# What's the best and worst thing you ever ate on a plane?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** food-cooking\
**Created:** [November 4, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362 "2022-11-04T16:55:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362/41 "2022-11-07T19:33:36Z")

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Go to your room and think about what you’ve done!

And Fudds only get to chose between Wabbit and Duck on all food related threads anyway! 😜

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**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362/42 "2022-11-07T19:41:05Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> That sandwich was fantastic though, which is weird because I’m sure it wasn’t anything special. Just a roast beef sandwich and crisps (potato chips).

Delta used to sell a roast beef slider meal on their domestic flights. It sounds pretty similar to the meal you described – a few mini roast beef sandwiches, a bag of chips (crisps), and probably a dessert or something. The first time I had it I thought it was fantastic. Probably not as good as the meals I mentioned in the OP, but like in the top 5 at least.

The next time I flew on Delta I was really looking forward to those roast beef sliders, remembering how good they were the first time. But the second time around they kind of fell flat. They weren’t bad, just not as amazing as I’d remembered. I think the difference was that the first time they came with a packet of horseradish sauce, which went really well with the roast beef. The second time they had replaced the horseradish with a packet of mayo. I suspect it was that horseradish that made it so good the first time; I’ve read that the thin, dry air on planes can dull your sense of taste, making foods with strong flavors taste better on planes.

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**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362/43 "2022-11-07T20:11:35Z")

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I’ve never flown first class, but I’ve made out okay in Economy in the last ten years or so that I’ve been flying (maybe once or twice a year).

About twenty-five years ago, though, I’d be flying home from California on (the late and unlamented) Canadian Airlines, and it was usually garbage. I remember one flight where I was wedged into a rear seat that should not have been there, by which I mean that the fuselage curved above my head and made me hunch and lean the whole flight (and I’m short). They served the meal from the front of the plane working towards the back; I saw them run out of my choice halfway up. When they got to me, they said, “Well, we’re out of the hot meal, but you can have a ham sandwich and an apple.” I eschew pork products, and the apple may as well been a crabapple for its size and density. God, I hated that airline.

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**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362/44 "2022-11-08T01:22:44Z")

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If you go camping, everything tastes good because of exertion and because of what makes the best sauce. It might not taste as good mixing cheese and granola at home.

Is there any comparison to airline food?

I have never been on an airline with an ice cream cart but this is a good idea.

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**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2022, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362/45 "2022-11-09T13:33:26Z")

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Don’t remember the meal on my way home from Hawaii in late 1990, but it included some very hard diced potatoes. I drew dots on them and taught my seatmate how to play Yahtzee.

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**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362/46 "2022-11-09T13:40:27Z")

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> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> Is wreckage in the Andes technically “on a plane”? …Too soon?

I can’t complain.

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**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362/47 "2022-11-09T13:44:35Z")

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I don’t remember the worst quality-wise. It’s just that the quantity is often pretty small, and furthermore, even if you want to buy something extra, it’s hard to guess whether they will take only cash (exact change only!) or only credit (and you better hope your domestic credit card works!)

For this same reason, the most memorably-great meal I had was the semi-full breakfast I got when flying British Airways to London, because I hadn’t had a full meal served in so long. It was a bit heavy on the sugar for my tastes, containing a sort of upside-down caramel treat and a sconish-creamy-jammy bread, along with other stuff I can’t remember, but after spending so long without calories it felt good to get in my stomach anyway.

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**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-and-worst-thing-you-ever-ate-on-a-plane/974362/48 "2022-11-09T13:58:05Z")

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Flew first class on United to Hawaii (bucket list for my Wife). Great food going. Beef. It was probably really processed or tenderized or whatever, but I would have served it to guests in my own house. The only steaks we eat at my house is filet mignon. People have told me that it was the best steak they have ever had. They are right if I say so myself. It’s local beef and very expensive, $2 an ounce about.

Coming back, it was some sort of chicken. It got a meh, but I was a little hungry, I may have eaten half of it.

I’m quite tall, even the extended option is uncomfortable (better than nothing though) It’s ridiculously expensive, but I’m going to consider first class more often. Can’t take it with you.

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