goodeats21

Dec 2015 p.s.
SFO->EWR 28J version
Redeye



Was described as a Pastrami sandwich, but didn't really taste like it. Was cheesy and a bit bland, but the bread was nicely toasted/crunch. The vegetables had a weird taste and consistency, almost like they were briefly pickled or something. The little bowl contained 3 pieces of boiled red potato.

Service was very good. Food distributed very quickly so everyone could sleep as soon as possible. Basket of toothbrush/paste, eye shades, and earplugs passed before takeoff.

Choice of cinnamon roll or muffin offered prior to landing, which I declined in favor of more sleep. And of course waited until the airport to get some drinkable coffee.

1kBill

I had this on a LAX-IAH lunch flight. It was described as turkey pastrami. Not enough meat, period, and certainly not enough for the bread size. The taste was OK, but you would never mistake this as coming from a good deli. Yes, the vegetables were lightly pickled.

PTahCha

I personally didn't care for the chunk of cheese on bread as an appetizer. The cheese to bread ratio was too much, and the bread was too soft was a crostini. The appetizer from EWR was much better.

The olive oil "dressing" for the salad needed more acidity than the lemon flavoring, but the salad is a significant improvement than lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes in a bowl.

Bingo! The p.s. menu cards now come with pictures to help FAs plating the new dishes. There's no excuse for them to mess up.

dmurphynj

So here's a crazy idea ...

Wonder if they could build something into their fancy new, FA on-board iPhone app that would be a description and photo of every item in the menu rotation? Then when catering loads a certain meal on the plane, the FAs can see what's being served and what it should look like?

That'd go a long way to stopping the 'We have a salad and some kind of pasta, what's your first choice?' kind of nonsense that goes on.

Simple change - when they make a new menu item, take a few photos, type a few words, and have the FAs look it up in their app - that would go a long, long way in ensuring consistent service.

EWR764

Agree re: the salad, although the component parts were good and it was refreshing to see some new ingredients. The dressing probably would have hit the mark if it was balsamic+OO instead of just OO.

I found the appetizer to be a very small portion, though tasty.

Any chance I rode with you on this one... 12/5 departure UAL726? I was in 1A.

Agree that the service was well-executed for a redeye. Normally I don't eat, but I was coming straight from the Pac-12 championship game and most of my consumption leading up to the flight was liquid in form.

That makes a lot of sense, and FAs already get this information in a document which at one point was known as a "GAB" sheet (Galley Attendant Briefing). Of course, this presumes that the flight attendant actually cares to review the photographs and the choices to provide a higher level of service to passengers than the bare minimum.

Whether the information is presented in hard copy or by way of iPhone won't matter with an apathetic flight attendant.

goodeats21

Yep, small world. I was in 5E, so got a front row seat to all the boarding/ seat switching confusion...and still have no idea what it was about. Same guy changed seats multiple times and the GAs on board seemed bewildered. Purser was getting annoyed as well, I think.

Wish I would have known at the time. It would have been great to say hello.

cerealmarketer

Looks like they're changing up the menu monthly. That's entirely different than the November EWR-West Coast choices. So I'll give them that.

Did you see the lamb dish nearby? Looks intriguing.

Now if they could stop serving the 'Entwine' Food Network wine...

glx

Had the lamb on EWR-SFO p.s. last night, found it slightly overdone but all in all very tasty - and a generous portion, which can be a problem for a 6 hour flight.

EWR764

So THAT's what the cryptic announcement was about before the door closed... my seatmate and I were trying to figure it out, but never asked!

goodeats21

Sorry, no. My seatmate brought his own meal on-board (a great looking, overstuffed sandwich). Guess he is not impressed with Premium Service offereings

Interesting that the menu indicates "Winter 2015"...so maybe changing seasonally instead of monthly?

It was very strange. Multiple seat switching going on in the 2nd BF cabin, even after everyone was settled in...including the aforementioned guy that kept getting moved around. Multiple Gate Agents on board trying to figure it all out. Purser was just watching it all...at first bemused...later annoyed.

Coupled with the usual circus in trying to accommodate bags and everyone getting in each others way...you were lucky to be in the relatively calm forward cabin.

cerealmarketer

Yes that's it.

I guess we got an abbreviated Autumn with the rollout starting in late October.

So the lamb it will be for my next flight.

qukslvr619

OR.....the FA's could actually 1) look at the catering printout sheet that they are supposed to get 2) log onto the internal site and look at the printouts themselves to maybe, just maybe familiarize themselves with the products which they are supposed to be doing in the firstplace. It's not like any of the information is hidden so they can't see it.

Which got me wondering though...if these devices are wifi enabled they could log onto the site while they are on the plane.

EWR764

Seatmate had the lamb on the flight out and it looked tasty... the chimichurri scared me away (unknown garlic level...) but it was a generous portion and nicely presented. A welcome change to the rotation of the last few years, as I was not sure how much more tamale-filled chicken breasts, pork chops or white beans with andouille sausage I could tolerate...

kirkwoodj

Got snack basket in F on IAH-SAT and back, not bad considering 30 minute flight!

glx

garlic was not strong and went well with the dish , but it had a minor kick from some kind of pepper. not a complaint, just a FYI.