Would you believe me if I said one of the things I look forward to most when I land in India is an idli-vada combo in a cup at Hyderabad International Airport? Probably not. Would you roll your eyes at me if I said I actively crave it when I’m back home in New York City ? Likely. I wouldn’t blame you.
Airport meals don’t have the best reputation for being memorable – at least not for the right reasons. Ask any traveller what they think of airport food in general, and you’ll likely hear the words boring , sloppy , tasteless, and highway robbery thrown about. None of which sits well in a setting where your fate is somehow always teetering precipitously on the brink of disaster.
But surely it doesn't have to be so. Could it be that we're missing a trick or two and that, in the morass of generally unappealing airport food, there lie some real gems? We put the ask out to our favourite travel editors and writers around the world and were flooded with responses in the affirmative. So much so that we had to get them to drop their pins on these spots – and share their favourite dish at each – all in the name of urgently needed public service.
Some of these are outposts of beloved dining establishments that let travellers savour that last little slice of local culture before they leave. Others are childhood favourites that continue to serve up Proustian Madeleines as adults. Still, others are surprising discoveries that become an opportunity to try something you’d never.