A Note on Plane Food from the Flight to Milan

Over the years I have developed a rather self-inflicted food snob reputation. Food is very important to me. High quality food is essential.

All the books I read are about food. Most of the paychecks I used to receive went to luxurious meals at NYC and Boston's finest restaurants. My Twitter handle is "ashlovesfood." I based my short-lived PR career around food.

So this next confession may come as a blasphemous surprise, against all values of the food snobbery establishment: I adore plane food. I know I'm supposed to think it's gross, but I secretly look forward to international travel just for those fabulously fake trays of airplane eats.

1. Maybe it's because I grew up eating a lot of TV dinners.

2. Maybe it's how wonderfully organized everything is with all the single serving portions. Boxes of fruit with clear plastic lids. Individually wrapped brownies with walnuts or pineapple chunks.

3. The reliability of those small round rolls that go stale and cold if you don't eat them fast enough. No matter what the meal or airline, they seem to always be there for you.

4. The anticipation of what's under that standard rectangular aluminum lid. I love surprises!

5. Maybe because it feels like free food.

I don't know.

You do start to feel like one of the fat people from Wall-E on the longer flights though. On the way to Europe from NYC, it felt like every time I opened my eyes a pretty flight attendant was standing there and shoving trays of food in front of me.