American Airlines Will Serve Texas Barbecue In First Class... Yay?

"Am I the only one who would love to just see a salad...that’s half decent on the menu..."

IME only FC Emirates and Air France can do a decent salad that's...a salad, not limp, cold greens, decent mix of veggies and proteins, and no bugs.

@ TravelinWilly -- Yeah, Air France absolutely does some amazing salads, and I just added a reference to that in the post... thanks! I can't say I've had one on Emirates, though!

Hope this is a test for something bigger. It'd be really cool for AA to partner with a local restaurant at each of their hubs for all flights out of that hub. Would add something unique to the travel experience (of course assuming the quality is reasonably good).

As a former Texan and foodie, I can tell you that Pecan Lodge is one of the best barbecue spots in the Metroplex. I have no idea how well it will hold up onboard, but it's a good sign.

It actually shows a lot of care that they chose Pecan Lodge, as I'm sure it would have been easier to organize a partnership with a larger chain or a barbecue spot closer to the airport. Hopefully they're being just as thoughtful with the other product decisions they are making.

They serve the same BBQ in the Admiral's Club at times. Maybe they are just sourcing the AC food same place as the First Class.

So we bitch and bitch about how AA doesn't try, but the second they begin to make an effort we immediately shit all over it (the screens are in the way! BBQ isn't to my personal taste!)

Here in Texas, BBQ is a classic catering choice for events because it holds up very well. This is a smart choice for a collaboration.

American will never serve the likes of this cuisine to me, simply because I am extremely unlikely to grace one of their flights with my presence.

@ BigT3x -- And I think commended the airline for serving local cuisine, and said that most people will probably like this?

Didn't they try this like a decade ago? I remember picking up an over-air-fried stale bun and PLOP out goes the BBQ meat on tray. All for something different but this seems like a mess if memory serves

I'll give a big round of kudos to AA for partnering with a legit local joint to serve something unique and highlights the company's Texas roots. Though personally, I found Pecan Lodge overrated and not worth the wait in line. IMO, there's better BBQ you can get in DFW (go get the beef rib at Hutchins if you want some serious 'cue). But that's just me, and give credit to AA for trying.

My only hesitation - the chopped beef sandwich and sides should be pretty easy to pull off, but I do wonder about that brisket. Reheated improperly, it'll get really dry. And there's few things worse in life than dried out brisket...

@BigT3x, it's not that AA is "trying" (something), but rather it's the longstanding inconsistency with successfully delivering a good product that many here have issue with and frankly, are wary of. I'm in Texas, and I am sure in a restaurant setting, this barbecue is well-executed.

However, I can imagine the following experience unfolding with AA:

OPTION 1: AA: "Uh, Mr. Cesar, we didn't load your reserved barbecue meal. Here's some cheese tortellini."

OPTION 2: Mr. Cesar is served the crouton-bun, and the meat portion is either dried to the point of jerky *or* there's a refreshing ice cube in the cold, frozen center of the meat.

In theory, pulled pork BBQ should work pretty well on a flight. It reheats easily, you can drown it in flavorful sauce, and you just serve it with a little potato salad & coleslaw.

Looks like AA is just following Delta's lead here in aspiring to serve moments, rather than just meals 😉

But seriously, this looks decent and I like the creativity. And it's nice to see that the announcement is on planet earth and not full of the embellishment and hyperbole that a certain Atlanta based airline would have certainly included.

Pre-merger, AA had some amazing lunchtime salads. There was a steak cobb, a buffalo chicken, and a chicken and beets salad. They were all really delicious, but I'm assuming post-merger AA did away with them because of expense. Good ol' Discount Doug.

Last week I had a "Grains Bowl" for lunch in AA F. It would not have been my first choice but it was surprisingly good.

Grains bowl? They should have GAINS BOWL

This is what happens when you have a non Texan running a Texas airline.

The concept is excellent but I doubt any bbq enthusiasts would agree that they can properly reheat and serve Texas bbq in the air.

By the way Pecan Lodge is so 10 years ago and have dropped since.

The star and biggest concern is the brisket.
Pulled pork should be exceptional.

They serve fake meal to fake usernames.

And for that, we thank you.

Are these meats beef or pork?

...neither, keep guessing! /s

Personally, I'd've preferred burnt ends

Is this real Eskimo calling out fake Aero, or fake Eskimo calling out fake Aero?

-- O.G. 1990.

Anything would be an improvement over those AWFUL overcooked sliders.

It's less of a *PLOP* and more of a *FUMP*

Excellent use of onomatopoeia, regardless.

Haha - you are correct - I'm sure Gary over at VFTW will be peeing his pants over this one. I will say though, as a life-long Texan, I can say that Gary does know his BBQ!! I'll give him that.

Travel forecast: sticky seats and armrests.

Thanks, I'll pass. I love bbq. I will make it at home or eat it in a restaurant with actual cooking and smoking facilities.

Texas bbq usually implies beef brisket, which thankfully is typically eaten with a knife and fork, but still can be messy and often involves licking one's fingers. Whereas pork ribs are typically eaten without utensils. If that is what they are serving ..... ew. An airplane is not the place to be serving sticky finger foods.

