Flight #: 33, BOS-SFO
Departure: 6:00pm (scheduled) 6:50 (actual). Dec 31, 2022
Arrival: 9:56pm (scheduled)
Duration: 6 hours 46 min
Seat: 4F (single suite)
Class: Mint

Where were you on New Year's Eve, 2022->2023? I was in an airport, and eventually, on a flight. Not the most exciting New Years plans.

At our seats were blankets and pillows, eye masks and toothbrushes/toothpaste (but not a full amenity kit), headphones, and menus. I appreciated that they had the headphones out already, rather than having us all ask for them individually. The FAs came by to introduce themselves, but weren't particularly friendly nor attentive. Everyone seemed not pleased to be on a flight on New Years eve, myself included.

Our flight was delayed for a slew of reasons, including a broken and jammed printer at our gate which delayed boarding, issues loading bags with delayed pushback, and then, weather, both in Boston and in San Francisco. We took off about an hour late, which felt like a miracle given the assorted problems. JetBlue didn't issue a delay until well after our departure time had come and gone, and didn't do a very good job of providing any info on updated boarding times, etc.

We had a bumpy ride out of Boston, and the FAs were ordered to stay seated for an extended amount of time. This meant the dinner service, which is already fairly late for me, was delayed even further, as they couldn't even come take our orders, nor start heating things up, until more than an hour into the flight, with the meal served nearly 3 hour in. Given the departure delay as well, this meant I didn't get a drink until 8:45pm, and dinner until 9:45pm and I was ravenous. We had the same experience headed in to San Francisco, with the FAs ordered to their seats for more than the last 1.5 hours. This meant they needed to collect the headsets then, take away our drinks, etc, since they wouldn't be able to get up again. Everything was well communicated, but it was a substantial part of the flight with no service.

Food & Drink

The meal however was a great success. I greatly enjoyed everything.

Drinks

As we settled in, pre-departure beverages were offered. I went for my standard sparkling Lime Bubly. I was not provided the whole can, and I wasn't asked if I'd like ice with it, and my small cup came loaded with ice, very little sparkling water. I was parched, so this was unfortunate. When I was finally able to order a drink (nearly 2 hours into the flight!), I got the last portion of Bubly, as they had already ran out, and had no other sparkling water either. The FA said this was common, that they never cater enough sparkling water.

Wine List.
The wine lineup was exactly the same as my Eastbound flight 3 weeks prior, a standard winter lineup of a sparkling, two whites, and two reds. They were from all over, including Portugal, Italy, and Oregon.

Triennes Les Aureliens Rouge 2019.
"Big Red". "Some of the most acclaimed winemakers of the century like to vacation in southern France. Good news, they also decided to make wine from their vacation spot too. This is a smoky and big red from the Mediterranean coast."

I went for the "big red" again, as it was the best of the bunch last time. I again liked it, truly, well, a big red. Some depth and complexity, not much acid nor tanin. An interesting wine. I appreciated my large pour. ****.

Food

The menu as always offered 5 choices for small plates, and we could pick 3, along with dessert. The first two were chilled dishes, essentially salads. The seafood option was again shrimp, just like my eastbound flight, and this was the first flight I remember that didn't have a substantial red meat option (e.g. pork shoulder, lamb, etc).

Dinner Menu.
The menu was Italian inspired, with ingredients like Italian olives, Italian vinaigrette, lots of parmigiano, and even classic bolognese lasagna. I appreciated this change from the last few Mediterranean menus I'd had.

Welcome Snack: Snack Mix.
Oh wow! Now this was a snack I could get behind. I do still lament the yummy chips and dips from the previous catering, but this was hands down the best snack of the new catering. For ages it was just nuts, or the grissini I had on my eastbound flight (which actually are quite good, and would go well with the Italian themed meal). This was a snack mix, full of crunchy things, and a real adventure to eat. In the mix was a bunch of super crisp legumes - massive corn nuts, chickpeas, and broad beans, along with a few almonds. It was very, very munchable, so great for snacking. Lightly salted. ****

Dinner tray. Finally, finally I got my meal, at 9:45pm, nearly 3 hours into our flight, and 4 hours from our planned departure, and my regular dinner, time. Everything was served at once, with the standard condiments. When they did take our orders, I appreciated that they proactively asked if we wanted the bread or not, as I never want it, and felt better not wasting.
The meal was overall good, although I did combine two of my dishes (salad and shrimp) to make a more cohesive, flavorful dish. Nothing I'd rave about, but I enjoyed everything, and it was certainly better than most airline food.

Frisee Salad. "Citrus, Taggiasca olives, Italian vinaigrette, parmigiano."

I wanted the frisee salad just to have something light and fresh. I was less excited about the Italian olives (just not really an olive person) and the vinaigrette, so I asked for the dressing at least to be on the side (and had backup creamy dressing with me). My FA nicely accommodated my request for dressing on the side, and I'm glad she did, as I really didn't care for it (I just don't like vinaigrettes in general).

