Text 15668, 86 rader
Skriven 2014-08-09 23:35:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: St. L bbq trip 773
==========================
A bit of a detour to get miles.

UA1651 ORD ANC 1521 1857 738 3F

The meal: steak or pasta with marinara; you can guess
which I chose: this turned out to be what used to be
billed as short rib but is in fact chuck pot roast -
my serving had a sizable vein of gristle and a fatty
exterior, which I enjoyed. It's not short rib, and if
you accompany me to the grocer sometime I can point
out pretty much which muscle structure it was.

Alongside some overcooked broccoli and garlic mash whose
aroma was more Akron than Gilroy.

A sundae was offered. I asked for a Courvoisier instead,
but they'd run out. I accepted the ice cream and wasted
a couple lactases for the purpose.

UA1562 ANC ORD 2000 0504 738 3A

Same aircraft, convenient for a mileage runner. Back in
the olden days, this was the kind of itinerary where one
could use two or three 500-mile certificates or one
regional one for the whole Boston to St. Louis trip, and
anyone could do it. Now, with the unlimited domestic
upgrades, we higher-statused members simply hog the seats
up front. Sometimes there are too many hogs for the
trough; this happens seldom to me but mostly on flights
where I really want the upgrade.

There was Courvoisier, which meant that they catered
on the 1-hour layover, for which I was thankful.

The offering this time was a cold deli plate: prosciutto,
mozzarella balls, artichoke hearts, and an olive, with
tomato slices. All were okay.

UA3645 ORD STL 0719 0831 CR7 1A

They put first class on this hateful crate. There's not
much to be said for it. I believe that the commentators
say of this seat that it's the best on the plane because
you get to escape first.

The rather bumpy flight landed in the opposite pier from
where I was to meet Lilli.

The American desk declined to get me a gate pass, even
after or perhaps because of my exaggerated description of
Lilli's infirmities and need for an escort ("you could
order her a wheelchair") , so I went and bought a refundable
ticket, used it to access the club, and then refunded the
ticket. More work for me, more work for them.

It was a rather boring time, and soon the airport outlet
of the Schlafly brewery called: I got an order of average
toasted ravioli and an above average oatmeal stout.

Lilli came in in due time, and we got a car and proceeded
to the Hilton Frontenac, a peculiar place built in the
style of Louis the twentieth or something, if there had
been one of thise. We were informed that contrary to
expectation and advertisement, no upgrade was forthcoming
owing to a confluence of massive events; some drink
coupons were the consolation prize.

The unupgraded room was huge; it looked like an upgraded
room but was in some out-of-the-way corner, a ten-minute
maze crawl from breakfast and the executive lounge.

Notes about said lounge. Breakfast is a reasonable spread,
a special dish plus the regular round of scrambled eggs,
potatoes, breakfast breads, cereal, and so on. The special
dish I remember was cheese blintzes the first day: I took
an experimental bite of one and found it rubbery in texture
but authentic in taste. Juices were nasty (think Thirster).
There are evening snacks (gratis) and beer and wine (cheap).
I tried to pay for our wine with our chits but was informed
these were good only in the restaurant. No worries, the
stuff here, Canyon Road, was popularly priced, and it wasn't
worth my while to trek half a mile down to the restaurant.

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