Since we travel a few times a year, we do spend quite a bit of time in airports……though not as much as in my consulting days. During most trips we plan rather well with regards to bring something to eat (i.e. Jamon Bellota Sandwiches in Spain, nuts are always good) to the airport. But there are those times we do grab something. And then we get to relax and people, or even puppy watch.
So here are a couple of places we've tried at Airports.
Eat at Joe's (Philadelphia International Airport): 
I'm not sure why we ate at Joe's. I do remember that for some reason I was starving….and hey, in spite of this being the airport; it's still Philly, right?
So why not get a Cheesesteak?
I've had some nice Cheesesteak's in Philly….the last time back in 90's, having tried both Pat's and Geno's, though my favorite was Rick's in Reading Terminal Market. This one, won't make me forget any of those.
A bit on the dry side. For some reason the texture reminded me of shipped beef. The flavor was nice; the Amoroso roll was ice cold. The fries, hot, but routine.
The dining area was a mess. First off, shame on the customers for not cleaning up after themselves. But there were also four airport employees who were just standing around goofing off, until their supervisor came along. They'd start cleaning. When the boss left; it was back to monkey business.
Eat At Joe's
Terminal B, Philadelphia International Airport
Shake Shack (JFK International Airport ):
During a long layover at JFK, I just couldn't help myself.
In spite of the line; I just had to try it; even though I had misgivings about it being "airportified" as in "really, Gordon Ramsey signed off on this"? But I had to try the legendary burger.
Other than the bun, which seemed a bit past its due date; this was quite a nice burger; great char, good seasoning…very moist, and a nice beefiness.
The Missus also enjoyed the burger and said basically what I was afraid to say out loud; "if they come to San Diego; In N Out might be in trouble". Of course, I'm not sure what the price point on that would be, but still, blasphemy! And then of course, I read about the possibility of Shake Shack opening in San Diego on Eater. Check out the comment; it says that they've signed with UTC Redevelopment; which I believe is in charge of Westfield UTC……now those will be some major lines!
Shake Shack
JFK International Airport Terminal 4
Hope you're having a great week!
that burger looks good!
I tried looking up Shake Shack menus to see prices, and they’re about twice what In’n’Out’s are, so I think InO will be just fine. 🙂
InOut forever!!!
#INO
It was Kat!
I think InO will be “fine” too Jessica. But I do think SS can take away market share….because price is basically only one of the factors when making purchasing decision.
@Billy #LOL…..
Never tried Shake Shack. I’ll have to try it when they open at UTC. The meat looks great!
Hopefully you’ll get a chance to check them out Soo.
UTC? You don’t think 5 Guys would pull away some of that line? (that being said, I wasn’t overly impressed with 5 Guys: way messy, ratios were off.)
Well perhaps SS would pull away some of Five Guys line….I’m obviously not a big fan of theirs Jan. So far, this is just a rumor, so we’ll see what happens.
Having lived out east I could never figure out what the big deal was with shake shack. It had good shakes, and better fries than IN n Out ( not saying much) but the burgers were always kinda meh.
Regarding Philadelphia airport, that used to be my hub when I lived out east for three years and it has and remains an absolutely atrocious airport to utilize. Food wise the only good places there are chickie and Pete’s, which is a good sports bar chain in the area, and this Asian bar restaurant in terminal C. The rest, minus a fast food chain or two you like, is horrible. Basically whenever I’d fly out of philly I’d always bring my dinner or lunch with me. When I flew out of San Diego as I do now, I specifically don’t bring my lunch with me. Astonishing to think about.
Hey Loren – I actually thought the burger at Shake Shack was pretty good; I was especially surprised because it was in the airport. I’m sure there are many folks in SoCal who think about InO the same way you regard SS. We actually try NOT to eat in airports, but sometimes we have extrememly long lay-overs and have no choice.