It was sad to leave Seattle. Goodbyes are hard, and we live so far away. (The photo above is of Moo-cow, who lives with Aaron and Erika) Our Seattle flight was delayed, and the late start caused us to miss our connection in Minneapolis. Our last experience at the Milwaukee airport reinforced the message that vegans who don't carry snacks may be out of luck if stuck at an airport, so I'd packed small sandwiches for the trip, but those were long gone, and we had several hours ahead of us with an arrival time at home of after midnight. (By the way, don't pack soy yogurt. It will cause your backpack to be seized and searched and the yogurt will be confiscated as a dangerous "gel." Really.)
I don't think I've ever had to find something to eat at the Minneapolis airport, and I wasn't too optimistic about finding vegan food. But, we had lots of time to look around. After setting off the security alarm three times before realizing that I had a cell phone in my back pocket, they finally let me through security. Frazzled, I wasn't too hungry, but Ken and Jordan were. As we were walking towards our gate, I spied a French Meadow Bakery Café and went to investigate. I used to purchase French Meadow sourdough bread and I knew the company had a popular café in Minneapolis.
There were a number of choices for vegans and the food I chose was fresh and organic. I was feeling kind of well-fed after our vacation, if you know what I mean, so I opted for a spa salad to eat later. It was packed with fresh raw salad stuff and a too-generous slab of grilled tofu. It came with avocado dressing on the side.
Ken and Jordan chose grilled tempeh reubens which took kind of a long time to arrive but which they both really enjoyed. Looked a bit greasy to me, but oh well. There were lots of salad greens for balance!
I would prefer if Moo-Cow was refered to as MC from here on out when featured in your blog... haha. i made the black bean burgers last week & there is veganomicon lasagna (plus parmesan) baking in the oven! E
ReplyDeleteI thought MC looked particularly fetching in this photo. Next time you make the lasagna you have to be brave and leave out the parmesan! Keep me posted on how the recipes turn out - and thanks for the comment, E. (haha yourself) Miss you...
ReplyDeleteAh, thank you!! I was hoping for something to eat on my upcoming trip. Let's just hope my layover allows me enough time to actually get something...
ReplyDeleteKara, We've been back to French Meadow several times and always found good stuff to eat. The vegan chili was good and the tempeh reuben tastes great, but still takes a strangely long time to prepare. Don't order it if you're in a hurry. (And who isn't in a hurry at an airport?)
ReplyDeleteIt tasted like the bread on the reuben was toasted in butter. I was already on the flight when I ate it so I couldn't ask.
DeleteWe asked at the time we ordered and were told it was vegan, but it's always a good idea to ask again before ordering. They may prepare it differently if you ask for it vegan. Maybe it was Earth Balance? :) Oh well.
DeleteI'm not sure why you assume the food is, "fresh, local and organic".
ReplyDeleteThe only one of those that any single ingredient used there falls under is "organic". Even still, it is only ever industrial organic. AND only a few key things are that: the salad greens, potatoes, bread.. that's about it, really.
I bought a packaged lunch from the cold case and everything was listed as "organic." Their literature says they use local, organic foods and I assumed that was correct. My lunch seemed very fresh, as did my husband's. As far as airport food goes, French Meadow is far above most of the other stuff we've encountered but since we always choose vegan selections, I can't speak to the quality of the animal foods.
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