We’re having a bit of a debate here in OMAAT-land. No, it’s not about who should be our next president. Or whether the Golden State Warriors are really the team to beat next year. Or even if smoking in the cockpit should be allowed.
No, this debate is about cookies. Specifically the cookies that American serves in their Admirals Clubs.
Admirals Club in Los Angeles
As you might recall, I’ve been frequenting the Admirals Club on a somewhat regular basis lately, ever since Tiffany added me as an authorized user on her Citi Executive Card. I’ve probably now made a dozen or so visits, but they are concentrated in just two or three clubs. Overall, I’ve been reasonably impressed.
Well, it turns out that I had a chance to visit the Admirals Club in Denver on Monday, the one that I’ve probably been to the most. In doing so, I thought I had made a landmark discovery — I noticed that they were serving chocolate chip cookies!
Now I’ve been punked so many times by those freakin’ oatmeal raisin cookies — also known as the devil’s delight — that I didn’t believe it at first. But no, the glint reflecting off the cookies on the left side of the tray was markedly different than those on the right. So I inched in closer and closer, trying to get a better look, till my nose was almost up against the plastic shield.
Which is which?
I was still skeptical so I took a sample. And sure enough, chocolate chip. Of course, like a good scientist, I had to repeat the experiment a few more times. And, indeed, all of the cookies I sampled from the left side of the dessert tray were chocolate chip.
Oatmeal raisin on the left, chocolate chip on the right
Sharing the News
I was so excited that I interrupted my idle chit-chat with Tiffany to share the discovery.
Now I’ve only been visiting Admirals Clubs since about March, so I’m obviously not that familiar with the history of their culinary offerings. But Tiffany is a bona fide expert on all things American, right down to what to avoid. Like Snack Towers Of Sadness, for example.
So I thought that her excitement was reasonable confirmation that I had made a real discovery.
But then Ben, who is of course also an expert on American, chimed in with “hmmm, I swear I’ve always seen chocolate chip cookies.” Uh, thanks boss, way to burst my bubble. At that point, I kind of felt like the guy who thought he discovered a new sub-atomic particle only to have his colleague tell him that his apparatus wasn’t properly calibrated…..
Anyway, the question now is, is Ben really lucky? I mean, is he so lucky that they bring out a warm plate of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies as soon as he enters the club? Probably served with a chilled glass of milk for all we know. And meanwhile, Tiffany and I, and perhaps everyone else, gets the crappy oatmeal raisin cookies?
I’m curious, are chocolate chip cookies a regular feature of the Admirals Clubs you visit?
Over the last couple of years at DFW and ORD, it was primarily Oatmeal up until 3 months ago when it switched to Chocolate chip cookies which I prefer, but these pale in comparison to the brownie bites which are awesome.
LOL! I actually prefer oatmeal raisin over chocolate chip cookies and have had no problems finding them in DCA and DFW Admirals Clubs.
DFW used to regularly have chocolate chip. Then it became brownie bites and oatmeal raisin cookies. Haven't been in a few weeks… hopefully the tollhouse treats are back!
Basing this off of ORD, but they have had chocolate chip cookies in both the H/K lounges for quite some time. They have oatmeal raisin too but depends on where you are in the lounge.
Another confirmation of lots of chocolate chip cookies in DFW's D terminal club. But in both cookie locations it seems oatmeal is much more popular.
hit or miss. For the early part of this year ORD has oatmeal-crap cookies. Then, magically, they started to have choc. chip cookies. I'm typically there on a sun. So, perhaps they run out of the CCCs and the weekend warriors are relegated to the leftover OCCs.
Denver had a mix, as did another city...forget it of the top of my head.
JFK flagship and DFW terminal D always has chocolate chip. I've even been fortunate enough to come across some white chip macadamia a couple times at JFK. Took a giant handful of those with me when it was time to board of course.
I think you're all missing the point. The brownie bites are far superior to the cookies! And I don't even usually like chocolate.
Thought they were everywhere? Definitely have seen them at DFW, MIA, BOS, PHX and CLT over the past 2-3 weeks.
This is quickly becoming the most vapid--and disposable--travel blog in my constellation of them.
I've been to around half the ACs in the system and almost all of them have chocolate chip cookies, though not all the time. My home club (BNA) had a few weeks where they replaced them with OFF BRAND "Chips Ahoy." Chips Ahoy sucks; off brand...might as well be cardboard sprinkled with sugar. Thankfully that didn't last long.
Especially interesting is that while all AC offerings are pretty universal systemwide (the brand of brownies are...
I've been to around half the ACs in the system and almost all of them have chocolate chip cookies, though not all the time. My home club (BNA) had a few weeks where they replaced them with OFF BRAND "Chips Ahoy." Chips Ahoy sucks; off brand...might as well be cardboard sprinkled with sugar. Thankfully that didn't last long.
