Guide to Flagship First Dining at LAX / Los Angeles
Oct 11, 2018, 7:37 am
#47
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold
Posts: 1,896
Oct 15, 2018, 12:13 pm
#48
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold
Posts: 1,896
October 12 Visit
Using the guiding hand of platbrownguy in his earlier post on this thread, I took the dive:
Krug Champagne (even better in a wine glass instead of a flute).
Clams in pesto broth.
Arepas.
Pork Chop.
Mille-Feuille.
The quality of the food was outstanding. The small portion sizes makes it possible to try several different dishes.
^AA
Krug Champagne (even better in a wine glass instead of a flute).
Clams in pesto broth.
Arepas.
Pork Chop.
Mille-Feuille.
The quality of the food was outstanding. The small portion sizes makes it possible to try several different dishes.
^AA
Dec 6, 2018, 11:56 pm
#49
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,600
IMO, LAX Flagship and First Dining is simply the best domestic premium experience these days. I spent a pleasant 90 minutes Tuesday night before AA 10. Great service from a personable FL AAngel who escorted me from FL check-in to First Dining. Once in FFD, friendly and attentive service although a little unpolished at times. I arrived just before 7pm and after the LHR pax had left so there weren't many other pax in the lounge. I headed to the bar area and the communal table which I had to myself the entire stay.
FFD has really upped its game on the champagne and wine front. The impressive wine list and my first of a couple glasses of the Krug Grande Cuvée. Proper service would have been to bring the glass and bottle, present and pour at the table. But alas, this is American and my server poured the champagne behind the bar and then walked the glass over from there.
Tonight's menu, which may have been its first day.
I started with the Pork Belly and Kimchi Lettuce wraps, with black vinegar rice noodles and Salmon Creek pork belly. All in all pretty bland and disappointing.
For my main, I ordered the Grilled Rib Eye Spencer Steak Frites, with roasted shallot demi-glacé and creamed spinach. This dish looked wonderful.
Unfortunately, it was not very good. I love rib-eye, but the "chef" ruined it by forgetting to salt or season it before putting it on the grill. Adding salt after the fact just doesn't do it. Certainly not impressed with quality of the cut as half of my steak was fat. The fries were tasty but soggy and limp as if they've been sitting around all night, or hey, trucked up Sepulveda earlier in the day.
Although the spectacular 2012 Les Pagodes de Cos was more than enough to keep me happy.
Since I didn't finish my steak, I decided to try something less ambitious for the chef. The Orecchiette Pasta with house-made venison sausage and rapini.
The pasta was superb and the Pagodes de Cos memorable as I finished off the rest of the bottle.
And dessert.
The Deep Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse was delicious.
In spite of some disappointing food and obvious issues in the kitchen, it was still a wonderful experience. Flagship First Dining blows away the declining Qantas Lounge if you are flying First.
FFD has really upped its game on the champagne and wine front. The impressive wine list and my first of a couple glasses of the Krug Grande Cuvée. Proper service would have been to bring the glass and bottle, present and pour at the table. But alas, this is American and my server poured the champagne behind the bar and then walked the glass over from there.
Tonight's menu, which may have been its first day.
I started with the Pork Belly and Kimchi Lettuce wraps, with black vinegar rice noodles and Salmon Creek pork belly. All in all pretty bland and disappointing.
For my main, I ordered the Grilled Rib Eye Spencer Steak Frites, with roasted shallot demi-glacé and creamed spinach. This dish looked wonderful.
Unfortunately, it was not very good. I love rib-eye, but the "chef" ruined it by forgetting to salt or season it before putting it on the grill. Adding salt after the fact just doesn't do it. Certainly not impressed with quality of the cut as half of my steak was fat. The fries were tasty but soggy and limp as if they've been sitting around all night, or hey, trucked up Sepulveda earlier in the day.
Although the spectacular 2012 Les Pagodes de Cos was more than enough to keep me happy.
Since I didn't finish my steak, I decided to try something less ambitious for the chef. The Orecchiette Pasta with house-made venison sausage and rapini.
The pasta was superb and the Pagodes de Cos memorable as I finished off the rest of the bottle.
And dessert.
The Deep Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse was delicious.
In spite of some disappointing food and obvious issues in the kitchen, it was still a wonderful experience. Flagship First Dining blows away the declining Qantas Lounge if you are flying First.
Last edited by SFO777; Dec 7, 2018 at 8:30 am
Dec 7, 2018, 2:31 am
#50
Join Date: Jul 2004
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I used FFD from approximately 8 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday and found it to be excellent, in line with my previous experience, posted above. I had not been through since then.
