Working as a crew member often mean grabbing a bite between flights and that means some airport food. So what to eat and where? Each month we will review a couple of airports and give you some hints on which locations are worth your time and money to visit and which restaurants offer you a airline employee discount and who might also allow you to call in your orders in advance and pick them up as you fly through!
But we also want to hear from you! Do you have a favorite airport restaurant? Tell us so we can pass the word in future issues on the NonRevTraveler! Email us at reviews@nonrevtraveler.com with your airport restaurant suggestions!
This month we look at dining in Phoenix and Montreal!
Eats at Montreal Airport
Given that there are few places that provide a discount to airport employees and aircrew, other than the Relay stores and HDS, finding cheap places to eat at Montreal’s Trudeau airport. The convenience style stores are not bad if you want to grab a pack of gum or magazine before the flight but it is doubtful one would want to make a bag of chips and chocolate bar, a meal even if it is 10% off for uniformed employees. Eating at YUL airport is all about finding the best bang for your buck. It is hard to find a disappointing meal as far as taste is concerned but the price of food at the airport can be quite expensive. Outside and once through security there are a couple of tried and tested, affordable options.
The most popular and very Québécois choice is to stop in at the St. Hubert express. With food ranging from salads, to burgers and strips, all of the chicken variety, it makes for great quick and filling bites to eat. The fries are fabulous and best enjoyed with the famed St. Hubert sauce. The sauce is so much of a staple of dining at the chicken purveyor that a large special dispenser to keep it warm and available is found on the condiments stand. Meals range from an affordable $9-13 without a drink.If unable to decide try the crispy strips and fries, they are a great dish. St Hubert restaurants are found few places outside of Quebec it is someplace visitors should give a go.
If healthier eating takes your fancy, before you pass through security, the MBCo – boulangerie de Montreal Company features salads, sandwiches, and other fresh fare. The prices for sandwiches can be quite steep but it is the salads that most crew stop for here. They have a counter featuring their colourful nosh showcasing three different kinds of salads. The Greek and smoked salmon salad are the best deal, ringing in just under $10 each the third is a whopping $13.99 before tax, which is on par with most of the salads found at Dorval airport. The salmon is the tastiest by far with its citrusy vinaigrette and giant capers..
Once inside the secured area check out Moe’s Deli and Bar. Located across from gates 1 and 3, it doesn’t matter what time of day the restaurant is full of patrons. Open from 04:30 -21:30 daily that is a lot of people who are in enjoying what Moe’s has to offer. Skip the dining room, service can be slow and there is little room for luggage inside the restaurant. Instead go straight up to the bar and order a smoked meat sandwich to go. The default for Moe’s is to serve Montreal’s classic sandwich is with the meat lean on rye bread with mustard and a pickle spear on the side. It is served as just a sandwich for take-out and rightfully so. The sandwich overflows with meat and is a filling meal that will stick to your bones for a few hours. Served with the meat warm it is best enjoyed not long after purchasing or the bread gets soggy. Visitors to Montreal should try the famous Montreal smoked meat sandwich at least once, except vegetarians of course. It is not to be missed by anyone with a short stopover at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport.
Phoenix Airport offers many dining options to airline employees. Unfortunately over half don’t offer any discount to any airline employees. Those restaurants operated by SSP do not offer any discount of any kind to any airline employees. Those restaurants operated by HMS all offer a 10% discount.
SSP claims they do not offer a discount because they offer “street” prices on their food. HMS also claims to offer “street” prices on their menus. It is hard to verify some of these claims as in some cases you will not find the same restaurants at the airport as you might find in Phoenix. But SSP does operate a PeiWei at the Phoenix Airport. So we compared the prices at the Pei Wei in the Phoenix Airport to the prices at the Pei Wei in Tempe on Guadalupe. At the airport Pei Wei, lettuce wraps were $8.29 and Honey Seared Chicken was $8.25. At the Tempe location lettuce wraps are $6.99 and Honey Seared Chicken was $6.39. So the claim of offering “street prices” does not hold water for us. Based on this we will assume airport prices at the SSP restaurants are about 20% to 25% higher than what you can get at the same restaurant outside the airport.
We did stop by the McDonald’s in Terminal B15-20 and they had a dollar menu and the prices were pretty close to “street” prices in our option. In the case of McDonald’s we do feel they offer “street” prices and to their credit they still extend a 10% discount to airline employees with an airline ID badge.
The other big advantage HMS offers airline crew is that you can preorder your meal using their app, Be4 You Board – Apple App – Click here to download it.
This allows you to order your food and have it delivered to your gate when you arrive. Perfect for the crew on the go with little time to go stand in line and get a meal. The B4 You Board app works in a number of airports. Click on this link for a current list of airports where you can use the B4 You Board app with HMS restaurants – http://www.hmshost.com/airports/locations/
So for the most part we are going to overlook in this article the SSP restaurants at the Phoenix Airport since they don’t think our airline employee readers deserve a discount.
