I should also note that the downgrades are substantially only at the ORD lounge, which opened in late 2016, followed by SFO in April 2018. During that long interval, United/Sodexo apparently took a very careful look at how passengers used the PL, and made significant adjustments to the product such that the current iteration is essentially Polaris Lounge 2.0. Things like Veuve Clicquot, whiskey tasting bar, the Art Smith "partnership", a more extensive menu, etc., have gone away. On the other hand, UA clearly made square footage a priority, and rightfully so, as the lounges actually get pretty crowded these days. Since the opening of the SFO lounge, ORD was mostly synchronized with the rest of them, and the product hasn't changed all that much from mid-2018 to now.

I've been using the EWR PL +/- 1x a month since it opened and have only noticed some minor changes, and not to the negative. It's mostly been a consistent experience and, despite my quick-take above (relative only to the ORD PL), I want to make it clear that United gets this right.

I’ll also say that I’ve visited a few AA Flagship lounges, and while they have a lower barrier to entry than Polaris Lounges, they are (IMO) a notch or two down in quality. More comparable to the nicest SkyClubs, in my view. Flagship Dining is a pleasant experience, certainly a step up from PL dining rooms, but it’s quite rare that I find myself in true F these days.

remember SFO was the worst FC lounge in the system too from an F&B point of view.

Here is the ORD menu as of about 5 minutes ago

In fairness, it is labeled “small plates”

Actually I would just fill up on the small plates, those look pretty good!