Airport Eats – The Hearth by Chef Lynn Crawford

Once I had checked in for my flight to Chicago, I had almost an hour to get some breakfast before boarding.  I’ve already have had my fair share of Wahlburger’s by now and fancied something other than Twist, Apropos or Red Rocket.  So, I decided to eat at the Hearth for a change.  The breakfasts here are very hearty and healthy and come in decent sized portions.  I opted for the Farmer’s breakfast.  For $16, I ended up getting two pieces of Rye toast, two scrambled eggs (or any style of egg of my choice), sausage, and potatoes.  I also ordered a cup of coffee and a tomato juice just because I was in the mood for it.  It was a very filling breakfast as I only finished half of my eggs and potatoes due to the sausage being larger than I had anticipated.

The Hearth by Chef Lynn Crawford

The Hearth provides a very homely feel just like its name suggests.  It’s very clean and pristine with an open kitchen and decorative artwork of various vegetables adorning the walls.  It also has a front patio and a takeout section.  Bar service here is decent and the television sets are typically tuned into sports channels.  I was able to watch some of the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final match between England and New Zealand.  England was dominating the match with a decisive 30 point lead early in the second half.

Farmer's Breakfast – Rye Toast, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs & Potatoes  

Due to its relaxing, laid-back environment, it’s relatively easy to strike up conversations here with your fellow travelers.  Somehow I managed to meet a woman from Los Angeles who was on her way home after a scheduled business trip.  Deanna was a very lovely lady and well-traveled.  When I asked her what she did for a living, she told me she was a trainer and merchandiser for an adult novelty manufacturer.  Oh, boy!  I got a good chuckle out that for a while.  Anyway, this is the Hearth in a nutshell.  It’s definitely a “home away from home” if you are looking for something a little different at Pearson International Airport as far as restaurant options go.

The Hearth by Chef Lynn Crawford

The Hearth by Chef Lynn Crawford

Lester B. Pearson International Airport

Terminal 1 – After-Security – Near Gate F60

Hours of Operation: 7 days/week from 4:45am – 10pm EST

Phone: (416) 776-3100

Airport Eats – Cowboy Ciao – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is one of the largest in the United States.  Sprawled out across four different terminals, you can find more than your fair share of in this major hub in the Southwest.  With my Air Canada flight scheduled to depart out Terminal 4, I ended up picking the closest restaurant to my gate – Cowboy Ciao.  You gotta love the play-on-words here with the name of the restaurant.  It was a bit busy with a lineup of several people at front waiting for tables.  One could only assume that a busy restaurant would only equate to great food and service, so I figured I would check it out.  Plus, the interior décor was visually appealing with several televisions available to occupy my time.

Cowboy Ciao

I noticed that there were some tables at the back with window views of the tarmac.  As tempting as it would be to have waited for a window seat, I opted to sit at the bar instead.  In hindsight, perhaps waiting for a table would have been a better option for me as I found the bar service extremely slow.  After waiting for about 10 minutes, I was finally able to order a Barrio Blonde.  Brewed by the Tucson-based Barrio Brewing Company, this Blonde Ale was very light and crisp with a hint of Malt and a 4.53% ABV.  The sweetness was balanced out by the Czechoslovakian Saaz Hops.  Just for fun, I added a Lime in it to give it a bit more flavour.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Since I was exhausted from this trip, I wasn’t overly hungry.  Having looked at the Specialty entrées on the menu, I opted for the “Cure for the Common Salmon.”  For $20 US, it included a quarter-pound, grilled Salmon atop a chilled orzo/arugula salad.  The arugula salad was tossed in lemon and red chile with avocado, cherry tomatoes, pickled shallots, and spiced/fried corn kernels.  All-in-all, a very light, but enjoyable lunch and one that I knew I could finish unlike the pastrami-style smoked short ribs, filet mignon or the exotic mushroom pan fry.  And there you have it.  If you’re looking for some decent from the American Southwest with some Italian and Mexican flair, then check out Cowboy Ciao.

