Text 6135, 106 rader
Skriven 2013-10-26 23:04:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: burgers 367
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US3412 PIT BOS 1145 1321 E70 2A

By the time I got the grease and sauce off my fingers,
boarding was half done, and I didn't have room for my bag on
board. The grandpa and grandkid in row 3, headed to Fenway
for the World Series, offered their underseat storage, which
I was greatly thankful.

As I'd had that spicy burger with no drink, I asked for a
Heineken, to which the flight attendant said "if we have it,
otherwise you'll get a Beck's"; the Heinie came in a minute.

She apologized for the snack mix, saying that usually they
catered the snack basket (with the blueberry and caramel
snacks that I like, also the Biscoffs).

We came in right on time; I wouldn't have minded a little
delay, as this aircraft is the competition to the Canadair,
and the flight was way more comfortable. 

UA1082 BOS EWR 1423 1559 738 5F was 3A

I couldn't check in for this flight and so went to the desk
and told the agent that the computer didn't love me. She
immediately said, well, the computer loves me, and I had my
boarding pass in 5 seconds. It didn't have the PreCheck logo
on it, though, so I had to stand for 15 minutes in the peons
line, take my shoes off, unsheath the computer, all that
normal inconvenience that I'd forgotten about for the last
year or two. Also, the computer, which still didn't love me,
had given me the last seat, with limited recline, instead of
the one that I had reserved.

I've been riding planes lately with Japanese crew, which is
kind of peculiar. They're young, nattily dressed, attentive,
and can't speak English worth a lick. This on Continental
dba United. Our flight attendants were young and male, and
when I ordered a Courvoisier it came as a double, which is
a good thing.

We got in a little early, and I had plenty of time to catch
the shuttle train to Terminal A to meet Lilli, who was
coming in from LA or someplace. We discussed the transit
possibilities, which range from the train ($15-20 depending
on which) or the bus ($16 but right to within 3 blocks of
the hotel) to the bus to the train to the bus ($6.50, $5.70
for her, but taking twice as long). She pulled the trump
card, which was that the senior fare on the bus was only
$11. So we went to the parking lot to wait for the Olympia
Trails (sounding like the former service provider Olympic
Trailways: coincidence? I think not), which was half an hour
late, despite supposedly coming every 15 minutes. Apparently
traffic was brutal. The good news: there was some kind of
deal, and she got both of us on for $16. The other bad news
- traffic was still horrendous, and we didn't get into the
city until 7.

The Inter-Continental is an extraordinarily snazzy hotel,
and the corner room they gave us on the 27th floor was
spectacular.

We were greeted with milk chocolate lozenges at check-in,
a nice gesture, but the Tumbador chocolates in the room
were even nicer - truffles of green tea, malted cookie,
cashew cream, and ganache made from 65% dark Peruvian.

Also, mini-Gala apples - three about the size of tennis
balls, one much smaller, maybe a squash ball. The tiny one
was delicious; the others pretty good.

Still, sweets do not dinner make, and the minibar yummies
were neither so yummy nor so cheap, and it wasn't raining
too hard, so we walked the mile to the Burger Joint in the
Parker Meridien - widely regarded as the best burger in
New York. We got there I dunno, 8-ish, maybe later, and
there was a line out into the hotel lobby. The Meridien
just took some excess space and curtained it off and there
you go, a burger joint. You get your burgers and fries and
shakes, and the odor doesn't obtrude into the lobby proper,
as it is a very thick and luxurious curtain. I thought of
getting a shake, but the place now serves beer and wine, to
wit: Sam Adams Lager and Black Box Merlot and Chardonnay,
five and half a throw. The line took almost half an hour,
as everything is made to order and there are only maybe 3
dozen seats; then you order; then you wait another almost
half hour for your food, and then you eat if you are lucky
enough to find a seat. The hotel frowns on picnicking in
the lobby. We ordered a burger medium-rare with onion,
ketchup, and pickles, a burger rare with onion and tomato,
a beer, and a red wine. The cashier poured us our booze,
so that was fine and timely. When the burgers came, they
were: rare with onion, ketchup, and tomato, and rare with
pickles. We did a mix and match, splitting the onion, and
all was fine, and in fact they were very good burgers, just
fatty enough, with that wonderful beefy flavor that makes
one want two. Especially if you peel off part of the generic
bad bun to poison the pigeons with. In fact - we ended up at
a butcher block right by the kitchen and watched the couple
across the way finish their burgers and go back in line to
get more; thevguy next to me had ordered two to begin with,
smart boy, and eaten all of one and all but half the bun of
the other, extra smart boy. These are about 5 oz burgers.

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