I’m not sure any US airline gets as much attention on its catering as American. There are reasons for that, not the least of which is that American’s catering was historically a tiny bit better than the others. I caught a little heat for not finding as much fault with the famous beef dish last year as some others, aside from having too much gravy (goop? sauce?) and a slightly less than premium cut of meat.
Knowing that American was implementing some improvements (undoing some of what it did) to catering beginning in May, I was excited to have a first class dinner flight booked recently on AA’s new nonstops from LAX to ATL. I had previously gotten to try some of their new light bites, and was quite pleased. My dinner choices were beef teriyaki and some veggie thing. I went for the beef.
The good – The salad was fresh and tasty, and the chicken appetizer was quite good. The pretzel rolls are always a favorite. There was also a noticeable reduction in goop quantity poured over the meat. The rice was ok, and the veggies weren’t overcooked. The less good – the beef wasn’t the greatest, but I think it might have moved up one notch on the quality scale since the last time I had it or maybe leaving off some of that sauce they use made it seem better. The very good – the cookies & cream ice cream for dessert!
All in all, it wasn’t the worst meal I’ve ever had on an airplane, and I certainly didn’t turn anything down. I’d probably order it again based on the two choices I had. Have you noticed any catering improvements on your American flights this month?
-MJ, May 23, 2015
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