Cure for the Common Salmon with a Barrio Blonde

Cowboy Ciao – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Terminal 4 – After-Security (USA) – Gate B22

Hours of Operation:  Sunday – Saturday: 6am PST – 10:00pm PST

Phone: (480) 946-3111

Airport Eats – Cisco Brew Pub – Boston Logan International Airport

If you’ve never been to Boston Logan International Airport, then you are in for a treat!  Literally.  It seems like no matter where you go, there’s always seafood available.  As a major port off the Atlantic Ocean, this comes as no surprise.  But with nearly three hours to kill before my flight back home to Toronto, I wanted something slightly different to pass the time other than sampling some of the freshest and juiciest Atlantic Lobster tails you possibly imagine.  And as luck would have it, there was a small little brew pub at the far East end of Terminal B that had exactly what I was looking for.

Cisco Brew Pub of Nantucket

Cisco Brew Pub – owned by Nantucket-based Cisco Brewers – sits quietly near the end of Terminal B surrounded by a couple of fast food restaurants and retail shops.  My initial plan was to just come in and try some of their flagship brews as I already ate lunch at my hotel before arriving at the airport.  But after plopping myself at the bar in front of their kitchen, I decided to take a look at their menu.  Hmm … lobster roll?  Somehow I managed not to try this local delicacy during my time here in Boston.  And as I stated above, it was impossible not to walk around Terminal B without running into a couple of seafood restaurants.  Given that it would be nearly 8pm before I would finally get home and I would be too tired to make dinner, I bit the bullet and ordered an entrée for myself.

A peek inside the Cisco Brew Pub Kitchen

My bartender’s name was Eddie – a tall, stocky African-American guy who I guessed to be in his 40s.  We started talking with each other a little bit in between him taking drink orders from the wait staff and the handful of patrons also sitting at his bar.  Once he found out I was from Toronto, he started bringing up the Canadian Football League.  Eddie is a huge football fan and supporter of Diamond Ferri – a former pro player from Massachusetts who played most of career in the CFL.  He also wanted to know how he can get a walk-on try out for the CFL, which I thought was a bit strange given his advanced age.  He was a massive guy that was well built and probably would make an excellent defensive tackle, but based on our conversations and mannerisms, he gave me the impression that he was up there in age for a potential walk-on tryout.  I could be wrong, though.

New England Lobster Roll

After a few minutes, Eddie came back with my Lobster roll.  For $26.50, it was a pricey meal.  But man, was it great!  The lobster was delicate, flaky, and just perfect, but the bun was a bit greasy for my liking.  It also came with a side salad, which was par for the course.    I also ordered a couple of beers to wash down my meal with.  Shark Tracker is a very light Lager that’s clean and crisp.  Proceeds from each sale benefit shark research, which was the main reason I decided to start off with this brew.  Sankaty Golden is a Pilsner-style Session beer with subtle Citra and Palisade hops.  It has an astringent finish to it causing an immediate dry, chalky sensation.  One of each were plenty for me.

Shark Tracker Lager

In between bites, Eddie and I also talked about the origin of Cisco Brewers and the overall lifestyle of Nantucket Island.  It sounded like a very posh, exclusive island similar to Captiva Island, but one that I might actually enjoy visiting one day.  They even distill their own Craft Gin and Rum, which he showed me samples of.  At this point, the time had come for me to settle up the bill so that I would arrive at my gate on time for boarding.  Thanks to Eddie, I will have to return to New England for a more extensive trip as there is a lot of interesting history and cuisine to discover here in this little section of the United States.

