the inflight dish
On my recent foodie adventures through Europe, I found myself on a number of short haul flights (mainly with my overseas BFF Lufthansa) where I encountered snack foods ranging from good and not-so-good, to just plain weird. First, let's take a moment to give a round of applause to these Euro-based carriers who still manage to provide a complementary meal/snack service during their flights. Yay free meals! Now, let's dish the dirt (with pictures!) on these wacky inflight ...
I find myself racing at top speed through the Zurich airport, attempting to make one of those generally inadvisable, asthma-inducing, 30-minute international connections. I tend to travel light, hand-luggage only, so my focus is on making it from point A to point B (or G). I breeze through passport control and security, beelining it to the gate where boarding has already commenced. When I hand my ticket to the gate agent, a machine beeps and the world's tiniest inkjet printer spits ...
Medium-rare steak on a plane. Is it physically possible? This is UPGRD.com's continuous, existential debate. What culinary possibilities lurk beyond the galley curtain? Beyond expectations? Even beyond a passenger's wildest dreams? For airborne beef is there more out there than a sad, toughened hue of grayish brown? The general consensus between frequent fliers and crew is that "rare steak on a plane" is a concept much like the Yeti, unicorns and Doctor Who's Tardis: its existence can only be ...
The sound you just heard echo around the planet was UPGRD.com producer, Mike, yelling at the top of his lungs with dizzying, head-exploding, heart-pounding joy. Apparently you can order medium rare steak on a plane. Find out in next week's Inflight Dish post if this perfectly cooked steak was merely a fluke, an elaborate set-up or an airborn version of "Punked," And in the meantime, Mike can begin mass-emailing his "I told you so's".
Like many flights out of Africa, my flight to Frankfurt departed in the middle of the night. I was ready for serious napping, and boarded with a belly full of kitfo (Ethiopian steak tartare) so a full dinner service wasn't an option. Honestly, I was still waiting to see how my "steel" stomach would hold up after devouring a bowlful of raw beef in downtown Addis Ababa. Thankfully, it held up well.
I used Star Alliance miles to purchase the Lufthansa legs of my journey, and due to ...
This spring, Lufthansa enlisted New York celeb chef David Burke to design innovative menus for First and Business class passengers on long haul routes from Germany. David Burke is most famous for his eclectic, Willy Wonka-like visions of candy floss and cheesecake lollipops, wild savory flavor combinations and eye-popping culinary colors. With a string of namesake eateries in New York, David Burke rules the roost in a funky high-concept foodie empire.
The path between ...