Especially interesting is that while all AC offerings are pretty universal systemwide (the brand of brownies are all the same, oatmeal raisin cookies are the same, pita chips, hummus...etc. it's all the same brand. But the chocolate chip cookies are not. I've seen at least five or six different kinds throughout the country. I wonder why the variance :)
My kids and I have been enjoying cc (and oatmeal!) cookies in the ACs for some time now. Best part? My peanut allergic kid can actually eat them, as well as the brownies. These are pretty much the only desserts he can have at the airport that are not packaged. So sad Citi Prestige is eliminating AC access next year.
I've only been to the admirals club once (in Phoenix, last month), and they had warm chocolate chip cookies there!
Last time I was in an Admirals Club was in November 2014 in Miami and they have Chocolate Chip Cookies
I know LGA Terminal C and DCA Terminal C have them
Yep, at both the H/K Admirals Club and G Admirals Club at ORD
I just go for the brownies. They're pretty good. Better than the cookies, either variety.
JFK Flagship Lounge definitely has chocolate chip!
MIA has chocolate chip cookies but they are those soft batch like mass produced ones. These almost look like the plane ones. :/
Could have sworn this was a Gary Leff guest post!
(At LGA it's almost always choc chip)
I'm curious what other AA'ers find in their snack towers of sadness. They rarely have those peanut butter filled pretzels anymore. Them shits are cooked crack.
Love the soft chocolate chip cookies! They had disappeared in Miami for awhile and were replaced by the dreaded oatmeal raisin cookie! I pleaded with AA to bring back the much loved chocolate chip cookie via Twitter and I would like to think I had a small part in bringing them back!
Every once in a while ORD has chocolate chip. But most of the time they trick me into picking up the oatmeal raisin.
NRT had Biscoff cookies and Kit-Kats (sadly not Green Tea flavored) when I was there in April.
@DaninMCI - Where have you seen the White Chocolate Pretzels? I saw them once in DFW, but no where else recently.
No cookies at my AC. But we have Pisco!
DaninMCI -- Haha, Chips Ahoy. Those are just the worst, and you're right, I can see these quickly approaching that level after they'be been left in the "drying" tray for a few hours! And yeah, the brownies are really good -- oddly cut perhaps (rectangular?) but really good.
This is a very important post, and I wish more blogs had posts about cookies. I rate lounges on a scientific 80 point scale (10 points in each of eight categories), and I have one category specifically for cookies.
I love the oatmeal cookies at the AA Clubs. I've had better but they are decent. About Subway restaurant quality but not as good as homemade of course.
The chocolate chip cookies they serve are OK but if you don't get them fresh they turn dry quickly and might as well be chips ahoy or something. I've seen both for several years at DFW, STL, ORD, PHL and others. The brownies are very good...
I love the oatmeal cookies at the AA Clubs. I've had better but they are decent. About Subway restaurant quality but not as good as homemade of course.
The chocolate chip cookies they serve are OK but if you don't get them fresh they turn dry quickly and might as well be chips ahoy or something. I've seen both for several years at DFW, STL, ORD, PHL and others. The brownies are very good also but I try to stay away from them. It's like putting a bowl of crack cocaine out for a sugar addict like myself. Don't even get me started on the white chocolate pretzel dispensers.
One thing I will warn you to stay away from is the Club sandwich on the AA club menu. It has to be the worst I've ever had since maybe high school.
Bit of a slow news day in the points world ? lol
I don't always go for the cookies, but when I do, I always go for the Chocolate Chip (and I've never had issues with finding on at the AC's I frequent the most). I am mostly in DFW, LGA/JFK, SFO, and LAX.
I've seen chocolate chip cookies at the DFW Terminal D Admirals Club since I've had access, which is roughly a year. I'm pretty sure I've had one at the club at LAX, too.
I've been fooled by disgusting raisins as well, but I was pleasantly surprised to find chocolate chip cookies back at ORD last week.
I would love chocolate chip the ones I have seen are definitely not chocolate chip. I think Ben is thinking about what he gets on board
They've had chocolate chip cookies in DCA, ORD, DFW, and JFK, for at least the past couple of years.
PHX has been doing both. They were chocolate chip then briefly switched to oatmeal raisin and now both.
In my very limited experience, primarily in ORD, it is hit or miss on the chocolate chips. I don't know if it's club specific, or if they just go in phases. I don't know that I often see both kinds out at once. Usually one or the other. But, as I say, my Admirals Club experience is somewhat limited.
I thought it was going to be common soon enough. Back in June at the PHL ACs, they had chocolate chip cookies too. Oddly enough they were fresher than expected!