Pearson Terminal 1 - anything chowish?

[peppermint pate]

Heading out on a family trip shortly and my onboard options appear to be limited (remember when they actually gave you a meal???). Anything decent in the new Terminal 1 to take on board for dinner for toddlers (who eat everything) and their parents? I'm packing my own snacks but for dinner, the timing makes an airport purchase the best option. Thanks!

[BamiaWruz]

I never thought to take food on the plane, so you're allowed to pack your own sandwiches and take them on board from home to plane, no problem?

Planning a trip down south this month and if this is ok, I'm definitely going to consider it rather than starving on the plane or having to pick at the yucky sandwiches.

[plainjane_to]

Yes, you can pack your own sandwiches, you just can't bring your own drinks. You _can_ bring your own bottles and refill from water fountains on the other side of the security check.

Be aware that if you don't finish your meal, you might need to dump it on the other side. E.g. the folks at Auckland get somewhat stressed about apples, even though they were originally from New Zealand. Processed foods are usually ok. Meat and fruit with seeds are always the most suspect.

And please be considerate of your fellow passengers, try not to have anything _too_ smelly.

[mikefly]

I wouldn't be so sure about that AT all Jane... I have been forced to toss a sandwich before getting on the plane before - it may have been because I cleared US customs in Canada - but I wouldn't put all your eggs in this basket.

[TorontoJo]

Hmm...I travel to the States regularly and have often brought food on the plane with me, as well as sent family members to the airport with sandwiches. No one has ever asked us to throw out our food.

[mikefly]

Maybe I look more like a terrorrorrorrist.

[Wahooty]

If by "down south" you mean the States, make sure you're not taking anything that wouldn't pass customs, since you go through customs BEFORE you get on the plane. I think most sandwiches would get through without major difficulty, but I'd hate to see you get your dinner taken away. :)

[BamiaWruz]

GREAT! I was thinking something simple like a good bread and maybe cheese (nothing smelly) :)

Thank you all.

[Kagemusha]

I sometimes hit Kwality Sweets for samosas and anything else non-sloshy that looks good.

[peppermint pate]

Okay, not that I'm surprised, but this thread is seriously depressing me. When I checked the onboard options, it was only a few sandwiches (Quizno's and Second Cup) - for a 5 hour flight with a couple of kids in tow, I was hoping for something better.

Can you imagine if they had a Caplansky's or Black Camel at the airport????????

[GoodGravy]

I was on a flight once w/ a group of business people, one of whom brought a dozen H&H bagels, cream cheese and lox. A tinge of jealousy shot through me as I ate my hot pocket.

Maybe you can bring some smoked meat and a loaf of bread and make your own sandwiches?

[peppermint pate]

Ha - coming home from New York once, I had a sandwich made with leftover prosciutto from Lupa on an H&H bagel with some cheese that I had picked up at some great cheese shop in the Village. And I always eat a Schwartz's sandwich on the train home from Montreal. YUM!!!

[ddelicious]

Really, if you absolutely can't pack dinner, I would stop at subway or something like that on the way to the airport. Once we forgot our food bag at home (was not impressed with hubby on that one) and had to replace food at terminal. ended up with bagels and cream cheese from timmy's, and paid $1 each for bananas at some other place next to timmy's. wolfgang puck expensive and unappealing. would not suggest ordering from the inflight menu, they don't always have the selection advertised and what they do have looks extremely gross.

[pinstripeprincess]

so i've been following this thread because i'll be doing a similar trek but out of terminal 3 (west jet).... and now i'm inspired to get a caplansky's sandwich for take-out the night before and have it on my 7am flight for breakfast. cold sandwich be damned... it'll still be infinitely better than all the other options.

[TorontoJo]

Yep, it's a sad state of chow at all the terminals. If you need a place to pick up food near the airport, Zet's on Airport Rd. is a great greasy spoon and open 24 hours. Classic Greek diner fare. I like getting a BLT for breakfast. :)

[pinstripeprincess]

i'll have to keep that in mind the next time i'm doing a work flight... this one my mother has so kindly offered to take me to the airport and i'd rather not get her up another 15 minutes earlier than she has to. cold caplanskys seems like a reasonable consolation prize.

[grandgourmand]

Cold caplansky's is really good. I've done it a few times on purpose. But I like cold leftover meat (e.g. fried chicken). The bread holds up very well.

[kawarthagirl]

hahahahahahha... sorry... :( Extra good luck to you. I have yet not to have indigestion after eating at the airport.

[eller]

Whatever you do, eat beforehand. Air Canada's 'new' menu is embarrassing and disgusting.

[koknia]

Agree. I fly between Hong Kong and Toronto quite a bit. HK airport has tons of great food options.
At Toronto it's a race to the bottom. I usually get a couple of bagels and cream cheese at Timmy's for the plane. Ugh.

[grandgourmand]

HK airport food court, it was a few years ago for me, was amazing.

Toronto's airport is brutal. For what it's worth, I would stick to the onboard options. 1) you don't have to lug it around 2) it's not that much worse than the food court stuff 3) if you pay in advance it's not a bad deal.

[Tatai]

Toronto's air terminals are an embarrassment. I can't fathom why they built a brand new terminal totally lacking in decent restaurants and shops. I've been on numerous business trips to major U.S. cities in the past couple of years, where one finds the usual assortment of chain restaurants but also much regionally focused fare as well as a plethora of shopping options after one passes through security, which is great when there's a long layover between flights.

Nope, there's nothing decent at Terminal 1. The Wolfgang Puck Express is the better of the available evils.

[TorontoJo]

Agreed about Wolfgang Puck Express -- it's a chain, but the food is way better than your other options at the airport. The tortilla soup is good (though perhaps not practical to take on the plane!), as is the chinese chicken salad. If your kids don't mind eating no-longer-hot pizza on the plane, the pizzas there are reasonable and made to order.

[peppermint pate]

Agree with Tatai that everyone else's airports seem to have infinitely better options than ours. I've eaten at Wolfgang Puck Express at O'Hare and LAX - salads were decent. And lukewarm pizza will be totally fine for the kids so overall, that probably will be our best option. Thanks.

[TorontoJo]

BTW, I should mention that if you get a salad, have them make it fresh and pack it to go, rather then get one of the prepackaged ones. There is nothing worse than trying to toss a salad with the dressing in a tiny little plastic bowl on a plane