We’ve covered the best places to eat inside certain airports, and have given a big nod to the In-N-Out Burger just a mile from LAX Airport in Los Angeles, but here are other dining options in case you have a layover and want to find food that’s worth a bit of effort to get to.
In this Washington Post article, Joe Brancatelli gives a rundown of major airports in the U.S. and where he heads to eat if he has some time. In-N-Out Burger is one of his suggestions.
Here are the first 10 of his other suggestions, along with their distance from the airport. If you’re flying out of one of these cities, I’d also consider these as ideas for where to eat before you head off on an airplane. There’s nothing like a good meal to help face the uncertainties of air travel. Eating close to the airport helps food digest instead of attempting a mad dash across a city to catch a plane.
- Atlanta—The Brake Pad. This is a converted gas station that serves up “pub grub.” It’s four miles from the airport.
- Chicago— Here are two suggestions for Chicago-style pizza that are not at O’Hare airport. The Rosemont branch of Giordano’s is four miles from the airport and the Park Ridge branch of Lou Malnati’s is seven miles. If you’re heading to or away from Midway, try Giordano’s on South Cicero. It borders the airport. About five miles away is Lou Malnati’s on West Ogden.
- Charlotte–Eight miles from the Charlotte/Douglas Airport is Villa Antonio on Southern Blvd. where you can find a pork sandwich, Italian style.
- Dallas/Ft. Worth–Brancatelli suggests taking at 10 mile drive for the Mexican food at Via Real in Las Colinas.
- Denver–I concur with Brancatelli about this airport. There is not much close by. He did find Blue Bay Asian Café and recommends the Thai food and the dumplings.
- Detroit–To find good food here, you don’t need to go any further than the Westin hotel that’s connected to the McNamara terminal at the airport. Dema’s serves decent food any time of day.
- Honolulou–If you can call ahead, try Mitch’s Fish Market and Sushi Bar. It’s only a mile from the airport’s runways. I’d say you can walk, but it might be further than it sounds.
- Houston— Chez Nous is in a converted Pennecostal church and dishes out French food worth the seven mile drive from Bush Intercontinental Airport.
- Los Angeles–Along with the In-n-Out Burger, Brancatelli suggests Mariposas at the Hacienda Hotel for Mexican dishes and breakfast. It’s only two miles from LAX.
- Minneapolis/St. Paul–Café Levain, about eight miles from the airport only serves dinner.
For Brancatelli’s suggestions for New York/Newark, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and San Francisco, click here. [The photo is from Mitch’s Fish Market and Sushi Bar.]