The frisee was crisp and fresh, exactly what I was hoping for. The olives were actually finely chopped, and thus I couldn't avoid them as I had planned, and the olive taste definitely took over every bite. I didn't find any parmesan (perhaps it was in the dressing?). The citrus (orange?) was a thick slice, juicy and refreshing, and it provided acidity to the dish naturally.

I poured most of of the saffron broth from my shrimp on top, and drizzled soy sauce I had with me, and made my own "dressing" of sorts, and it totally worked. I also added my own cracked black pepper, as only salt (nice quality salt!) is included with the condiments. I also added most of the roast fennel, and cooked shrimp from the shrimp dish to turn it into quite the dish. Overall, I made it into something I really wanted, and I'd get it again if I wanted a light and refreshing starter (and definitely would ask for no vinaigrette, and if possible, no olives). ***+ for freshness and crispness, and having an interesting salad base, **+ for toppings though, so *** overall.

Shrimp. "Roasted fennel, saffron broth."

My flight three weeks prior also had shrimp, and it was quite lackluster. Kinda fishy, kinda chewy, and I hated the oily sauce it was served in. This was an entirely different preparation though, and I've had decent shrimp on JetBlue flights before, so I gave it another try. The serving was again 5 shrimp, tails removed.

This dish was far more successful, as I liked the light saffron broth (and had truly disliked the oily salsa verde with the eastbound one), and used it in place of my salad dressing. The shrimp were a bit better cooked as well (not chewy, not rubbery), although they weren't particularly great, not juicy nor succulent, not great flavor. They really needed a more substantial dipping sauce, even though I liked the light saffron broth, it was so subtle it allowed the shrimp to shine, and they didn't really shine. The roasted fennel was soft and seemed more braised than roasted, really cooked down. It was flavorful though, and went well with the salad ingredients too, hence why I combined the two dishes. Whatever the crumble was on top I also liked, and also worked well with my salad, just adding a bit of texture. ***.

Lasagna. "Pork and veal Bolognese Bianco, parmigiano."

The lasagna I was pretty excited for. First, it seemed like a dish that would do great on a flight - easily reheated in an oven, holds heat well. Second, it was a real bolognese, with both pork and veal. Third, it also had a "bianco", white sauce, like a proper lasagna. I had high hopes, even though the more basic vegetarian lasagna I had on an Eastbound flight over the summer was pretty boring.

The lasagna was a fairly large portion. Not what you'd get in an Italian restaurant as a main dish, but absolutely plenty for one person (particularly if you had shrimp or chicken, and one of the salads, and bread, as well). It was browned on top with a nice cheese crust, smothered in both a creamy white sauce, and additional grated parmesan cheese. It also had a generous amount of ricotta between the layers. Definitely not a light dish.

The pasta was cooked well, not too soft nor mushy. The crispy crust on top was a delight. There wasn't tons of of meat in here, just some small ball shaped pieces that were kinda like sausage, but the meat was seasoned well and quite flavorful. I didn't need more meat, but it was definitely more cheese forward than meat heavy.

There was no red sauce, which didn't bother me, but might surprise some. The white sauce was creamy, but not particularly flavorful on its own, not an alfredo, I think just a béchamel. There was so much other cheese though (the grated parmigiano, the cheese crust on top, and plenty of ricotta), that it didn't need to be cheesy. I added crushed red pepper flakes (the kind you get with delivery pizza) and garlic and onion powder (because, uh, I had those with me too), to amp up the flavor a bit more too.

Overall, this really was a tasty dish, well executed, nice and hot, and on par with what you'd get at a fairly good Italian restaurant. I was impressed and recommend it without hesitation. ****.

Dessert: Vanilla Gelato. "Roasted pineapple, salted oats."

And finally, the signature gelato. Still just vanilla gelato, but it really is a nice vanilla gelato, strong vanilla bean flavor, very creamy. It was served fairly melty, exactly ready to eat. No freezer burn nor crystallization. **** gelato.

I have learned to ask for the toppings on the side, given too many cases of not really caring for the fruity topping, and having it rather ruin my gelato experience. Plus, I had fresh fruit, whipped cream, and sprinkles with me to add as I pleased. My flight attendant did this up nicely for me as well.

The roasted pineapple came warm, and she put it into one of the little dishes used for the welcome snack/condiments, which was a bit more classy than just serving in the foil ramekin they use to heat it up as my last crew did. It was quite sweet, clearly cooked with additional sweetness (brown sugar?). It was tasty, but, very sweet, so I was glad I had it on the side to not overwhelm the gelato. A little went a long way, and I was glad to balance it out with fresh strawberries and blackberries I had with me. ***.

And finally, the crunchy element, an oat based crumble. Essentially like a breakfast granola, but sweeter. I didn't really taste the "salted" element, but it was tasty, and added great crunch and texture. ***.

Together, this made for a lovely end to the meal, and I quite enjoyed it. ***+.