Nantucket Craft Gin & Rum

Cisco Brew Pub – Boston Logan International Airport

Boston Logan International Airport

Terminal B – After-Security (USA) – Gates B30 – B36

Hours of Operation:

Monday – Thursday: 10am EST – 30 Minutes before Last Departure

Friday:  9am EST – 30 Minutes before Last Departure

Saturday:  8am – 30 Minutes before Last Departure

Sunday:  10:30am – 30 Minutes before Last Departure

Phone: (617) 561-8782

Airport Eats – Wahlburgers

Founded in 2011 by Donnie, Mark, and Paul Wahlberg, Wahlburgers is a popular burger joint in Boston that has made its way across North America, including Toronto.  In fact, there is a Wahlburgers location inside Pearson International Airport.  With such a hype over this burger joint and also finding myself heading to Boston for my latest trip, it only seemed appropriate to eat here.  Spoiler Alert – I wasn’t overly impressed.

Wahlburgers Pearson International Airport

Located near Gate F67, Wahlburgers is easily recognizable with its bright lime green sign.  On this particular Saturday morning, it was relatively quiet with just a couple of tables sat near the front entrance, a few people at the bar, and just a handful of tables inside the main dining room section of the restaurant.  With about an hour before boarding, I figured I had enough time to enjoy a decent breakfast while watching some English Premiere League matches on television.  After sitting at the bar for at least five minutes, a waitress finally came by to take my order.

Paul's Crispy Haddock

I decided to order Paul’s Crispy Haddock with my choice of style of two eggs with Rye toast and a cup of coffee.  While the haddock was light and juicy, the scrambled eggs were average – no different from any other restaurant or diner that I’ve ever ordered scrambled eggs from.  The panko breaded portion of the haddock was perfect – slightly crisp, but not overdone.  I also killed some time by checking StubHub for last minute tickets to the Boston Bruins game that night.  The Boston Bruins were hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game #5 of their Opening Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  The thought crossed my mind about going as I have never been to TD Garden nor a Stanley Cup playoff game for that matter.

Watching the English Premiere League to pass the time

After I had finished my meal, I just sat at the bar patiently waiting for my waitress to return.  Five minutes passed.  Then ten.  Then fifteen.  Where the Hell was she?  Over the course of the one hour that I was here, my waitress only checked up on me once to see how my meal was.  With it now being close to 10am and my flight boarding at any minute, I had to search for my waitress.  Finally, another waitress had to call her out on this terrible service.  To make matters worse, as I tried to pay for my meal, the credit card machine froze.  So my waitress had to search for another one.

The Wahlbergs - Mark, Paul, Alma Elaine & Donnie

Needless to say, when I got to my gate for my flight to Boston, Air Canada had already started boarding passengers.  Luckily, I made it in the nick of time for that or else I would have been royally pissed had I missed my flight.  Honestly, I would not recommend this particular Wahlburgers location if this is how the service is.  The food was fine, but the service can be – and should be – much better than this.  I am hoping this was just a one-off situation and may consider trying it out one more time the next time I am at Pearson Airport.

Wahlburgers - Pearson International Airport

Wahlburgers – Pearson International Airport

Pearson International Airport

Terminal 1 – After-Security (USA) – Level 2 Gates, Near Gate F67

Hours of Operation: 7 days/week from 5am – Last Flight

Phone: (416) 776-2576

Airport Eats – Red Rocket 192 Grill

After countless flights out of Pearson International Airport in Toronto, there’s been one restaurant that has caught my eye for quite some time – Red Rocket 192 Grill.  Designed as a streetcar inspired retro café, the Red Rocket is a diner that I usually only ever see when flying back to Toronto on the second level of Terminal 1.  With my flight to Dallas scheduled to depart out of Gate 34, I had about an hour to try to this place out.

Red Rocket 192 Grill

As you enter Red Rocket 192 Grill, you will see a sign above the entrance with a street car logo on it.  The entrance is also lit up with red lights, although I am not really sure if that really adds to the mood of the environment or makes you question if you are walking into another type of “establishment” instead.  Once inside, I grabbed a spot at the bar as I usually do.  There was nothing really special about the bar (i.e. it did not have a retro countertop), but it was spacious and clean.  There were also a handful of patrons inside the restaurant, but I had the entire bar to myself.

