Good food: Options before you board your flight

Toss out the phrase “airline food” and you’re likely to be confronted with groans, blank stares, or derisive comments about the half-ounce of pretzels and three ounces of diet pop that are standard fare on most flights up to three hours. Unless you’re flying up front, you’re better off considering other food sources before you board your flight. Here are a few suggestions that might tempt your taste buds:

There’s a new dining option at Atlanta-Hartsfield: P.F. Chang’s has opened on the upper level of Concourse A. it’s the first airport location for the 20-year-old Chinese food chain.

The newest option for airport dining?  Food Trucks! Apparently airports are beginning to balk at being viewed as having boring and bland food options. A number of them are allowing food trucks to set up shop in or near cellphone lots where people wait to pick up passengers, thus serving the passengers, the people who pick them up, and airport employees. The trucks, which often showcase regional food and drink, are growing in popularity at airports like Austin, Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, Tampa, Tucson and San Francisco, with more to come. Look for a recent USA Today article here.

When a magazine like Food and Wine writes about airport dining options, it’s time to pay attention! In this recent article they extol the considerable virtues of several notable airport offerings, including the dazzling new Deep Blue in New York’s John F. Kennedy Terminal 5 and One Flew South at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. Look for all the mouth-watering details here