Best airport dining for holiday travel

by Laurel Miller on

The holidays mean different things to different people, but one thing that’s fairly ubiquitous is airline travel. And with airports comes some pretty godawful, overpriced fast food and full-service restaurants. That’s why the team at Gadling (and a few well-traveled friends) gave their picks for the best airport dining at a variety of domestic airports.

From Cubano sandwiches to Nigerian fufu, there’s an eclectic mix of world cuisines, along with some regional and traditional American classics. Maybe layovers aren’t so bad, after all.

Dallas-Forth Worth Airport: Pappasito’s Cantina, Terminal A, Gate A28.
Tex-Mex made from scratch, salsa to tortillas.

Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston: Real Food Co., Terminal C.
Four words: Texas barbecue. Huge portions.

Miami International Airport: La Carreta, Terminal D, 2nd Level.
Mmm, Cuban food. Artery-clogging goodness from a popular Miami chain.

Albuquerque International Sunport: La Hacienda Express, between Concourses A and B.
Cheap, delicious Southwestern cuisine. Tip: adovada breakfast burritos.

[Photo credit: Flickr user freebeets]Washington Dulles International Airport, Washington DC: Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Midfield Concourse, Gate B58.
Old school burgers don’t get much better than this, airport or no.

Logan International Airport, Boston: Legal’s Test Kitchen, Terminal A, between Gates 4 and 5.
Clam chowder like it’s meant to be.

Memphis International Airport: Jim Neely’s Interstate BBQ, near Gate B14.
Honest-to-god pit barbecue from this popular local chain.

Portland International Airport: Stanford’s Restaurant & Bar, on Main Concourse, behind Gates A, B, and C.
Steak, ribs, burgers, and a banging happy hour Sun-Fri, 3-6pm and 9-11pm.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: Anthony’s, Central Terminal.
Regional seafood, including Puget Sound oysters. Slurp with PacNW beer and wine (there’s also a full bar).

San Francisco International Airport: Ebisu Sushi, Terminal G Food Court.
A branch of the insanely popular, recently remodeled Sunset District original, which has been packing them in for over 20 years.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport: 42nd Street Oyster Bar, Terminal 2, near Gate C-1.
For over 70 years, the downtown location has been a Raleigh institution for its massive raw bar (one of the biggest in the Southeast), seafood, steaks, and Southern hospitality. The airport outpost is a “miniaturized version.”

Chicago O’Hare International Airport: Two new Rick Bayless restaurants, Terminals 1 and 3.
Bayless, the acclaimed chef/Mexican cuisine authority behind Chicago’s Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, and Xoco, will be opening two restaurants at O’Hare this fall, er, winter. The names of the small, casual eateries haven’t been announced yet; word is that one is an outpost of Frontera, and Bayless says the other will be a torteria, with a guacamole bar and “good margaritas.” Count on it.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: African food at the taxi driver’s cafeteria seven minutes walk outside of North baggage claim, Concourse E.
Look for dishes from Ethiopia, Somalia, and Nigeria.

Got a favorite food stop at a U.S. airport? We’d love to hear about it!

[Photo credits: Five Guys, Flickr user Adam Kuban; oysters, Flickr user VirtualErn]

High tech ski goggles incorporate GPS, LCD display, kitchen sink

by Kraig Becker on

There is a decidedly high tech movement afoot on the ski slopes this season. First, we saw stat tracking and social networking brought to the mountains courtesy of RFID tags embedded in lift tickets in Colorado and now we have a set of high tech goggles that incorporate GPS functionality, a tiny LCD display, and a multitude of other features that will keep you in the know while playing in the snow.

The new Transcend Goggles from Zeal Optics incorporate a GPS chip that keeps track of speed, distance traveled, vertical drop, direction and location. That data can be examined on the LCD screen, which is mounted in the lower right hand corner of the goggle frames. The screen also displays the current time, temperature, altitude, and so on. Data is stored in an on board memory chip and can be uploaded to your computer later in order to measure progress and performance gains. The GPS tracking can also plot your tracks on Google Maps as well.

