Having never been to Portugal before, we were looking forward to this trip for a long time. To get there we flew American Airlines, and we were able to upgrade to business class. This makes the almost 10-hour flight a little more bearable.
What is wonderful about business class is all the food and drinks they give you as soon as you step foot on the plane. We started off with a glass of champagne – Duval-Leroy Brut Reserve. What better way to say, “your vacation has started”.
After takeoff, and getting settled in some comfortable seats, we were ready to be wined and dined.
First out is the bowl of warmed mixed nuts. Having the nuts warmed up is what makes these stand out. Otherwise, they are just plain bagged nuts. And enjoying them with another glass of champagne made me feel fancy.
The food menu was large. We would be getting at least three courses at 30,000 feet. I started off with the shaved beef. These thinly sliced pieces of beef had a lemon aioli on top and an edamame guacamole, pico de gallo mixture underneath. A taco crumble was sprinkled on the plate. The beef was extremely tender. The blend of the aioli and guacamole made a creamy sauce that added additional flavor to the beef.
A salad of seasonal greens also came out at the same time. The bead of lettuce had cranberries, feta cheese, and oven-dried tomatoes on top. There was a balsamic vinaigrette served on the side. The salad was fresh and light.
We had a choice of rolls to choose from when the flight attendant came through the cabin. I went for the pretzel roll. It was so warm I made sure to put the butter on right away so it would melt. It was heavier than a typical dinner roll but tasted just like a hot pretzel.
For my main dish I ordered the herb roasted chicken. This was a chicken breast that was still on the bone in a pomodoro sauce. It came with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans. The chicken had good flavor, I just wish it was off the bone. It would have made it easier to eat. The sweet potatoes were in deed sweet which complemented the chicken.
The herb grilled beef filet was also ordered. I did get to try a little of it. The filet had a bordelaise sauce on top and came with a twice baked potato, baby spinach, and roasted butternut squash. It was really good. I was surprised how tender the steak was. The twice baked potato was my favorite. I would have liked to have another one of those.
With dinner I enjoyed a glass of cabernet-sauvignon from Black Stallion Estate Winery in Napa Valley. It was a bold wine with a smooth aftertaste.
It also went well with the cheese plate I ordered after my dinner. It came with three different cheeses: bleu cheese, cheddar cheese, and brie. They also included grapes, cranberries and a date for accompaniments. It was the perfect little snack. And it went so well with the cheeses.
Now this was not all, there was a traditional dessert as well. They offered ice cream sundaes. It was a fun surprise. The sundae was vanilla ice cream with hot fudge, butterscotch, berries, and whipped cream and chopped pecans.
At some point on the flight, I stopped eating and actually went to sleep. This was probably because I had such a full stomach. But it was not long before we were about an hour and a half from landing. This meant it was time for breakfast.
To help wake myself up I ordered a cappuccino. This was a surprise to me that they even had this on the plane. It was very well made.
For breakfast, they brought everything out on the tray at once, probably to save time. There were a few choices, but I went with the omelet. It had Swiss cheese and roasted tomatoes on top, along with a hollandaise sauce. There was a few pieces of Italian chicken sausage, seasoned potatoes, and fresh fruit. It was a nice complete breakfast. The omelet was great with the cheese and tomatoes. The chicken sausage was just ok to me. I really prefer the taste of pork sausage. The fruit added a nice fresh element. And since I really enjoyed the first cappuccino, I ordered another.
As I finished up eating, it was time to clean up and get ready to land. It was on to the next steps in our Portugal adventure.
Enjoy!
T
