Ah…the airport! It can be a nightmare to navigate on its own as it is. Try finding a lunch while being a vegetarian and having food allergies. Lunch becomes nigh on impossible. Sure, some airports are easier than others. I admit that…
But Chicago Midway can be a nightmare! It’s a nice airport, sure. And the food court does offer up a plethora of dining options…as long as you can have foods containing gluten and/or eat meat. Since I can do neither, my lunch experience here had my blood pressure on the rise, my stomach rumbling and had me on the verge of tears since I was starving and had little actual food I could enjoy.
You’d think I’d be used to that by now. And I am…but when I’m hungry, I’m hungry and those little shops with the unhealthy and overpriced snacks aren’t going to cut it. Overpriced actual airport food was what I needed.
My roommate decided she was going to get a slice of pizza at Luigi Stefani’s Pizzaria in Midway. So, while she was in line, she spotted their salad bar. Okay…a salad is better than nothing, so I hiked over there to take a look at it. It looked okay…so I got into the long line, waiting through the people ordering pizza and bread sticks…and finally placed my order for a Caprese Salad.
I admit…I really wasn’t feeling a salad at that moment. But I had no other options. So, after paying an ungodly amount of money for a small salad, I was handed a tiny bowl with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls, drenched in a vinaigrette. No greens. Just tomatoes and cheese. I know that’s what caprese is…but usually if I order a caprese salad, I at least get it on a bed of greens.
So, I took my little bowl of tomatoes and cheese and unhappily sulked back to the table my roommate was sitting at, enjoying her slice of pizza. I wasn’t impressed with the salad at all. The tomatoes were okay, but not really ripe enough. The cheese was good. But, to be honest, what I was eating was just not what I wanted. It was one of the most miserable meals I sat down to. The food was okay, but it didn’t blow me away. And a small serving of tomatoes and balls of mozzarella wasn’t going to hold me until dinner much later that evening.
I can’t speak about their pizzas and pastas, but I wasn’t blown away with their salad options, portions, or presentation. Perhaps I’m just nitpicking now, but, even if food isn’t what I want (I’ve had to make substitutions at restaurants before…and not get my fries), I usually don’t let it get to me. But this bothered me for some reason. Perhaps it was the lack of greens. Or the fact that tomatoes and cheese does not a meal make. Or that it took so long to find something for an food-allergic vegetarian to eat while at the airport. Any way you slice it, I was not a happy foodie that day.
So…a word to any airport managers or higher ups…at Midway or other airports around the country…please, with the rise in food allergies, open up a few more options in the food courts. Sitting down at a restaurant is good if you have the time, but we didn’t so after already being limited, I was even further limited on food choices.
Nothing against Luigi Stefani’s…but I could have had that same food anywhere and probably had it done better. Maybe it was the airport. Or maybe it was the service and food. Whatever it was…it didn’t blow me away. In fact, it left me hungry for something else. So, after eating something I could have made at home…I went in search of something that would satisfy me.
Meals are big deals. This was worse than bland. This was forgettable.
The Celiathlete 