine was fine, drinkable, but not great.

Meal. As always, the meal came all at once, with the same exact mozzarella starter I had a week prior (no choice), the same wheat roll (that is always actually kinda good), and the same flavor of pie-in-the-sky. Our drinks were finally delivered along with our meals.
I wish I could say this meal was as successful as the falafel, but, it wasn't.

Whole Wheat Roll. The roll was served cold, even though alongside the warm pie. I heated mine in my portable oven, as I had it ready to go, and that worked well. I do actually really like these rolls, but I wanted it warm. ***+.

Mozzarella Salad. The mozzarella was just as lackluster this time as the last - not very soft, not very flavorful, and the dish really just felt like it needed seasoning and oil to drizzle over. Meh. **. I was again amused by how many people seemed to not understand what this was ... I think the hard texture of the mozzarella throws people off.
Vegetarian Chili and Polenta Cake. "Vegetarian chili and polenta cake with ripened tomatoes, kidney beans, bell peppers, onion, chipotle peppers, and soy crumble."

I had to laugh at the portion when my entree was set in front of me ... a hearty bowl of chili this was not! I'd consider this a polenta cake, with a little chili as garnish, really. That said, I didn't mind, but if you wanted a substantial meal, definitely do not go for this option.
I was hesitant to order this dish because I don't really like chipotle, and although I like Impossible meat, this had "soy crumble" instead (the meatballs use Impossible meat), and I definitely was not excited for that. I was right to be skeptical. The chili had a few beans, and a little tomato, onion, and bell pepper, but was mostly the soy crumble. It tasted like fake meat, the kind that gives fake meat a bad reputation. It was lightly spiced, so there was some chipotle to it. Meh. I did not like the chili. I had my own cheese, and red pepper flakes, with me to jazz it up, but I couldn't escape the fake meat taste, and quickly gave up on it.
The polenta cake was fine - it was cheesy, creamy, good texture. Entirely unseasoned, but, I had my own seasoning to add. I wouldn't mind eating this again. ***+.


Chocolate Chip Pie-in-the-Sky. The cookie-pie was the exact same I had the week before, the chocolate chip version, basically just a hard chocolate chip cookie filled with a little more chocolate. Not nearly as good as the other flavors Eli's makes, and I was sad that I didn't get a chance to try one of the cheesecakes, as I know United serves them on some routes. ***.