American Airlines Brings Texas Barbecue To First Class On Every Domestic Meal Flight From Dallas

American Airlines will offer Pecan Lodge barbecue as a pre-order option in first class on all domestic meal flights departing Dallas – Fort Worth starting September 9 (with pre-order opening August 9). “Customer feedback on the Pecan Lodge menu offering has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re excited to expand this offering across flights from our hometown hub,” said American’s SVP of Customer Experience Design and Strategy Rhonda Crawford. “Pecan Lodge’s bold Texas flavors translate exceptionally well at altitude, making it a great choice for customers looking to enjoy a memorable dining experience in the air.” American launched this as a test on Dallas to the New York area at the start of the year. Then they expanded it to Boston and Los Angeles a couple of months ago. I’ve even considered foregoing flying Austin – New York non-stop to try it, though the only time I’ve wound up on the route it was standby departing New York which isn’t eligible. Reviews, though, are mostly strong (though mixed, as you’d expect). Here’s how the two meals were advertised: Barbecue platter Smoked brisket and smoked sausage, paired with creamy mac and cheese, crisp coleslaw and a side of pickles, onions and barbecue sauce Chopped brisket sandwich Chopped brisket on a fresh brioche bun, roasted green beans, creamy potato salad and a side of pickles, onion, and barbecue sauce. The platter seems motly loved and consistently well-executed. The sandwich seems to get more raves than pans but reviews are more varied. One review from someone who tried both rating the dinner platter 7/10 in a restaurant and 9/10 as airplane food (they disliked the sandwich). Here’s a strong review of the sandwich, Had the pecan lodge brisket sandwich and it genuinely might’ve been one of the best domestic J meals I’ve had in ages. While it was an *extremely* messy affair, and obviously not as good as fresh brisket on the ground, for an airplane midcon meal, it was delicious. Honestly I think it was the sauce that put this over the edge. I admit, as a New Yorker, I’m not a bbq expert, but the sauce had a perfect balance of sweet and spicy and really made the brisket work. The crew must’ve reheated the bun separately, as it was perfectly fluffy and not soggy or stiff, like so many other airplane sandwiches. The potato salad was delicious and really helped balance the richness of the sandwich, while the beans were alright but didn’t really add much to the overall meal. But still, great meal and honestly, I’d connect via DFW over CLT or MIA when flying back from Mexico to NYC just for this and the other pecan lodge ex-DFW meal. The platter should be more dependable. The brisket is fatty and will reheat well, and they add sauce which offsets any dryness from the cabin reheat. Sausage is also similarly forgiving. On the other hand for the sandwich chopped meat exposes far more surface area and dries out more rapidly. The sauce and fat can saturate the brioche bun, and it can come out soggy, leathery or both (!). It’s also awkward to eat from a tray table, and portioning and the meat-to-fat ratio appear to vary quite a bit between trays. Ultimately there are real compromises trying to do barbecue at altitude. Even needing sauce is a compromise! When the barbecue is any good, you shouldn’t be trying to hide the flavor of the meat. That’s what’s wrong with so many other styles other than Central Texas barbecue. When British Airways served barbecue out of Austin and oddly partnered with Aaron Franklin on the sauce (they weren’t serving his meat!). Franklin noted, “if you guys are going to be serving it on a plane… you need to hit the sauce pretty hard.” Pecan Lodge was an elite barbecue destination a decade ago. I haven’t been in years, so can’t say what it’s like today though I note that while it was once #2 in the Texas Monthly Top 50 biennial barbecue rankings, it’s now fallen off that list completely. (The list itself has declined in value, however.) It’s likely fair to say that Pecan Lodge is not considered in the same league as LeRoy & Lewis, InterStellar, or Franklin. Franklin Barbecue Dallas just isn’t the epicenter of Texas barbecue. And that seems to be why people still pay attention to Pecan Lodge (and to Terry Black’s in Deep Ellum, even the original in Austin is overrated). A more legit pick would probably be Goldee’s in Fort Worth. I love to see American experimenting with new food partnerships, and route-specific food options. This is an airline that hasn’t been serving Australian wine on departures out of Sydney. So shifting its catering for a single set of flights could be a real progress. Mostly I love to see American trying interesting things. It’s a preorder option, no one has to eat this, but it’s a more interesting choice for those of us who have had the same entree too many times! And it’s another ‘premium signal’ from American – we’ve been seeing better wine (not in standard domestic cabins though, I think I might actually like a zin with the platter, a cab franc with the sandwich, or a shiraz with either); better champagne; better coffee; better food in lounges and more premium seats. The new lounge style – and there are several lounges finally in the pipeline – is nice, too. All in all there’s beginning to be a different feel to the carrier than there was in the Parker era, and that’s a good thing, though I’ll be first to admit that these things take time and there’s a long way to go. Topics on this page