Welcome to Miami: nice airport, mediocre food
I will have been in eleven different airports on this trip, and they still fascinate me. Â Airports reflect the cities they inhabit, but they also have that generic, institutional feel. Â Like Miami’s airport, for example. Â I had a layover there for an hour or so and needed some food. Â They had the average pre-made sandwiches, hot dogs, and subpar baked goods, but they also had a Cuban quick service place. Â Of course they do. Â Cubans and their culture have greatly affected Miami’s history, so to have a Cuban eatery in the first and last place one might see when visiting Miami makes total sense. Â I had to eat there. Â When would I get to eat plantains in an airport again?
So I grabbed my cafeteria tray, metal fork, and plastic knife (I was in an airport), and sidled up to the line. Â On the other side of the sneeze guard, there wasn’t some overworked but eager chef sauteeing fresh garlic and onions as Buena Vista Social Club played in the background. Â There were metal pans filled with food and a lady in a paper hat staring at me. Â I felt like I was back in my high school cafeteria. Â I ordered the chicken with rice and plantains, and the lady slopped it on my plate.
That chicken might have been the dryest piece of meat I ever ate. Â Leather would have had more moisture. Â The plantains were overripe and overcooked. Â The rice tasted okay, but screwing up white rice is pretty hard to do. Â As I walked to my gate, full but disappointed, I came to a realization: Â airport food might embody a city’s cuisine, but it’s still going to taste like airport food.