The HMS restaurants all extend a 10% discount with ID, excluding alcohol, to all airline employees and also offer a 10% to 15% discount to active military. Now when we went thru the Phoenix Airport researching this article, several HMS restaurants told us they did not offer a discount. NOT TRUE! We spoke with the manager at the airport who is over the HMS restaurants and he assured us that they did offer a discount and the employees all have a airline employee key on their cash register. He attributed the problem to new hires. We told him we were doing this article and he said he would make sure they were all aware of the discount policy. So if you are told at an HMS restaurant they do not offer a discount, ask for the manager.
In addition there were in several of the terminal wings, a small take and go shop. Most of them also offered a 10% discount to airline employees and were independent of SSP and HMS, so support them when you go thru the airport in Phoenix.
So here is our take by terminal on where to eat/drink:
Terminal 2 – Wendy’s is the only place in the terminal that offers a discount. 10% with ID.
Terminal 3 – Pre Security – Bowtie Bar & Grill and Starbucks both offer a 10% discount with ID.
Terminal 3 – Gates 1-14 – Both Jackalope Flats Bar and Kokopelli Deli offer a 10% discount with ID.
Terminal 3 – Gates 15-26 – Both Starbucks and Taberna del Tequilla offer a 10% discount with ID.
Terminal 4 – Baggage Claim – Starbucks offers a 10% discount with ID.
Terminal 4 – Pre-Security – Chelsea’s Kitchen, Sauce and Starbucks offer a 10% discount with ID.
Terminal 4 – Gates A1-14 – Blanco T&T, Dilly’s Deli, Modern Burger and Olive & Ivy offer a 10% discount with ID.
Terminal 4 – Gates A15-30 – Peet’s Coffee & Tea at the entrance to the gate area and Tammie Coe Cakes across from A22 offer a 10% discount with ID.
Terminal 4 – Gates B1-14 – Focaccia Florentina across from B6/8 offers a 10% discount with ID Press Coffee Food and Wine offers an employee menu with reduced prices.
Terminal 4 – Gates B15-28 – Cowboy Ciao, McDonald’s and Starbucks offer a 10% discount with ID..
Terminal 4 – Gates C1-10 – Starbucks offers a 10% discount with ID.
Terminal 4 – Gates C11-20 – Cartel Coffee Lab offers a 10% discount with ID on food items and a large coffee for the price of a small.
Terminal 4 – Gates D1-8 – Barrio Cafe, La Grande Orange and Peet’s Coffee & Tea offer a 10% discount with ID.
Of these restaurants, Cowboy Ciao, La Grande Orange are worth the walk with excellent food options. If you want TexMex, the Barrio Cafe and Cartel Coffee Lab is a wonderful local coffee shop with a visit.
Here is what Entrepreneur Magazine had to say about Cowboy Ciao in 2012 – “HMSHost opened Cowboy Ciao at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in November 2012. As part of several HMSHost restaurant openings in the airport’s Terminal 4, Cowboy Ciao, one of the region’s must-try restaurants, is an airport version of Peter Kasperski’s street side location in downtown Scottsdale, AZ. The restaurant started with a unique Southwest-meets-Italian premise that has evolved into a style best described as eclectic American, with menu items such as Southwest-rubbed pork shank osso buco.”
This is why we suggest Cowboy Ciao is worth your time if you are traveling thru Terminal 4 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Many employees at the airport including some of the employees we spoke to at the HMS restaurants said they thought La Grande Orange was the best restaurant in the airport. Earning 4 stars on Yelp, at La Grande Orange you will find unique items such as Kale and quinoa salad, they also offer fantastic pizza, try the Mother Earth Pizza, loaded with veggies plus tasty sandwiches and burgers.
Some restaurants at Phoenix Sky Harbor offer vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan options. Here are some examples: (Those with an asterisk before their name, offer you a 10% discount with your airline ID.)
Terminal 4
Gluten-Free
*Cartel Coffee Lab – Gates C11-C20
*La Grande Orange (LGO) – Gates D1-D8
*Sauce – Pre-security
Sir Veza’s Taco Garage – Gates C11-C20
*Tammie Coe Cakes- Gates A15-30
and at *Lola Coffee – Pre-security
Vegetarian
*Barrio Cafe – Gates D1-D8
*Blanco T & T – Gates A1-A14
*Chelsea’s Kitchen – Pre-Security
*Cowboy Ciao – Gates B15- B28
*La Grande Orange (LGO) – Gates D1-D8
*Sauce – Pre-security
Sir Veza’s Taco Garage – Gates C11-C20
*Tammie Coe Cakes- Gates A15-30
and at Lola Coffee – Pre-security
Vegan
*Barrio Cafe – Gates D1-D8
*La Grande Orange (LGO) – Gates D1-D8
Sauce – Pre-security
Sir Veza’s Taco Garage – Gates C11-C20
*Tammie Coe Cakes- Gates A15-30
and at Lola Coffee – Pre-security