I liked Cool River Cafe the one time I traveled through DFW. A great steak there. Also, as far as United(Continental) hubs go, Gallagher's Steakhouse in Newark is better too, though not enough to make up for traveling through Newark. I finally got around to trying the Encounter restaurant at LAX on my last trip out of there, but it's outside security and a pain to get to on foot. Good food, though. The best currently at LAX is the Daily Grill in the International Terminal, but it's a limited Daily Grill menu (a small L.A. chain that's an offshoot of the Grill in Beverly Hills) - the planned reconstruction will supposedly deliver better eats.
Then there was that seafood restaurant in the Brussels airport, definitely a cut above Pappadeaux.
But Pappadeaux is very good for an airport restaurant, I'll grant you that. Certainly the best at IAH hands down. I even tried the Marriott restaurant once, not impressed, and Cat Cora's failed to deliver as well, just a high price. And that little Taco Truck place (C terminal?) served up a great margarita, but the food was mediocre. Still, I like Ruby Tuesday because (1) it's a California incursion into Texas, like we're taking over the place, (2) it's right after customs, when one is hungry from standing in line for an hour, and (3) it's great for people watching with its "sidewalk cafe" set up. Better burgers than Pappadeaux too, but Pappadeaux is definitely the go-to spot for seafood and salads and huge martinis.
Making myself hungry, better see what's for lunch!