When I got off the elevator, one of the desk agents noticed my FFD invitation and proactively walked me back to the dining room to hand me off to the hostess there -- very nice touch.
Once in the dining room, I sat at a table facing the bar area. Both of my servers recognized me from last time and asked where my wife was ^. I had to fire off some emails, so I started with oysters (crisp and only slightly briny -- the trout roe and tomato toppings were perfect but the shallot topping was too heavy-handed; I would remove a bit before eating). Then I worked and drank Krug until about 9 p.m.
Then I went all-in, realizing I hadn't really eaten much all day, and had three mains -- the tuna, the "ribeye," and the duck:
The tuna was the star of the show. Sesame crust was toasted through but the yellowfin was perfectly rare underneath the crust. The rock shrimp/avocado was a clash to the Asian sauce on the tuna, but separately each component was great.
The ribeye was, unfortunately, a letdown, exactly as SFO777 described, although I didn't mind the lack of salt (I found the demi-glace to be sufficiently salty). I had more fat than meat, but managed a few good bites. The fries were eh, the spinach was bland and soggy, and it was unclear why the random thyme sprigs were necessary.
Nevertheless, the random thyme sprigs reappeared on the duck, which I thought was decent (if all I'd had was the duck, I would have been perfectly satisfied). I doubt it's true confit (i.e., cooked in duck fat) but probably better for the arteries that it isn't, and it paired nicely with the apple polenta.
A few more glasses of Krug brought me to 10:30 or so. Then I had one more round of oysters, accompanied by a glass of Ancho Reyes chili liqueur (Centurion DFW used to carry it but stopped, so now I have to rely on FFD for it). Then a Suntory whisky (a newish Japanese Scotch that punches above its price tag). I left full and happy and barely noticed my five-hour flight before waking up in JFK. Well done, LAX ^
I missed you by a day! -- I was on Wednesday's AA15. The new menu indeed started Tuesday. I'll be back through in 2 weeks on the way back from HKG and will give the pasta a try -- looks great!
When I got off the elevator, one of the desk agents noticed my FFD invitation and proactively walked me back to the dining room to hand me off to the hostess there -- very nice touch.
Once in the dining room, I sat at a table facing the bar area. Both of my servers recognized me from last time and asked where my wife was ^. I had to fire off some emails, so I started with oysters (crisp and only slightly briny -- the trout roe and tomato toppings were perfect but the shallot topping was too heavy-handed; I would remove a bit before eating). Then I worked and drank Krug until about 9 p.m.
Then I went all-in, realizing I hadn't really eaten much all day, and had three mains -- the tuna, the "ribeye," and the duck:
The ribeye was, unfortunately, a letdown, exactly as SFO777 described, although I didn't mind the lack of salt (I found the demi-glace to be sufficiently salty). I had more fat than meat, but managed a few good bites. The fries were eh, the spinach was bland and soggy, and it was unclear why the random thyme sprigs were necessary.
Nevertheless, the random thyme sprigs reappeared on the duck, which I thought was decent (if all I'd had was the duck, I would have been perfectly satisfied). I doubt it's true confit (i.e., cooked in duck fat) but probably better for the arteries that it isn't, and it paired nicely with the apple polenta.
A few more glasses of Krug brought me to 10:30 or so. Then I had one more round of oysters, accompanied by a glass of Ancho Reyes chili liqueur (Centurion DFW used to carry it but stopped, so now I have to rely on FFD for it). Then a Suntory whisky (a newish Japanese Scotch that punches above its price tag). I left full and happy and barely noticed my five-hour flight before waking up in JFK. Well done, LAX ^
I missed you by a day! -- I was on Wednesday's AA15. The new menu indeed started Tuesday. I'll be back through in 2 weeks on the way back from HKG and will give the pasta a try -- looks great!
Dec 7, 2018, 8:39 am
#52
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Like you, I slept most of the flight waking up only as we were descending. One of the best AA experiences in recent memory. ^
Dec 7, 2018, 8:41 am
#53
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
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Posts: 9,239
Dec 7, 2018, 11:51 pm
#54
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Posts: 3,952
I do my best to admit my mistakes when I make them, so I'm doubly embarrassed that I took this long to respond to my "Sepulveda" moment. 
