Why 
I’ve had the good fortune to fly business class quite a lot and in the days when AA was our go-to there was a really lovely cheese course with dried cherries and cranberries with a really nice Languedoc red. Then the ice cream trolley with a selection of toppings. very nice indeed.
But also I remember a trip my wife and I had to Japan on ANA on the way to NZ. It was in economy but the meal was fully japanese, fish, noodles, salad, pickles and asahi beer. Really, really good. On the way back we flew NZ airlines to Bangkok and there was a delicious thai curry and more singha than was medically advisable.
Along similar lines: macadamia nuts. First time I had ever had them, and I was able to enjoy them to the full and without guilt (because I knew nothing about them, and so had no idea that the % fat content was about the same as butter).
Worst? I’ll go with the flow - a lot of bland and boring, but nothing truly awful that I remember.
j
You were just lucky the pilots didn’t have the fish.
True that.
On the late, lamented Midwest Express I got a breakfast meal of ripe fresh fruit, yogurt and something bready that was quite good. On real plates, with real napkins and real cutlery. Oh, and afterwards you got a fresh, hot chcolate chip cookie.
On the late, lamented Ozark Arlines we ended up on one of their “wine cellar in the sky” flights. I’m not a drinker so couldn’t have cared less about their extensive wine selection but the food was picnicky and tasty. Sandwiches and a little salad, I think. There might also have been cheese and crackers; it’s been almost 40 years.
Snack-wise going from the (now-closed) Merida, Venezuela airport to Maiquetia in 1984 on Avensa we got Andean pastelitos. They were fresh and delicious.
I often fly business nowadays, so meals and drinks are included. Most meals are unmemorable, but very welcome, though a few have stood out: the steak and potatoes I had on a flight from Toronto to Calgary once, which was accompanied by a wonderful Cabernet; and the nice fruit plate I once enjoyed for breakfast on a flight from Calgary to Las Vegas. The fruit was fresh, and that breakfast also came with a Danish, yogurt, juice, and coffee, and was perfect–tasty, and not too much nor too little.
I can’t think of a “worst” airline meal I’ve had. All were acceptable, even if most were unremarkable and unmemorable.
I’ve had some good meals, some not-so, but my answer would be… those cookies.
Those slightly-almondy biscuits made by… Bischoff? Wow, how did I come up with that name?
I’ve thought about finding those at a store, but I’d rather keep them as a treat: “Ok, this plane is a cramped version of hell, but hey, I get cookies!”
They are delicious, but the crumbs!
United Airlines used to give out Biscoff cookies! and no nuts, so I could eat them. mmmm…
Can’t say I’ve ever eaten any meals while flying. Only the snacks. The pretzels were the worst thing, not because they were bad, but because I like the cookies more.
~Max
Southwest gave out Oreo cookies from Phoenix to Orlando. Mademe very happy.
Alas the United ice cream sundae cart never made it back from the Covid shutdown .
Like others said up front has always been pretty good but not memorable , although god knows what possessed united to serve beef with asparagus to a group of people who we’re all going to be sharing a small bathroom for 10 hrs on one flight.
Worst was some chicken dish on Air Garauda out of Balikpapan, inedible gristly nasty stuff and I love food from that part of the world
Midwest Express in the early 90s, lunchtime flight - Beef Wellington, perfectly medium rare, restaurant-sized portion. And of course the baked on board chocolate chip cookie…
When I flew to Vegas on Alaska in 2015, I got a cheap upgrade to first class, and they served a grilled chicken banh mi that was just as good as something you’d get on the ground.
Not quite a “worst”, but in 2002 I flew from Seattle to LA, also via Alaska, back when they still served free meals to all classes, and the meal came with a package of American-flag-shaped butter cookies. I’ve never been some kind of super-patriot, but I still believe in treating the flag with respect - e.g., at work I refuse to wear a flag lapel pin and cover the flag on my name tag with a sticker because I don’t believe in wearing the flag - so the idea of eating the flag made me more than a little uncomfortable.
I’ve only ever flown economy, but never had a bad meal on Qantas. Granted, some were better than others but nothing I didn’t finish all of it.
This is really funny to me because my significant other recently took a train trip from Las Vegas to Pittsburgh (he won’t fly) and he often mentions the microwaved cafe burger that was , to him, the best thing to eat on the train. Surprising tasty, he said. He also likes Hamburger Helper so not sure he’s the best judge.
In the 70’s, we flew to Florida on a wide-bodied plane (Eastern airlines) and they served one of the best breakfasts I ever had anywhere. Sausage and an omelette in a little square dish , a delicious pastry, orange juice and coffee. I was quite young then, so maybe it really wasn’t all that, but I remember looking at a guy across the aisle who didn’t touch his, and thinking ‘that great food is just going to waste’. … The worst was - well, not bad, really, just a mystery - a flight on a little plane to the Caribbean, and they served some kind of meat in gravy over mashed potatoes. It was …ok, but I have no idea if it was beef or pork. It was just odd. (Recently I got a last minute flight home where there was no food served, but the jerky guy next to me brought on a small pizza he bought at the airport that smelled like dirty unwashed feet. All the loooong way home. 
but I got on that plane, smelly pizza or not 
)
Some Canadian airlines have taken to charging extra for food. Snacks and drinks are served on all but the shortest flights, and flights in Canada can be lengthy.
Canadians have a strong attraction to brands. On Air Canada flights, many of the options are various popular sugar products. The sandwiches and other options are often branded familiar companies. (The following examples are theoretical): Swiss Chalet Chicken Sandwich, Freshii Salad with Stuff, Mother Mayday’s Meatloaf Mix, etc.
I suppose I’ve eaten food on planes, since I’ve been to Europe five times, and on other long intra-US flights. On multiple airlines (BA, KLM, United, AA) The thing is, with the exception of a sandwich on the Heathrow-Rome leg of our Italy trip (AA), none of the food was remotely memorable for good or bad.
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). I guess I was hungry or something, because I have a pretty good memory of that sandwich being awfully tasty, out of all the airplane food I’ve eaten.
Airport food… that’s a different story, but that’s for another thread, I suspect.
Is wreckage in the Andes technically “on a plane”? …Too soon?