Airport Food
Food in airports is better than it used to be, but when we arrive by plane, we can’t get out of the terminal fast enough. By rental car, or even cab or Uber, we head for the nearest Roadfood eatery. These are our 25 favorite Roadfood locations that are minutes away from airports. They make great first stops or final farewells.
Top 25 List:
Buffalo, NY: Charlie the Butcher for beef on weck
Boston, MA: Santarpio’s for pizza
Philadelphia, PA: Leo’s for a cheese steak
Washington, DC (Reagan International): Weenie Beenie for a half smoke
Columbia, SC: Hite’s Bar-B-Que for barbecue (weekend only)
Atlanta, GA: Big Daddy’s Dish for barbecue; Barbecue Kitchen for vegetables
Tampa, FL: La Teresita for a Cuban sandwich
New Orleans, LA: Morning Call Coffee Stand for beignets and cafe au lait
St. Louis, MO: Natalie’s Cakes & More for caramel cake
Cleveland, OH: Little Polish Diner for hunter’s stew
Chicago (O’Hare): Gene & Jude’s for a hot dog
Minneapolis, MN: Hot Plate for waffles; Wise Acre Eatery for anything on the menu; Pumphouse Creamery for ice cream
Dallas/Fort Worth (in Grapevine): Bartley’s Bar-B-Q for barbecue; Tolbert’s Restaurant for chili
San Diego: El Indio for fish tacos
Los Angeles: Randy’s Donuts for donuts; Serving Spoon for soul food
San Francisco: Barbara’s Fish Trap for fish ‘n’ chips
Seattle: Des Moines Dog House for sausages and empanadas
Phoenix: Little Miss Barbecue for brisket
Boise: Bar Gernica for a Basque feast
Palm Springs: Felipe’s for Mexican food & margaritas
Charlie the Butcher
Charlie the Butcher serves Buffalo's unique beef on weck sandwich at its best, plus a wide variety of excellent butcher-block specialties.
Santarpio’s Pizza
Santarpio's thin-crust pizza is a long-standing Boston highlight. Also on the menu: BBQ, which actually is charcoal-cooked sausage and lamb. Delicious!
Leo’s
One of the top cheese steak shops in Philadelphia, Leo's makes especially huge sandwiches on high quality Amoroso Bakery bread.
Weenie Beenie
Half-Smoke sausages, the one dish unique to DC, are best at Weenie Beenie. They're yummy at lunch, also with egg and cheese for breakfast.
Hite’s Bar-B-Que
Whole hog and nothing but the hog! Hite's is a legend for weekend-only traditional and utterly delicious South Carolina BBQ. Everything is take-out.
Big Daddy’s Dish
Fried chicken, spare ribs, catfish, etc. accompanied by expertly-cooked vegetables and Georgia peach cobbler make Big Daddy's an Atlanta best bet for soul food.
Barbecue Kitchen
Barbecue Kitchen serves excellent BBQ, but its glory is Southern-style vegetables. It's a humble gem just minutes from the Atlanta airport.
La Teresita
A Tampa lunch-counter cafe where locals eat, La Teresita serves such Cuban specialties as cafe con leche, roast pork sandwiches, and chicken with rice & beans.
Morning Call Coffee Stand
** THIS RESTAURANT IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED ** Morning Call serves what may be the best beignets on earth. Expertly made cafe au lait and an on-the-ball uniformed staff make it a NOLA essential.
Natalie’s Cakes & More
The specialty is caramel cake, moist and buttery, at Natalie's, a charming neighborhood bakery that survived the Ferguson, Missouri, riots, and now thrives.
Little Polish Diner
Little Polish Diner daily specials include bigos (hunter's stew), chicken paprikash, and Friday lake perch. Pierogi and kielbasi always are available.
Gene & Jude’s
Natural-casing, all-beef Vienna brand hot dogs are slim and snappy at Gene & Jude's. They come dressed to order and topped with excellent French fries.
Hot Plate
Decor at Minneapolis' Hot Plate is kitsch, including Paint-by-Numbers art; but there's nothing silly about the food -- a mindful exaltation of diner fare.
Wise Acre Eatery
Farm-to-table dining at its finest in Wise Acre Eatery, a casual, modern Minneapolis restaurant located in a former gas station.
Pumphouse Creamery
Small-batch ice cream is made at Pumphouse using local dairy products and fruits. The result: ice cream with big, fresh flavor and pure farm character.
Bartley’s Bar-B-Q
First-class Texas BBQ just minutes from DFW airport. Bartley's serves tender smoked meats along with excellent side dishes and knock-out cobbler for dessert.
Tolbert’s Restaurant
Tolbert's menu is broad, including steaks, seafood and bar food; but true-Texas chili con carne, aka bowl of red, remains true to its origins.
El Indio
El Indio is a quick-service take-out Mexican restaurant adjacent to Interstate 5 in San Diego, California. Best dishes: classic fish taco, carne asada.
Randy’s Donuts
Donuts at 24/7 Randy's of Los Angeles, California, include the basic (and best) honey glazed, jelly-filled, powdered, frosted and crème-filled.
Serving Spoon
Estimable soul food is the specialty of the Serving Spoon, a Los Angeles restaurant that fairly rocks with hospitality and good vibes.
Barbara’s Fish Trap
Barbara's Fish Trap is an informal seafood restaurant overlooking the harbor at Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, California. Fish and chips and so much more.
Des Moines Dog House
In this neighborhood restaurant named for Des Moines, Washington, sausage options include brats, kielbasas, hot links, linguica, even vegetarian hot dogs.
Little Miss BBQ
One of the best BBQs of the Southwest – one of the best anywhere – Phoenix's Little Miss makes brisket, pork and beans that belong on all foodies' bucket list.
Bar Gernika
Saturday is the day to visit Bar Gernika in the heart of Boise's Basque Block. That is because beef tongue is available all day, sided by croquetas.
Felipe’s
Felipe's is a modest storefront restaurant serving some of the best Mexican food in Palm Springs. Margaritas are great; dessert mustn't be missed.
