I tried out the “egg shakshuka” in United Airlines first class on my recent flight to Denver and found it to be quite acceptable. The blueberries were a different story.
Shakshuka On United Airlines – Ye Or Ney?
United offer pre-orders on all domestic flights operated by a narrow body aircraft. Between five days and 24 hours prior to your flight, you can receive your choice of entree, which these days is 5-6 choices.
I had not yet tired the “egg shakshuka” and ordered it for my Los Angeles – Denver flight last week. After takeoff, the flight attendant confirmed my pre-order had been loaded and shortly thereafter brought over the breakfast tray.
The entree was described as:
Egg shakshuka with chunky tomatoes bell peppers, and spices.
The dish was a bed of potatoes, red sauce, and what tasted like feta cheese, with three poached eggs on top. I have had a lot of shakshuka in the past and never have I seen it with potatoes, but overall I found the dish quite filling and satisfying. I eat eggs at home nearly every day (usually, I make omelets) and this would be a dish that I would try to recreate. It was still airline food, but by no means an insult to “real” shakshuka and I did taste savory spices like paprika and coriander in the sauce.
One the side: Chobanai Greek yogurt (still with added sugar, but not as much as the non-Greek variety), a fruit bowl, and a croissant (well, white bread shaped like a croissant).
A couple of the blueberries were moldy. I eat berries every day at home too and I know they can get moldy fast – though raspberries are usually much worse than blueberries.
I mentioned this on Twitter and was asked why I did not alert the flight attendant. My answer was that I felt she could not do anything about it so why bother…but that was the wrong approach. I eat rather slowly and save the fruit for last, but even so I should have let her know in case others were still eating.
CONCLUSION
United’s attempt at shakshuka was not bad. I prefer this dish to the other egg dishes in the line-up and would order it again. While the moldy blueberries were unfortunate, I guard my complaint because I eat a lot of United breakfasts and this was first time I have received moldy berries in years. I would hate United to say, “Well, we’ll just eliminate berries altogether.”
Next time I’ll try the ricotta-filled crepe, the last breakfast dish I have not sampled.
A few comments. First, why not serve more fresh fruits? 4 blueberries? 1 tiny chunk of pineapple? Seriously? Second, why airlines continue to serve that tired imitation of croissant? Just serve a full grain bread that delivers a better image and taste of whatever they thing that white bread is. Third, there are way better yogurts out there with way less sugar. Maybe they have a long term contract with Chobani but they are no longer the better option out there. Last but not the least, I don’t like eggs on a plane. They are usually made with eggs in powder and they don’t taste good to me. Also, that amount of water on the plate does not look good.
The eggs on aircraft did NOT come from powder. Food just tastes different at altitude. The low humidity with the pressurized cabin really might make things taste bland. I think the egg dish, although not pretty to look at, is good. Something different.
@T-: how do you know they were not powdered eggs? That is what is mostly used in food service since it saves a lot of cost in transportation and storage. It is basically dehydrated eggs. The food served on airplanes is not made in a gourmet kitchen but in a food service facility so the chances they use dehydrated eggs is very high.
It’s funny how Matthew’s praise for UA food ranges from “quite edible” to “quite acceptable,” lol.
That moldy fruit is a massive disgrace though, and I’m peturbed at your nonchalant attitude about it. I’m sure if AA, DL, or any other carrier served that crap you would be raising hell about that.
I think Matthew glosses over the fact that UA is his preferred carrier and is somewhat a UA advocate. If you compare what UA serves to other NA or European carriers, there should be more objectivity as to what he reviews I agree.
I think you’ll find that I tend to the praise the food on whatever carrier I fly, including American:
https://liveandletsfly.com/american-airlines-777-200-business-class-doha-review/
JetBlue:
https://liveandletsfly.com/jetblue-a321ld-mint-business-class-review/
Delta:
https://liveandletsfly.com/delta-air-lines-a350-900-business-class-review/
Alaska:
https://liveandletsfly.com/alaska-airlines-a320-first-class-review/
I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to food…so this isn’t just blind praise for United.
But I mean it on the blueberries. United had those nasty Dole fruit cups during the pandemic and I would hate for them to say that fresh fruit is too difficult/expensive therefore we’ll bring back those nasty cups.
I had the egg shakusha(?) last week. I had no clue what I was eating but it was very tasty. The potatoes and sauce was disgusting and much too spicy for me. I had the egg fritatta in January and both my husband and I got very sick from eating it, even a couple of bites.
Why does UA insist on putting peppers in the food?
