Sluggishly slow ticketing lines, airport security...and a great meal? Food & Wine's ultimate airport dining survival guide features the best places to eat and drink in airports around the country, from Carolina-style barbecue in Charlotte and fresh sushi in San Francisco, to the culinary juggernaut that is Terminal 5 in NYC's JFK airport


New York's LaGuardia Airport

Prime Tavern LaGuardia's Delta Terminal may soon be giving JFK's JetBlue Terminal some healthy competition for top airport dining. Porter House New York's Michael Lomonaco recently opened Prime Tavern, which features prime dry-aged beef and the usual steakhouse accoutrements.
Figs At the pre-security food court in the Central Terminal Building, Food & Wine Best New Chef 1990 Todd English has an outpost of his Boston pizzeria Figs. It has a view of departing planes and a menu with sandwiches, salads, and pizzas with toppings like fig and prosciutto .
Tagliare At this pizzeria by Dominick DeMarco Jr. ,hungry flyers can get a classic New York slice without ever leaving the terminal.
Custom Burgers by Pat LaFrieda The revamped LGA food court features burgers by Pat LaFrieda, the butcher who supplies meat blends for Shake Shack, Minetta Tavern, and other celebrated burger purveyors


Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen Like Louisiana, its neighbor to the east, Houston has its share of Cajun and Creole food. This regional chain serves gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp Creole, and dirty rice


Newark Liberty International Airport

Vino Volo This growing chain of cushy airport wine bars serves small plates of cheese, cured meats, olives, and dishes like chilled paella and duck-confit-and-lentil salad. The food is available to go, and you can also order wines you've tasted there for home delivery


Gallagher's Steak House The 120-seat airport outpost of the 1928 Manhattan restaurant is outfitted like the original, and serves steaks, burgers, and a fine selection of wines


Boston's Logan International Airport

Bonfire  Food & Wine's Best New Chef 1990, Todd English, was one of the first professional chefs to move into modern airport dining, opening smaller branches of his Mexican-themed steakhouse in Boston's Terminal B and New York's JFK airport with dishes like fish tacos
Legal's Test Kitchen Legal Sea Foods, a Boston institution, runs this 80-seat restaurant that tests out new dishes for the restaurant company and offers take-out salads, wok stir-fries, and sandwiches as well as Legal classics like clam chowder and fish and chips


Los Angeles International Airport

Pink's Hot Dogs The legendary Hollywood hot dog shack — customers have been lining up at the original stand on Melrose and LaBrea since 1939 — opened an outpost at LAX in July. Hopefully the line at the airport to sample the likes of the Lord of the "RINGS" dog or the Martha Stewart dog  won't be quite as long
La Brea Bakery Those who want to avoid a trip through security should head for the sandwiches at this well-known L.A. bakery.
Encounter Restaurant At the center of LAX is the 1961 Theme Building, a freestanding structure designed to look like a flying saucer. It's home to this space-age restaurant, known for 360-degree views, stylings stolen from The Jetsons, and California-style dishes like organic salads and mushroom ravioli with grilled asparagus


Philadelphia International Airport

Chickie's & Pete's  The Philadelphia airport recently overhauled its main food court, adding an outlet of this lively South Philly crab house known for its chowder, steak sandwiches, and "crab fries," or French fries seasoned with crab-boil seasoning and served with a creamy cheese dipping sauce .

Vino Volo There's also an outpost of this elegant wine bar chain in the connector hallway between Terminals B and C; between Terminals D and E; and Concourse B near Gate 9.


New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport

Aeronuova  JetBlue's Terminal 5 has nine full-service restaurants; the best is Aeronuova, an Italian restaurant created by New York City star chef Mark Ladner, with dishes like grilled Berkshire pork chops and warm radicchio bruschetta.
Deep Blue An extensive menu by Michael Schulson—formerly of Buddakan—includes sushi, tempura, yakitori, and entrees like Shiso Lamb Chop with braised daikon .
Piquillo Tia Pol’s Alexandra Raij has developed an enticing menu for Piquillo, the first tapas bar to open in a U.S. airport. Yes, there is the ubiquitous sizzling garlic shrimp—but there's also canelones, pasta sheets stuffed with braised meat and béchamel .
Brasserie La Vie The JetBlue Terminal at JFK has an unrivaled culinary monopoly on airport restaurants, whatever cuisine you're craving: Brasserie La Vie is run by former chefs at NYC hot spots Balthazar and Pastis; French bistro dishes include Salade Niçoise and Sole Meunière .


Washington Dulles International Airport

Five Guys Both Terminals A and B have branches of this Washington, DC-based chain, which makes skinny, flavorful burgers and hand-cut fries to order and offers free peanuts .
Vino Volo Like Newark Liberty and Philadelphia International, Dulles has welcomed a Vino Volo tasting room. This one offers a tasting flight of wines produced nearby in Virginia .


Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

One Flew South This restaurant, featuring "Southernational" cuisine and sushi, is Atlanta's first upscale airport restaurant, complete with a menu created by chefs Todd Richards and Duane Nutter of The Oakroom at the Seelbach Hilton in Kentucky .
Paschal's Restaurant This city institution, which even markets a local line of batter mixes for fried chicken, serves large portions of southern classics like fried catfish, country-fried steak, and macaroni and cheese .