And those French fries... whose bright idea was it to serve *french fries* on an airplane? They're invariably going to be limp, soggy and cold unless they plan to install deep fryers in the galleys.

And a plentiful supply of napkins and wet naps.

They do, on their flights out of Gainsbolough.

Once you go Black’s (BBQ) you never go back.

But of course if you want the real deal that’s in Lockhart so ‘the widget’ will probably get on that Q train to bolster the most amazing, profitable, definitely not failing focus city on earth.

sign. me. up.

Eskimo, darlink, it is a good evening for me, is it a good afternoon for you?

What does it matter to you if it is the real, or fake, username AeroB13a? Whichever it is you will prostrate yourself at the feet of the AeroB. True to form you and your band of fake username users, will troll whomever takes your fancy, yes?

However, Eskimo darlink, one is minded to suggest that Ben’s article about soft and hard products is more your bottom line, yes?

Me too. Love it.

sinc, the world has moved on don’t you know? Deep fat fryers are so last century, the air fryer has dragged French Fries, etc, into the twenty first century.

Aircraft are equipped with convection ovens, which are [essentially] the same thing as air fryers. I’m not saying serving French fries in domestic first class is the most brilliant idea in the history of ideas, but the equipment is capable of making them crispy.

The grains bowl is one of the better offerings. I’m with Ben, a properly executed cold dish can really hit the spot. The meals served on the longer E175 flights (no ovens on “AA” RJs) are cold and quite tasty IMO.

Pecan Lodge is awesome. Try it, and then see how you feel!

A BBQ pulled pork sandwich should be pretty hard to mess up, so nice news there. Though I think I've only ever flown AA first class once in my life and I don't go out of my way to do so being an ATL native and the prior (bad) experiences I have with AA connections from ATL.

I'll echo the sentiment of "it will be good in a restaurant. It might not be good in the air." My knowledge of Texas barbecue is next to none but I have had Pecan Lodge and I did enjoy it. Might be going back there soon.

Not my choice but good to see AA changing things up.

Fasten your seat belts for more diversions due to ' fume events' from the smoker ! /s

This appears to be AA competiting with DL who offers FC passengers the option to pre-order a Shake Shack burger.

Looks like poop. Hope they keep the bathroom stocked.

Same ole same ole out of Mexico City, month after month, so sign me up too and throw in some vanilla Häagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert!

I had the sliders with fries yesterday in FC to PHX. based on these blogs, I was prepared for soggy fries. Nope, crispyish. Better than I thought it would be.

I fondly recall pre-ordering on AA in Y back in the ‘90s, as a non-meat special meal, the shrimp salad - beautiful “house” salad with a handful of delicious prawns layed on top. Delicious, healthy and easy to execute. What’s wrong and what’s so hard about that?

This would be something I'd think of try in March out of DFW if it's available. The, they screw it up with potato salad as the side. My lack of inside knowledge may make me look stupid here. But, let me design a healthy, tasty salad and a heated dish. I bet I could do it in a way that meet AA's limits on kitchen prep and cost. Ben and I would be happy.

Nobody will choose an airline or flight because of the on board food.

Perhaps the year after COVID, so 2021, I had an AA attendant tell me that the staff did NOT like the merger with USAir - as they went from (their words) from a Cadillac to a Ford Escort.

Pre-COVID, I really enjoyed the James Beard Foundation chef meals and wine selections in Business Class. Afterwards, things seemed to get more pedestrian.

Texas BBQ is delightful if the friend you are visiting drives you out to that one place in the Hill country - that place that you would have never otherwise known about and you are completely unwilling to pay Uber to take you there from Austin.

The best meal I have ever eaten on AA was the time I got the gluten-free meal out of LAX - it was amazing Asian - good short grain rice, steamed bok choy, and tasty garlic shrimp. This was 2019 - never to be repeated.

As the late Barbara Bush said "It's a step up"

I had ranch tofu salad and geek chicken salad on Alaska First Class. Both were really bad. I was jealous of the burger my son ordered and landed being hungry.

Nerdy chickens are quite tough but it sounds smarter than my order

Presumably the American preorder option also includes the grain bowl with salmon - which is pretty good actually. But, yes, people like comfort food when traveling. Ideal is some kind of comfort + healthy combo - half a warm sandwich with a substantial salad.

nice to see diamond aeroB is the same personality as the guest AeroB

Both strangely similar in insults hurled as Tim Dunn

I have the same thinking as you. After all, BBQ pulled pork gets better the day after IRL - somewhat similar to how Indian curries heat up well in planes.

When all things are equal, I do.

Alaska had a really refreshing turkey salad on SEA-SFO a few months ago! I think they usually have some sort of salad as one of the options in First.

Why do so many people here thing they will served pulled pork? This is Texas BBQ, and the article clearly only mentions brisket and sausage.

There's a reason why they don't serve tuna salad on planes. I imagine the same should apply to BBQ, as I've never been to a BBQ joint where you couldn't smell exactly what they were serving. Not sure I'd want to be sitting in a plane for hours with that smell wafting around.

All the sandwich images looked suspiciously like pulled pork to me, not brisket, so I apologize for not reading closely enough.