imnotalawyer

cat885 I hear you loud and clear, I just thought it was an interesting topic of discussion given that we always seem to be in the balance of wanting access to the lounge but also wanting to limit access to the lounge. There really isn't a perfect solution (except for maybe building a leviathan space) and it remains to be seen how the lounge holds up to full-strength travel. Perhaps this is naive of me, but I imagine that terminal-hoppers represent a pretty small portion of travelers.

Visconti

That's my sense for JFK. Those on AA will stick with the Flagship and AS/BA with their lounges in T8 (? - been so long, I'm forgetting my JFK terminal #s). Generally, terminal hopping from the international terminal (T1) isn't something I'd think most will endure.

Personally, I think this location is excellent. All things being equal, Amex generally places their CLs in the terminal housing an airport's dominant and/or partner carriers. In this case, DL is certainly as dominant as any carrier at JFK, and it only makes sense the CL would be in T4. Now, what will be interesting is if we'll have a crowding issue when traffic returns to normal, and a percentage of DL flyers opt to pass the time in the CL rather than their respective Skyclubs.

bgriff

This was the menu again today. I didn't try the mains but there was also a decent Waldorf salad and a tasty pumpkin cheesecake.

Despite being a weekday in shoulder season with international travel still way down across the board, the lounge was pretty busy -- not full, but around 50% of seating areas taken. Speakeasy was packed. This lounge is definitely going to be unpleasantly crowded by next summer.

imnotalawyer

bgriff unfortunately I think that the "lounge within a lounge" mystique is always going to drive crowding in the speakeasy. Again, when I was there a few weeks back, the bartender right outside the speakeasy door looked bored out of her mind but there were only one or two open tables in the speakeasy. I will say that the layout of this lounge itself will probably do something to dull the appearance of crowding. Whereas the Delta Sky Club has a massive open seating area, which can look like a cafeteria at peak crowds, this CL is all corridors and tucked away tables. I didn't really notice many of the other guests until I started poking around. Maybe that's a bit optimistic of me but I think the point here is that this CL hasn't really faced its stress test yet... so remains to be seen how the experience is.

Now that the dust is beginning to settle I am going to have to figure out where JFK, LGA, and BDL sit in terms of comfort/convenience for me with their lounges.

jamesteroh

I was there yesterday. Really recommend the espresso martini. Very tasty and love how they spell out 1850 on the top of it with espresso powder.

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Food spread from Monday 10/11:

Slow-roasted pork thing — tasted fine and probably a welcome change from the endless chicken rotations:


Mashed potatoes — impossible to mess up and they were fine:


Butter bean gratin thing — contrary to previous reports this was also decent:


Icky vegetables:


Waldorf salad:


Looking back at all the menus I've tried in the lounge to date this is my very unscientific ranking from best to worst:
1 Chicken milanese and gnocchi (March 2021)
2 Mushroom burger and steak (October 2020 - February 2021 - inaugural menu and what's still on the website)
3 Roast chicken and orecchiette pasta (September 2021)
4 Roast pork and mashed potatoes/bean gratin (October 2021 - TBD?)
5 Roast chicken and rigatoni (July 2021)
6 Grilled chicken and chickpea stew (April - May 2021)

Also one menu which I didn't get to try — beef brisket, ricotta gnocchi, bean gratin (June 2021)

dsquared37

Very happy with a particular bartender, Jay. Dude makes some great drinks. Every other lounge has competent (give or take) bartenders, most friendly, but none are creative and prefer to just run through the motions.

Doesn't hurt that he's great remembering his patron's names.

jamesteroh

Is he the bartender in the speakeasy? There's a bartender that works there Monday afternoons that is amazing

pmblinn

I too would be impressed by anyone who could remember "dsquared37" from visit to visit!

dsquared37

I first had him pour drinks on Oct when they first opened. I was one of 2 or 3 people downstairs and we talked the entire time I was there. The next time was upstairs in May, This time, in the Speakeasy on Wednesday, I ordered a drink and he said, 'You're dsquared'. There were several other 'regulars' for whom he was concocting odd and interesting drinks.

If you've had an amazing bartender here I'm willing to wager it's Jay. There's no one in the system I've encountered who's close to the competency this guy is.

jamesteroh

It probably was him. I rarely go to the speakeasy and last trip did because I was told the espresso martini was amazing. He was making suggestions to people and I was just going to wait at the bar for my drink and he told me to jjust sit down and he would walk it over. Never had a lounge bartender do that before.

LDNConsultant

+1 on seeing something OTHER than chicken.. lol

lax01

Just want to report that the Centurion Lounge at JFK is open and the breakfast was actually pretty good!

Adelphos

I really wish this lounge were closer to the gates

dsquared37

As I'm typically flying out of T8, I'm quite pleased it isn't.