I Ordered American Airlines' Centennial Beef Wellington, And It Wasn't Awful

I had it the other night going to BOS. It was as good as it gets for domestic airline meals.

My buddy is rolling the dice Friday, I’m sticking with the short rib (I think) which is typically perfectly fine. Which is better?

Making a proper Beef Wellington is a rather laborious process so kudos to AA for adding it to their 100 anniversary offerings.

But that's not a beef wellington.

Don’t call it beef wellington when its actually a puffed short rib pie.

It's even more blasphemous than calling Delta, premium.

This is like a short rib lie, I mean pie.

Try it. It's actually pretty good. It's just not really a beef wellington.

Ben you missed the classic Insta moment with a slice through the middle a tactical parting to show the inside 😉

Steak pie.

I had it, and agree that it wasn't awful. The Wellington pastry was nice. The only complaint I have is that the beef, although tasty, was tough.
BTW, when I got on I didn't feel up to par and asked if they could hold my meal until later. The FA said sure, we won't cook it until later.(!) A couple of hours before landing (ORD-HNL) she asked if I would like it then.
The FA's were really great.

Glad to see Ben and other posters enjoying this meal. While I'm on record as being frequently disappointed in AA's overall operations and service, I've found their steaks on Trans-Atlantic Business class flights to be consistently enjoyable, as well.

Any better than those AWFUL over-cooked sliders?

For us asparagus enthusiasts, anyone genetically gifted with a sulfur-sensitive nose is in for a memorable lavatory experience about thirty minutes after the trays are removed. and for the rest of the flight. Gutsy call on vegetables by AA, too.

Asparagus enthusiast is a thing?

I've had it twice now. Enjoyable both times; the second time the meat was well done, and the first time is was medium well. Though I think the best part was the layer of mushrooms! I was impressed both times that the vegetables were not grossly overcooked.

Interestingly, both times I had it, it was served in a round bowl, whereas it looks like yours was served in the older-style casserole dish. It works better in the bowl, I think--had more vegetables and a little more space to work with on cutting it apart.

For those saying it's a short rib pie--it's not. The meat inside is not short rib.

I preordered the Wellington for my flight to LHR today. And flying in the flagship preferred suite. Looking forward to trying them both. The international version comes with caviar canapés as well.

My aunt and uncle had a small farm that grew asparagus. They had a lot of direct enthusiastic customers for their products.

LOL actually....yes

I am glad to see AA up its food game. Back when I flew AA a lot (due Corp tvl policy) I always ordered the seafood platter which was chilled and delicious regardless of where it was catered.
I dislike AA and chose not to fly them but again, they are trying and the main cabin meal upgs look promising as well.

What is the nasty white bowl of yellow junk ?

My wife ordered it MEX-PHX and she said it was disgusting, of course she is an excellent cook . To each his own!

Ummmm.... I thought you didn't eat pork Lucky? Isn't Beef Wellington wrapped in prosciutto? Was this one different?

Switched to American from United out of Houston and haven't looked back. The food in business class is a viable healthy meal on American. Scott Kirby's team at United just cannot deliver on dining at 30K ft no matter what the fair!

Maybe it would be worth trying Friday out of MIA - MEX? Please let me know your opinoin please!

Maybe it would be worth trying Friday eve out of MIA-MEX? Please let me know your opinion please!

It’s allegedly “Bearnaise” sauce. It’s broken, hence the bubbles of oil. Hollandaise-based sauce doesn’t tolerate reheating very well unless it’s full of stabilizers, which I’d guess this is and it still broke. It probably can’t tolerate the high temp in the convection ovens on board.

So the beef was or wasn’t a typical hockey puck?

Reasonably sure the pecan tart comes from Sweet Street desserts (or one of their competitors). That’s a $3+ dessert even at wholesale pricing so good on American for upping their spend a bit.

I have to agree with you Ben, its not bad. I ordered it too just for the novelty and probably wouldnt order it again just because I tend to eat lighter on planes. But for airplane beef wellington, they did a great job. Lots of flavor and the mushrooms and veggies were perfect. The pecan tart was the best part. I have to give them credit as I think they spent a bit more on this meal than others. Plus being a UA flyer, its so much better than the UA meals nowadays.

Why would anybody spend good money traveling on a US3 when there are so many superior foreign carriers to select from?