The new goggles are available now and come in two flavors, with the style of lens being the only difference. The “basic” model includes polarized lenses and costs $399 while the $499 models offer polarized and photochromatic lens, which provide even more protection for your eyes on those sunny days on the slopes. Both models also include built in lithium batteries that are good for seven hours of use between charges.

While I haven’t had a chance to try these goggles personally, they do look like the would be a lot of fun to use. It is amazing how technology had pervaded so far into our favorite outdoor pursuits, but when it is used in a unique and interesting way, it can really be a useful enhancement to the experience. These goggles look like they fall solidly into that category.

Vote for the new Seven Wonders of Nature

by Kraig Becker on

A few years back there was an organized effort to select a New Seven Wonders of the World, which resulted in a list of seven amazing places that joined the Great Pyramids on a modern list of spectacular destinations. Now, a similar effort is being made to select a New Seven Wonders of Nature as well.

The process began not long after naming the New Seven Wonders, with more than 440 locations, in 200 countries being nominated. That list was eventually whittled down to 77 locations for the second round of voting, which resulted in 28 finalists which are now being considered.

Amongst the finalist are such iconic places as The Amazon Rainforest in South America, the Grand Canyon in the U.S., and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Those locations are well known and are likely to earn a spot on the list, although there are a few destinations that are just as spectacular, but are lesser known to the genearl public. Those places include Milford Sound in New Zealand, the Mud Volcanoes of Azerbaijan, and Jeju Island in Korea.

The organizers of the competition have made it easy to cast your votes for the New Seven Wonders of Nature, but just in case you need a little help, they’ve created a video showing you just how to make your selections. Voting will continue in 2011, with the officiall annoucement expected to come on November 11. (11/11/11)

If I were pressed to make my choices, my Seven Wonders would include The Amazon, The Great Barrier Reef, The Galapagos Islands, The Grand Canyon, Kilimanjaro, Angel Falls, and Jeju Island. What are yours picks?

Turkey with presidential pardon not going to Disneyland

by Leigh Caldwell on

Each year just before Thanksgiving, the president pardons a turkey in a ceremony at the White House, saving that turkey from its likely fate atop a dining table. But this year, that turkey is not going to Disneyland.

Disney started flying the pardoned turkeys to California in 2005, when Disneyland was celebrating its 50th anniversary. The turkey has served as grand marshal of the the Disneyland Thanksgiving Day Parade (“The Happiest Turkey on Earth”) each year since, except for 2007, when the bird went to Walt Disney World instead.

Disney officials told the Orange County Register that this year, the lucky bird just doesn’t fit into its theme parks’ new promotion, “Let the Memories Begin.”

So the turkey that President Obama pardons this Wednesday will live out its life at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, rather than Mickey Mouse’s house.

Three previously pardoned turkeys still live in a coop at Disneyland’s Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo.

[Image credit: Flickr user Myrna Litt]

Hyatt hotels deal: 50% off on third night for holiday travel

by Melanie Nayer on

Now’s the time to start watching for the over-the-top holiday hotel deals. We’ll post what we think are the best holiday travel deals here, starting with this one: Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is offering the third night free for rooms booked during the holiday season.

Starting now, when guests book two nights for stays between November 19 and January 17 at participating Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites hotels, they will receive 50% off their third consecutive night. Rates at many hotels beginning at just $79, which is a steal if you’re visiting the family for the holidays and don’t want to sleep on the pullout sofa in the basement.

Hyatt Place has more than 150 hotels participating and more than 30 Summerfield Suites hotels located across the U.S. have jumped on board, which means your odds of finding a hotel in your destination are pretty good.

We did a quick check on HyattPlace.com and found the only blackout dates to be over New Year’s Eve. However, the promotion runs through mid-January so you can still get your discounts after the holidays are over.

Reservations may be made by visiting hyattplace.com or hyattsummerfieldsuites.com and you must use booking code *HOLID3 *when making reservations.