Airport

Burger Joint Offerings include a classic cheeseburger and fries, but the version here is made from Niman Ranch Angus beef and fresh-cut potatoes. Free-range chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers ,and hormone-free hot dogs, as well as thick milkshakes made with local Double Rainbow ice cream, round out the menu .
Ebisu Sushi from an airport food court may not be a first choice, but the fare at Ebisu—which also includes ramen, udon, and tempura dishes—is consistently fresh and tasty. And while the original location in San Francisco's Inner Sunset district is usually packed, SFO travelers can enjoy the same #29 Roll without the wait.
Anchor Brewing Company The famed San Francisco brewery's airport outpost serves the full range of its craft beers, including its Anchor Steam Beer, made using a unique brewing process that gives it the fruitiness of an ale and the rounded maltiness of a lager .


Perry's This classic San Francisco tavern also has an outpost at the airport. It's known for its Cobb salads and Perry's Hamburger, which can be topped with applewood-smoked Hobbs' bacon


Airport 

Brookwood Farms BBQ Lines of hungry flyers attest to the deliciousness of the Carolina-style barbecue served up here: pulled pork, beef brisket, and chicken are among the offerings. Don't miss the fried pickle garnish.
Yadkin Valley Wine Bar This forward-thinking wine bar offers flights, glasses, and bottles from North Carolina's growing Yadkin Valley wine region, including producers like Shelton and RagApple Lassie vineyards–and they'll ship, too


Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Berghoff Café O'Hare's coolest quick dining option: This outpost of the restaurant was opened by German brewer Herman Joseph Berghoff in the 1880s. Beyond Berghoff's beer on tap and root beer, there are hand-carved roast beef, turkey, and corned beef sandwiches and the house specialty: the Reuben


Miami International Airport

La Carreta The airport outpost of Miami's well-known Cuban chain is open 24 hours, serving favorites like pressed, portable French-bread sandwiches including the Cubano, made with roast pork, Swiss cheese, and pickles, and the smaller medianoches made with ham, cheese, and pickles


Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

El Bravo Mother and daughter Carmen and Lorraine Othon's green-chile tamales have been drawing crowds to their El Bravo restaurant in Phoenix's Sunnyslope neighborhood for nearly 30 years. Now, Lorraine's daughter, Monique, serves those same tamales–prepared earlier that morning in the original location–at El Bravo's airport outpost


Denver International Airport

New Belgium Hub The Denver airport has half a dozen taverns featuring the state's microbrewed beers. This artsy bar and grill serves whole-wheat pancakes for breakfast, but also chicken sandwiches and oversize salads to pair with Fat Tire Amber Ale and other award-winning beers from New Belgium, a Fort Collins, Colorado brewery .
Tamales by La Casita Also at DIA is this branch of a three-decades-old Denver favorite, which started as a supercheap take-out spot for red chile-and-shredded pork or green-chile-and-cheese tamales


Portland International Airport

Rogue Ale Public House The funky Newport, Oregon, brewery Rogue produces some of the best craft beers in the country; it also has five Rogue Ale Public Houses—the one in the airport has eight Rogue ales on tap and gastropub dishes like Kobe beef burgers topped with local Rogue Creamery cheddar


Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

French Meadow Bakery & Café The Minneapolis original bills itself as the longest continuously running certified organic bakery in the country; the airport outpost serves baked goods like warm apple crisp as well as savory dishes such as pan-seared walleye with Minnesota wild rice.
Ike's If Mad Men's Don Draper had a layover in Minneapolis, he might come here. The airport branch of Ike's doesn't stray far from the formula that makes the downtown original a local favorite: old-school décor, reliable comfort food  and potent cocktails .


Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Food

Salt Lick The 40-year-old Driftwood, Texas, institution has brought its barbecue—most notably its supertender brisket—to Austin's airport


Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Anthony's  This regional restaurant chain in the Pacific Northwest is known for fresh local seafood and stunning views. The Sea-Tac location is no exception, with dishes like Puget Sound oysters and the Olympic mountain range as a backdrop.
Dish D'Lish Fresh food by local celeb chef Kathy Casey puts the usual airport salads and sandwiches to shame. Sample items: Kathy's D'Lish Favorite, a pressed sandwich with roasted chicken breast, brie, and apple chutney


Memphis International Airport

Corky's BBQ There's nothing like Memphis barbecue, and travelers can get their fix as soon as they step off the plane at Corky's. The Bar-B-Q Pork sandwich is served with coleslaw in the sandwich ,the menu also includes ribs, chicken, and smoked sausage


Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Cousins's Bar-B-Q  As with the Charlotte, North Carolina, airport, your best bets at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are barbecue and local wines. Cousin's offers Texas standards like smoked brisket, ribs, sausage, and pinto beans .
La Bodega Winery This tasting room from La Buena Vida Vineyard in Grapevine, Texas, sells wines by the bottle or the glass


Baltimore Washington International Airport

Obrycki's Okay, so you can't don a bib and brandish a mallet over a tableful of crustaceans like you can at the original Pratt Street location, but you can still enjoy the popular restaurant's portable, less messy options: luscious crab cakes, crab dip, and more


Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport

Usinger's Nothing says Milwaukee like brats and beer, and Usinger's offers prime examples of both. Founded by a German immigrant, the company has been producing tasty bratwursts, knockwursts, and summer sausages since 1880. And with the opening of the first airport location in September, MKE travelers can indulge in a quick sausage sandwich to go, or pair a brat with a beer at the bar


San Antonio International Airport

Vino Volo Part of the chain of swank wine-tasting lounges—other airport locations include JFK, Seattle, and Philadelphia—this is part tasting room, part small-plate restaurant, part wine store. Wines by the glass are available for purchase by the bottle and the food offerings include tasty crostini and charcuterie