I ordered it and thought it was done pretty well, actually tasty.
Great crew on the flight as well.
RDU-PHX last month.

It looks like a rather edible gastropub combo meal from a place deep in the English countryside that doesn't try too hard, but it's not bad, after all.
Rather than this Bernaise, a simple red wine reduction would have been a much better choice IMHO, but I see the "booze" problem...

Would be better if you showed a photo of what it looked like after you cut into it. Just showing the complete dish - sure it looks flaky and not soggy but we can't tell about the inside.

That Bearnaise sure is broken...which is quite fitting for Robert! After all, the Thought Follower in Travel likes to remind us of Robert's frequent broken seats, broken bathrooms at the MCO Admirals Club and more. It's a level of Premium that Tim can only hope Delta reaches!

Oh, no no no - after the mushroom murders, Australians don't eat Beef Wellington.

Ben, please be advised that here on the right side of the pond it would simply be called a beef pasty, lad …. 🙂

Well, if it was a donestic flight, what rlse could he fly on?

Please explain to me how I'd be able to fly a foreign carrier when flying from Dallas to Washington. Dont get me wrong, I'd love to fly Air France, but how is that possible? I'm waiting.

Beef wellington does not have pork. It's a pastry shell with mushrroms, covering a piece of beef. There is no pork

@Jason, since the OP likely won't follow up on your valid point, I'll engage. This is theoretically possible (not very practical - which is your point) using nested tickets or a multi-city itinerary on a single ticket with Air Canada, routing through Toronto or Montreal, assuming your Texas airport has AC service.

For example:

Ticket 1: AUS–YYZ–AUS
Ticket 2: YYZ–DCA/IAD–YYZ

Or, perhaps, it could be booked as a single multi-city itinerary.

@Steve, glad you're having good experiences with AA. As another Texas-based flyer who switched from DL to UA in the last two years, I've also noticed UA's catering shortcomings. Recent AA flights have shown slightly better catering than UA, though it varies. After roughly ten years of DL loyalty, I'm admittedly burned out on their catering as well.

That said, UA also offers "signature" dishes catered from their hubs, but at least 50% of the time my pre-ordered selection isn't loaded, and I end up with a substitute.

All in all, this Beef Wellington looks like something I'd enjoy, as Ben described.

On my recent CID STD CID SWIVEL SEAT getaway I tried both Centennial Entrees. The Beef was not great but while looking way over cooked, the asparagus still had flavor
You’re correct that the pecan tart was great!
The chicken diss was okay. Both needed the ‘gravy/sauce’ 😉
But the best food on the trip was the mushroom risotto and champagne at DFW Flagship Dining. Worth the walks from & to C & A respectively
Shout out to excellent Flight Attendants Nancy, Karen, & Linda. Got to fly with them out and back

I had it last week. It was a nasty mess of soggy on the outside and rubbery on the inside, it smelled good in the cabin,,, but...no bueno. The pecan pie was ok though.

Enjoy the chowdah! (And Dunkin!)

I ordered this dish ahead and unfortunately regret the decision. The food was significantly overcooked, resulting in a tough texture that made it inedible. Additionally, I did not receive the Waldorf salad or the pecan tart as described. Instead, I was served the same salad as everyone else, and for dessert I was only offered a choice between sorbet or a cheese plate. Overall, the experience did not match what was advertised or expected.

Had this last week (as Ben pictured)- it was decent! Certainly as good as a lot of "airport food", surprisingly edible, although not gourmet restaurant fare obviously. Nice for the price and for getting it on a sub-3-hour flight (MIA - CTG).

Tangentially, I get "not wasting calories" and certainly don't waste food, but the number of picky eaters I see in comments is just weird to me (but, Americans in general are really strange about food - favoring some of the worst stuff on the planet but negging interesting foods).

I read reviews on this meal on Flyertalk's AA forum. The reviews weren't good. Worse, AA apparently offers the exact same dish on DFW-LHR as it does on RDU-DFW. No difference, despite international First versus domestic First.
That is SO American.

Given that most Americans born after 1970 have no clue as to proper international service standards, and don't particularly care anyway, I'm sure this slovenly approach to the international soft product will pass without notice. Give 'em a burger, a drink and a sliding door and they'll be happy campers.

American cannot get rid of its international First Class fast enough!