Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.
Like many, I love junk food. While I am generally well-disciplined on the ground, I rarely turn down a tasty dish in the air, no matter the negative health ramifications. And I must say, I’ll never turn down the lobster mac & cheese on United Airlines.
I was flying from San Francisco to Honolulu last month and the choices for dinner were lentils or lobster mac & cheese. I like both dishes and have even featured lentils in a past Meal of the Week post. But the lobster mac certainly sounded good.
And I was not disappointed.
First, a tip on flights to Hawaii. If you like Mai Tais, bring a miniature bottle of Myer’s Rum and ask a FA to add it to your drink…it makes all the difference.
The main course included a generous helping of lobster mac & cheese with broccolini, a breadstick, and green salad.
I think the picture accurately represents how tasty the dish is, but I was surprised at how chock-full of lobster it was.
Throw in ice cream for dessert and a hot cookie before landing and this really was a frightfully unhealthy meal.
But it was worth it. I made up for it on the stair-stepper upon arrival.
Do you like the lobster mac & cheese on United?
“I think the picture accurately represents how tasty the dish is”
The pic is not doing the dish any favors. It looks like a microwavable meal. But I’m glad it tasted better than it looked.
If anything, the lentil dish picture looked much more appetizing.
I agree the picture looked weird at first, but the more I look at it, the more it looks like mac and cheese from thanksgiving! And even if the picture looked REALLY bad it is still much better than the “lobstah” on AA
Had it on LAX-ITO flight…the dish did not disappoint! Try the Buffalo Trace, too.
Let me add that the pre-mixed old fashioned’s on United are also very good.
I’d add a small thing of Bulleit or Woodford’s but I totally agree with you
I was under the impression that it’s strictly prohibited for passengers to bring their own alcohol on any flight. You actually do this?
It is against the rules to serve your own alcohol.
Its against the law to bring and consume your own alcohol unless it is provided by the airline. Your own personal alcohol not available from the airline would be in violation of that federal regulation. You should be reported.
You should be reported for your illiteracy. Check §121.575 and report back. As long as a FA serves it…
Matthew is right. You may bring your own alcohol on a flight but you are required to give it to the FA to serve to you. In the case of a mini you’d give it to the FA and she’d hand it right back. If you wanted something from a larger bottle the FA would most likely retain the bottle and serve you from it returning it after landing.
The reasoning here is that a FA who decides you’ve had enough needs to be able to cut you off. If they are serving you your own alcohol they can do that.
Why do Americans think that fatty foods containing cholesterol are bad for you? They’re not a good idea if you’re obese (calories) or you have obscenely high cholesterol and a family history of heart disease. But for everyone else it harbors absolutely no health risk. A sugary mai tai drink and a giant bowl of ice cream is pretty unhealthy (insulin spikes are generally not good for anyone) but once and a while is probably fine.
In case anyone wondered if this blog has gone full-on United shill, here you have it — claiming United’s latest devaluation is a actually good thing and their disgusting goopy macaroni is addictive…..
As one such “shill” writing for this site, why don’t you share with me your favorite meal from American catering or the last long-haul eVIP you redeemed in advance or the last on-time departure for that matter.
I’ll wait.
I have no issues with Delta, but be honest, their international lounges don’t compare with Polaris. Most of my traffic would be through ATL as opposed to connecting in more central hubs which is inconvenient for those not based in ATL or NYC. Alaska is great as long as you live on the west coast and don’t want to fly internationally outside of Mexico. Southwest is great if you love short haul flights and hate first class… why is United the wrong choice again?
I know this is an old thread, but I just found it and was triggered by a few comments, so I wanted to offer my two cents.
1) GS guy seems to be that bitter man that I don’t want to sit next to on a long flight. Nobody enjoys devaluation of their FF miles, but it is inevitable. If you think of FF miles as currency, as you should, then you must understand the impact of inflation. Just ask any old-timer how much he paid for a candy bar when he was a kid:) My wife and I personally earn about 500k miles per year, mostly from credit card spending and bonuses. I could not find any statistics on line, but I suspect the vast majority of miles/points in circulation come from credit cards, rather than actual flying. Ten years ago, I might spend $10k per year on groceries. Today, I may spend $20k to buy the same groceries. Should I now get twice as much free travel for making the same purchases? Of course not.
2) I manage FF accounts for about 20 family members around the country. It is just a hobby for me, but it effectively enables our family to “pool” our miles, which is generally not allowed by the airlines. Consequently, I have more experience than most in searching for award flights around the world, using all brands of miles and points. Each airline or alliance has some sweet spots, but I find United (Star Alliance) easily has the best overall award availability to most of the world. They are also the easiest for accumulating miles, thanks to numerous Chase cards. I am currently shopping award flights to Europe, and through United I can fly round trip in biz for about 150k, with minimal fees. AA pretends to have availability, but it is almost entirely on BA metal, which charges outrageous FU fees. Do I even need to mention Delta’s SkyPesos? They want 750k to fly to Europe, which is FIVE TIMES the cost on United! With limited credit card options, how can anybody accumulate 750k SkyPesos to book just one biz seat to Europe? That is basically one free flight for a lifetime of loyalty to Delta.
3) TPG values UA points 1t 1.21 cents, compared to 1.41 for Delta and 1.77 for American. I think these values are absurd, and the TPG algorithm is worthless. Of course, the true value of your miles is determined by YOU, based on how you choose to use them. If you use miles for domestic travel, then your yield will generally be a measly 1.0-1.5 cents. I use miles almost exclusively for international travel in F or J, and I routinely enjoy a yield of 3-4 cents. I just booked a trip to African in the fantabulous QSuites, and the yield was around 5.5 cents.
4) United’s lobster mac might just be the best dish I have ever had on a plane, and I have flown around the world in premium cabins. So, naturally, it was discontinued by United:( LOL I have read seemingly recent reviews of the lobster mac, so maybe they have brought it back? I have not personally seen it on UA in about 5 years. If they would catch up to the 21st century and allow pre-ordered meals, perhaps it would be easier to find.
@GS guy: To each his own.
Flying IAD-LAX, I heard the flight attendant telling the passengers in front of me that the choices were lobster mac & cheese or lentil chili. Where did I go immediately for more information on the meal? Not to united.com of course, but to Live and Let’s Fly! Thanks, Matthew.