Mile-High Meals

I recently had the pleasure of flying Delta Airlines to San Diego for a business trip. On the first leg of my flight, from Newark to Atlanta, I was treated to a complimentary two-pack of Delta’s famous Biscoff cookies. I also found that if you ask nicely and flash a smile, the flight attendant will also sneak you a pack of pretzels. Because of the short duration of the flight—one hour and 52 minutes in the air—there were no other meal options, but I had plenty of time to peruse the in-air dining menu in the seatback in front of me. 

I was quite annoyed to see that Delta has taken a health kick. A banner across the menu top proclaimed “Food you can feel good about at 35,000 feet” and featured the choice of one of two wrap sandwiches from the Luvo frozen food company, stuffed with things like edame, organic quinoa, green garbanzo hummus, wild rice and spicy turkey. 

At the bottom of the menu, a banner proclaimed, “Love our wraps? Try Luvo frozen entrees at home,” and then gave the company’s website, with a link on where to buy. Below it travelers could share their experience at #Luvoinflight for a chance to win a one month’s supply of Luvo frozen dinners.   

The other “meal for purchase” option was a pair of tender, rare roast beef sliders on soft brioche buns with Havarti cheese and fresh, crisp Romaine lettuce, along with a bag of Lays potato chips.

After having to take off my shoes, belt, wallet, watch, sweater and other personal items, take out my laptop and put it in a separate bin, and then being put into an aluminum tube with 200 strangers, and then being propelled through the air at 400 miles per hour, counting calories was the least of my concerns.       

Actually at that point, food I “feel good about” is a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese with a large fries—a study released this week says fried vegetables are actually healthy for you—along with a Triple Thick Chocolate Shake. 

And if we have to go “in your grocer’s freezer case” route, I would prefer a nice Stouffer’s lasagna or maybe a hearty Marie Callender’s chicken pot pie. I am very svelte (if I am viewed standing between Mike from Mike & Molly and Norm from Cheers), so I do not think I need Delta Airlines telling me I need to go on a diet.

So my dining decision was made.

On the second leg of my flight, from Atlanta to San Diego, when the flight attendant came to seat 26C, I once again got my Biscoff cookies and this time two bags of peanuts! When the second cart approached with the “meals for purchase,” I politely pointed to the roast beef sliders and said, "I am ordering that." 

“I’m sorry but we’re sold out of those,” the flight attendant replied. I was very annoyed and sorry I opted not to wait on that long line at the Chick-fil-A in the terminal. I was longing for that pair of tender, rare roast beef sliders, but I had no choice but to try to Luvo Wrap. I picked the chicken one that was not spicy and came with a “multi-seed coconut chocolate chip cookie.”

I also bought a canister of Pringles for good measure.  

As I unwrapped the waxed paper on my Luvo Wrap I thought to myself, “At least I know this is the type of grub President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are chowing down on while flying on Airforce One.” Then I bit into the wrap. It actually wasn’t half bad. In fact, it was quite delicious, although I think rather pricey for $9.99. The cookie was pretty good too, although not as delicious as a Biscoff. Luckily, I was offered another Biscoff on the second pass-through of the beverage cart. 

I also had an issue with the payment option. Delta only accepts credit cards, and when I told the flight attendant I needed a receipt to get reimbursed for work, he said that Delta does not issue paper receipts and I would have to enter my e-mail address on his tablet and it would be sent to me. I did that and never received the receipt. The exact same thing happened to me in a taxi cab in Washington, D.C.  

Needless to say, on the way home, I got in line at that Chick-fil-A counter. It was a good thing too because by the time the “meals for purchase” cart got back to me the only thing left was literally one bag of granola!