SFO - San Francisco 

Dogpatch Bakehouse and Cafe

At first glance I thought I may have found my "airport whole foods" at Dogpatch who had an assortment of colorful, artisanal, ready-made salads to choose from. A quartet of quinoa, kale, beets and butternut squash seems like a failsafe bet. In reality, it turned out to be 50/50...thumbs up for the yummy kale and the juice beets, thumbs down for the tasteless quinoa and the sour squash. 

ANC - Anchorage, AK - outside of security

I can't say that I'm one to purchase breakfast from a pizza place, but this artisanal oatmeal from Pizza & Wings was a much appreciated gem.

ORD - Chicago O'Hare, Terminal 1 - C gates

Laids and gents, I do believe that Beaudevin served me the best salad I have ever eaten in an airport: their Mediterranean Chicken Salad! Even though it was clearly not prepared freshly, the combo of grapes, almonds, chicken and a delectably scrumptious mystery Mediterranean salad dressing really had me savoring every bite. Well done! This will definitely justify future ORD food field trips if necessary. I will be back.

KCI - Kansas City

One would not to expect a chicken, apple, walnut salad at a joint called "Budweiser Grill" but I went for it and it wasn't completely dismal. The dressing was very good and the greens were not wilty. I did, however, somehow manage to inadvertently eat all of the walnuts, apples and greens first only to find that I had left most of the rubbery chicken behind.... 

ATL - Atlanta

Could this be the solution to all of my airport eating flops?? And sold at Hudson News, the Starbucks of airport sundries stores? A meal in a box. Well, “meal” I suppose…but I’d choose a 3 course meal of roasted edamame & pepitas, mulit seed crackers with hummus and a chocomallocrispie any day over a wilted salad with rubbery chicken and slippery peppers. Where can I buy these in bulk? I may turn into a BYO operation...

LGA - LAGUARDIA, NYC - Terminal D If you know me, you may be familiar with my affinity for fresh squeezed juice…And finding this in an airport?! This may be categorized as a gold mine in my book. Unfortunately, an experience at World Bean could likely be neither stellar or fulfilling. You might order the juice. You might stand around waiting 10 minutes for it. Upon inquiring on its whereabouts, you might be told that it’s not ready yet and that something must be retrieved from the storage room which will take another 10 minutes. Seeing as this is an airport, you may also have a flight to catch in the near future and not have the luxury to wait around 20 min for a juice. And then you might have to walk away empty-handed, with you no juice. Yea, that happened. 

DCA Washington Reagan (gate 41, US Airways terminal) Never too early for this gem. Thank you, CIBO Express, for brightening my travel morning.

TYS - Knoxville, TN Seeing as my only other options for coffee were Ruby Tuesday, Quiznos and Cinnabon, this Starbucks was a deliciously delectable discovery.

ATLANTA Terminal B, in the center between gates B18 & B19 fine. food. fast, you say? yes. yes. and YES! The Asian Almond Encrusted Tuna Salad was definitely NOT another mediocre salad! It was delicious. I would definitely consider an airport field trip to this spot if I’m in ATL again. Also, they had a super friendly staff - makes all the difference on a dreary travel day!

SEA (Seattle) right past security If there's any airport to go to a Starbucks, I suppose it would have to be in Seattle...even if there is a line!

Boston (Terminal B) Super yummy oatmeal with blueberries, toasted almonds and brown sugar from Pete's Coffee and Tea. Quite an upgrade from Starbucks oatmeal, I might add....

PWM - Portland, ME Linda Bean's Maine Lobster Café is on par with all of the other amazing seafood I ate in this lovely state. Crabcakes at an airport can be scary… But not this time!

PWM - Portland, ME Coffee that will suffice....though I found out that there's a Starbucks around the corner that I likely should have held out for...

EWR - terminal C The only possible way to make an 8 AM flight slightly more bearable. Thank you Baluducci's.

NEWARK (Terminal A) EWR ,you've done it again - made a ridiculously yummy wrap that I'm probably only able to purchase at the airport!

NEW ORLEANS (food court outside security) Delish local coffee at West Beignet to welcome me to The Big Easy! (Coffee models are not local)

NEWARK (EWR) Market Fresh, Terminal A, Gate A24 My all-time favorite tuna salad wrap lives at the Newark Airport. Yes, you read that right. Something about the honey mustard wrap or maybe the honey mustard sauce inside that turns this into a ravishingly delectable snack.