From chef-driven menus to light jazz

The newest foodie destination? Check out the airport as IAH goes gourmet inTerminal C

A sign advertising the new IAH coming Palm Bar & Grille, which will be only thesecond airport location ever for the steakhouse.
Photo by Nic Phillips
Airport food is going away from the fast food McDonald's days of the recentpast.
Photo by Nic Phillips
Now the airport's a near foodie destination of its own.
Photo by Nic Phillips

Business travelers, this one's good news: good airport food is no longer an oxymoron.

With airlines cutting connecting flights and charging for things that used to be free — including most food options not consisting of a bag of peanuts — airports have stepped up to the plate to provide travelers quality meals, drinks, and even, just maybe, some relaxation.

Bush Intercontinental is at the forefront of these changes. The effort to advance and update food options began in 2008, and since January 2009 nearly a dozen restaurants have opened or will be open soon in Terminal C.

Soon IAH will open the second-ever Palm Bar & Grille, an airport-sized version of the famed steakhouse serving prime cuts of meat, Italian favorites, seafood and a full bar menu in a decidedly un-airport-like setting. There are already signs up in the airport touting the impending arrival of a Palm. The New York-based steakhouse opened its first ever airport locale at JFK International Airport in May.

The Palm's addition is due to IAH's partnership with SSP America, a company that specializes in the "food travel" industry and that works with popular chains to adapt their specialties to airport constraints without compromising quality. At IAH, SSP has also brought in the California pizza chain Z Pizza, Einstein Bros. Bagels and West Coast fave Peet's Coffee.

They also develop their own signature brands, two of which recently made their American debut at IAH. At The Real Food Co., travelers can watch their meals from an 80-foot counter as they are created in the exhibition kitchen, with no less than eight chef-driven menus, from pizza and sushi to baked potatoes and sandwiches. Already widely popular in Europe, SSP retooled the brand to suit American tastes.

Le Grand Comptoir, which opened in 2009, has also earned buzz as Travel + Leisure's title of "Best New Snack Spot" in their list of the top 10 airport hot spots. Upscale and contemporary, it boasts mahogany fixtures, bistro fare, light jazz and hundreds of wine options. (Just ignore the lime green leather stools.)

It may not be the new Washington strip, but it's the kind of place that might make a two-hour delay much better.

unspecified

fit to print

New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review

Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk

undefined

Let’s just call 2025 the year of ChòpnBlọk. In a review published Tuesday, December 16, the New York Times has awarded the Houston restaurant two stars (“very good”).

Written by chief restaurant critic Tejal Rao, the review touts many of the same qualities that the Times already praised when it included ChòpnBlọk on its list of America’s 50 best restaurants.

Rao writes that she usually avoids restaurants that serve food in bowls, but she’s impressed by the way that chef-owner Ope Amosu has put a West African spin on the concept.

“For inspiration, Ope Amosu looked to the kind of chain restaurants that were built to scale, where flavors are often subdued to appeal to the broadest possible audience, focus-grouped to death. But the delight of ChòpnBlok is in its sure sense of self, its lively, multidimensional cooking and clear, delicious vision for modern food from the Black diaspora,” Rao writes.

She singles out specific dishes, including the Nigerian red stew with short rib, the Black Star bowl with shrimp, and the signature Motherland, made with chicken, greens, and plantains. “It’s utterly simple, but draws you in for more with the mouthwatering twang of not-too-much MSG — an international shortcut to building umami that tends to be used carefully, and layered with other forms,” she writes.

The review also touches on the way Amosu switched the restaurant from counter service to full service — described as “warm, informal, and quick with the jokes” — and his time working at Chipotle to learn the basics of the restaurant operations.

A two-star review is only the latest instance of ChòpnBlọk receiving national attention. In addition to the Times 50 best list, Esquire recently named it one of America’s best new restaurants. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand designation for 2025. Amosu earned a semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

news-you-can-eat media