And why are so many of their selections not gluten free? The yogurt with granola- I have a nut allergy.
^Not the Jan that originally posted in this blog (I haven’t flown UA in years)… sheesh the comments section has some dupes…
Original Jan, is your email address that you use to comment a valid one?
Shakshuka looks good and it’s a very forgiving dish. It appears the eggs may be the frozen egg bites plunked in the base sauce, so making it at home will be better and easy. Serving with mini pita (whole wheat or white) would surely be better than the “not a croissant”.
I mean, you can call it “Shakshuka”, if you like, sure. Much like hillbillies want to be called sons of the soil, I guess…
Well, shakshuka can take many forms. It’s pretty good for a rip-off from a U.S. carrier.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I just think that if you showed it to most people from countries where shakshuka is part of the cuisine, they would most likely either laugh or ask “Da fuq is this?” or both.
The eggs look a bit strange. But yeah, it’s impossible to do properly poached eggs on a plane.
Otherwise, I don’t think potatoes have anything to do with shakshuka. If you want to add a carb, it’s supposed to be bread.
The fruit cup, yogurt and roll look pretty identical to what you would find on Delta. Always let your flight attendant know when you find mold in your food. That is not a subjective, grey area. They can process a food service report to flag this caterer.
I’ve had the United shakshuka several times, its not bad. If you were on the ground they would be whole eggs with maybe runny yoke. It’s much better though I guess impossible on a flight.
Enjoy the crepe when you try it. I think it’s the best breakfast they have by a fairly wide margin. (I like the frittata and shakshuka too – haven’t had the waffle yet).
Those eggs definitely aren’t poached.
I have flown first class on United from Maui to Washington DC and back (thru Denver) and from Maui to Las Vegas (thru San Francisco) and from LA to Maui … All within the last year. While I have been offered via email the opportunity to pre order meals on only about half of these flights … Each time I have, I have been told either the plane was NOT given my food that I pre-ordered OR that they gave my pre ordered meal to someone else who wanted it and who had a higher frequent flier status …on the other flights where I was NOT allowed to pre order, even though they sent me a meal to pre order, I was told on those flights that they we not shipped enough food for first class and my only choice was a left over vegetarian meal or a boxed food item from coach ..imagine, I paid full fare for first class only to be told they were out of food / meals … WTF .. I have complained to united, but silence … Disgusted
At least you had a choice. I used to fly UA in F a lot immediately prior to the pandemic, and they kept pushing this horrid Indian food. In my many flights, I saw only one person actually order that stuff. Everybody else wanted the (only) other option – whatever it was, or when that ran out, we’d ask for a snackbox from Economy. It got so bad that when I boarded, I immediately asked the FA for the non-Indian option. Indian food? Shakshuka? I don’t know what dimwit millennial in Chicago thinks people want this stuff, but they need to be demoted to cleaning planes.
And for the food nannies who think everyone wants bread that basically tastes like it was made with wood chips and bland, flavorless yogurt because it’s “healthy,” I’m reminded of a meeting I had years ago with an executive at a family restaurant chain. He confirmed the consistently worst sellers on their menu were this type of dreck. They just kept them on the menu for appearances.
Spoiler alert: lots of non-millenials eat and enjoy both Indian food and Shakahuka.
Apparently, not on UA. This also reminds me of my most recent visit to a DL Sky Club… They had to keep replacing the mac and cheese, while the bowl of kale-quinoa hipster chow sat barely touched. Perhaps it’s not as “many” people as you think?
Yeah one Sky Club representing everyone…
looks grim
Looks can be deceiving! 😉
Had similar dish in the AA flashship lounge. They made it with fried egg and no potatoes. I dont think too many people it enjoyed as the pan was nearly full compared to the regular scramble eggs.
Matthew, I’m flying First Class on United and trying to decide on a healthful breakfast. I track my caloric intake and like knowing the nutritional information. I’ve searched the internet and cannot find it. My choices are the Belgian Waffle, Breakfast Frittata, Egg Shakshuka, and Yogurt Granola Bowl. Looking for low calorie high protein option. What do you suggest? I’ve read several of your articles and find them informative on taste and presentation,as well as your personal taste preferences. I look forward to your response.
Hi Sherri, I would try the shakshuka. Those three eggs will give the most protein with the fewest number of calories (compared to frittata). It will be served with Greek yogurt that has added sugar, but 10g of protein.
Thanks Matthew. I appreciate the help.
Is there cheese in the shakshura?
Feta.