Photos of Toronto's iconic sites adorn the walls at Red Rocket

Behind me were bright red walls adorned with photos of Toronto’s iconic points along the Toronto Transit Commission’s various street car stops.  Right in front of me past the bottles of liquor, I could peer into the kitchen.  And to the left of the bar was a huge window peering into Gate 51 where the plane arrives to either drops off or pick up passengers.  Red Rocket is one of the few restaurants within Pearson that give you this opportunity to see this transfer of passengers.

Looking out onto the tarmac at Pearson International Airport

With about an hour to spare before boarding, I had time to eat a full breakfast and decided to order the Big Red – Omega 3 eggs, peameal and smoked bacon, potatoes and toast.  This sizable breakfast cost $12 CDN.  I decided to go with poached eggs with this one.  They were good, but slightly watery.  I also ordered a coffee to go along with my breakfast as I had hardly slept the night before, but wanted to have enough energy to explore Fort Worth in the afternoon once I arrived.

Big Red Breakfast – Poached eggs with toast, smoked bacon & peameal bacon

For dessert – if you can even call it that during breakfast – I ordered a Vanilla Almond milkshake.  My waitress warned me that it wasn’t an authentic Almond milkshake, but Almond milk mixed with vanilla ice cream instead.  For $6 CDN, that is an expensive artificial Almond milkshake.  Nevertheless, I wanted to get the full diner experience and ordered one anyway.  It is very rare to find diners nowadays, so when I do find myself in one, I have to order a milkshake like people did back in the 1950s.

Vanilla Almond Milkshake

Overall, I found the food to be average.  The real highlight for me was the window view onto the tarmac of Gate 51 as you can watch the planes load and unload passengers.  By the time I had arrived, the sun had already risen.  But my waitress said that you can watch some pretty amazing sunrises and sunsets here at the bar – something for me to keep in mind for the future.  Speaking of my waitress, she was also the second highlight of my dining experience here at Red Rocket – friendly, attentive, full of knowledge, and concerned about my customer experience (e.g. warning me about the Vanilla Almond milkshake).

Peaking into the kitchen at Red Rocket 192 Grill

For most people, this might not mean much as you would expect this from your servers.  But for me, it is important to point this out whenever I eat at an airport restaurant as they are consistently busy throughout the year with passengers coming and going to all parts of the world – either for business or pleasure – and typically have little patience or are in a rush to get to wherever they are going.  I can’t imagine working at an airport restaurant can be an “easy experience” for the servers.  So kudos to the wonderful staff here at Red Rocket!

Red Rocket even has a Snack Counter for those on the go!

Red Rocket 192 Grill  

Pearson International Airport

Terminal 1 – After-Security (USA) – Level 2 Gates, Near Gate D51/F51

Hours of Operation: 7 days/week from 5am – 11pm EST

Phone: (416) 776-3100, Ext. 1

Airport Eats – Apropos

Apropos is a unique cocktail bar located in Terminal 1 at Lester B. Pearson International Airport just outside of Toronto, Canada.  After checking in for my flight to Dallas, I had about 30 minutes to spare prior to boarding.  Not wanting to miss the call for boarding, I decided to have a quick bite to eat at Apropos.  Here is why.

Apropos

Location-wise, you couldn’t ask for a better spot.  Apropos is located right near Gates F62/63.  My flight was departing from F64, so it was the closest place to eat.  Furthermore, Apropos has two “locations” across from each other.  I call them locations, but really, Apropos has two main cocktail bars located across the hall from each other.  So if you are departing out of Gate F62, you have one Apropos located right in your section.  If you are departing out of Gate F63 – literally located right across from Gate F62 – then you have an Apropos located in your section, as well.  There is no need for you to leave your gate whatsoever, which is such a huge convenience for passengers who are running late, but still need to eat before takeoff.