Anyway, my work since this past summer has taken a lot of my time away from FT, and when I'm on FT, I usually spend it on the UA, China, and Asia forums first. So, were it not for the recent posts on this thread, I'd still be in the dark about the "full kitchen and a chef" behind the FL.
BUT I cannot accept the notion that the food OP posted on the first 2 pages of this thread had come from the same kitchen as those shown in the more recent food photos. They are night and day. Looking through L.A. health department inspections (the records are available publicly), the FL kitchen didn't close for any code-related issues; however, it did receive an uncharacteristically low score earlier this spring (and subsequently corrected). So, even though I acknowledge it's not S.O.P. for the food to be trucked down Sepulveda before entering the FL, the FL kitchen in reality could have been temporarily closed for any number of reasons. In the least, the recent photos show that the food at the beginning of this thread was the exception and not the norm.
Anyway, my work since this past summer has taken a lot of my time away from FT, and when I'm on FT, I usually spend it on the UA, China, and Asia forums first. So, were it not for the recent posts on this thread, I'd still be in the dark about the "full kitchen and a chef" behind the FL. BUT I cannot accept the notion that the food OP posted on the first 2 pages of this thread had come from the same kitchen as those shown in the more recent food photos. They are night and day. Looking through L.A. health department inspections (the records are available publicly), the FL kitchen didn't close for any code-related issues; however, it did receive an uncharacteristically low score earlier this spring (and subsequently corrected). So, even though I acknowledge it's not S.O.P. for the food to be trucked down Sepulveda before entering the FL, the FL kitchen in reality could have been temporarily closed for any number of reasons. In the least, the recent photos show that the food at the beginning of this thread was the exception and not the norm.
Dec 9, 2018, 4:57 pm
#55
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I do my best to admit my mistakes when I make them, so I'm doubly embarrassed that I took this long to respond to my "Sepulveda" moment. Anyway, my work since this past summer has taken a lot of my time away from FT, and when I'm on FT, I usually spend it on the UA, China, and Asia forums first. So, were it not for the recent posts on this thread, I'd still be in the dark about the "full kitchen and a chef" behind the FL.
BUT I cannot accept the notion that the food OP posted on the first 2 pages of this thread had come from the same kitchen as those shown in the more recent food photos. They are night and day. Looking through L.A. health department inspections (the records are available publicly), the FL kitchen didn't close for any code-related issues; however, it did receive an uncharacteristically low score earlier this spring (and subsequently corrected). So, even though I acknowledge it's not S.O.P. for the food to be trucked down Sepulveda before entering the FL, the FL kitchen in reality could have been temporarily closed for any number of reasons. In the least, the recent photos show that the food at the beginning of this thread was the exception and not the norm.
Anyway, my work since this past summer has taken a lot of my time away from FT, and when I'm on FT, I usually spend it on the UA, China, and Asia forums first. So, were it not for the recent posts on this thread, I'd still be in the dark about the "full kitchen and a chef" behind the FL. BUT I cannot accept the notion that the food OP posted on the first 2 pages of this thread had come from the same kitchen as those shown in the more recent food photos. They are night and day. Looking through L.A. health department inspections (the records are available publicly), the FL kitchen didn't close for any code-related issues; however, it did receive an uncharacteristically low score earlier this spring (and subsequently corrected). So, even though I acknowledge it's not S.O.P. for the food to be trucked down Sepulveda before entering the FL, the FL kitchen in reality could have been temporarily closed for any number of reasons. In the least, the recent photos show that the food at the beginning of this thread was the exception and not the norm.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30218269-post32.html
Dec 9, 2018, 5:01 pm
#56
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
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Posts: 9,239
Dec 9, 2018, 5:02 pm
#57
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
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Posts: 9,239
Dec 9, 2018, 6:20 pm
#58
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
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Posts: 6,670
Dec 9, 2018, 9:46 pm
#59
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K (until it expires then never again), *wood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 9,239
Dec 23, 2018, 11:23 pm
#60
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,670
Blissfully, ryan182's attempted consumption of all the Krug was unsuccessful and plenty remained for me.
No new photos; same menu as above and nothing festive for Christmas (compare to CX at HKG, which had various Christmas cocktails, mulled wine, and desserts -- and even had Santa show up this morning at the Wing F).
I first had oysters, tuna (unfortunately cut the wrong way! but still tasty) and duck (had a different sauce this time, very nice). Round Two brought mushrooms (I actually thought these were delicious, a nice mix of Cremini/Shiitake, but needed salt and I skipped the greens) and pasta (good but could have used more cheese).
Currently on AA28 to JFK in F.