Apropos - part Delicatessen/part Cocktail Bar

Each table at Apropos has their own iPad where you can order right off the menu and pay for your meal.  I opted for a Montreal smoked meat sandwich with chips and a can of Muskoka Cream Ale.  The Montreal smoked meat sandwich was wonderfully prepared with just the right amount of mustard.  However, I found the potato chips to be very underwhelming and extremely salty.  Regardless, the Muskoka Cream Ale really hit the spot with a rich amber colour with floral tones that was smooth and easy-going.  I actually had time for one more beer before boarding, and opted for a Samuel Adams Boston Lager.  This lager had a caramel sweetness balanced with distinct citrus and piney notes and a strong, smooth finish and mouthfeel.

Montreal smoked meat sandwich with chips & a Muskoka Cream Ale

If there is one highlight about Apropos, then it is the speed in which you are served.  Food-wise and drink-wise, you aren’t going to get nearly the same choices that you would at a full service airport restaurant or pub.  But, it sure beats going to a quick snack shop where the pre-packaged sandwiches may already be a day or two old.

Apropos

Pearson International Airport

Terminal 1 – After-Security (USA), Level 2 Gates, Near Gates F62/F63

Hours:  Seven days/week from 5am EST to Last Flight

Phone: 1-866-508-3558

Airport Eats – Twist by Roger Mooking

I’ve lost count of the number of times that I have flown through the years.  But, there have been some good pubs and restaurants along the way where I have been able to get a quick bite to eat or have a pint to bide my team waiting for my plane to begin boarding.  Even though I haven’t kept track of the numerous restaurants that I have eaten or drank at, I wanted to start keeping track now with this blog moving forward.

Twist by Roger Mooking

With my recent trip to Alberta, I was scheduled to fly out of Pearson International Airport on Monday, April 18 at 7am EST.  Domestic flights require you to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours in advance, which I did.  However, with limited options open around 5am in Terminal 1, I had to really look for a restaurant or bar that was both open and appealing.  Enter Twist by Roger Mooking.

First patron at the bar shortly after 5am

The first thing that really caught my attention with Twist was the entrance to the restaurant, especially the lettering font used for the name “Twist.”  As soon as I walked in, I was impressed by how pristine and clean the restaurant was.  Of course, all restaurants should be clean first thing in the morning, but there was something about Twist that gave it more of an upscale vibe to it – something that basically said that this restaurant caters to the frequent business traveler and not just your casual tourist or vacationer.

Watching the news at Twist by Roger Mooking

When travelling solo, I usually prefer sitting at the bar because there are usually several televisions on displaying sports or news coverage to help kill time.  And most importantly, sitting solo at the bar also results in quicker service as the bartender must now take on a dual role.  Being the only patron at Twist on this particular morning, my bartender presented me with a menu while she headed back to the kitchen to get prepared for the morning breakfast rush.

Steak & eggs omelette with a side of frites

I ended up selecting the steak and eggs omelette with a side of frites.  The omelette came with three eggs, sirloin strips, crème fraiche, broccoli, and herbs for just under $13 CDN.  This protein overload hit the spot as I was barely able to make a dent into my side of fries.  Although my breakfast was excellent, the only downside was the slow service that I experienced here.  What probably should have taken 10 – 15 minutes to make seemed more like 20 – 25 minutes instead.  Regardless, I was able to make my flight on time with a full stomach.  Since Pearson Airport is my local airport, there is a good chance that I will eat here again.

Stomach full and ready for my flight to Calgary!

Twist by Roger Mooking

Pearson International Airport

Terminal 1 – After-Security (Canada), Level 2 Gates, Near Gate D32

Hours of Operation:  7 days/week from 5am EST – Last Flight

Phone: (416) 776-3100, ext. 1