Off to JFK and BOS

LAX Flagship First Dining and AA First from LAX to JFK

Another gorgeous SoCal morning and I'm off to LAX to continue my CAI-HNL ticket and progress to my BA Gold.   But instead of returning to Cairo, I've changed that trip to September and my next year BA qualification.   So today, it's LAX-JFK and then JFK-BOS-LAX on a separate ticket to get me over the 1,500 Tier Point threshold for BA Gold.

And yet another LAX traffic bottleneck as a dozen LAPD cops were checking vehicle and profiling passengers driving to the terminals.   

Lots of parking spaces on the ground floor of the T4 garage.

A month later, this escalator is still not working.

The PreCheck escalator was clogged with a bunch of mainland Chinese pax who inexplicably had PreCheck access.  I exited and used the Flagship check-in where a great porter espcorted me to the from of the PreCheck line and conveyor.   That was worth a $20 tip. 

I checked in downstairs and received my Dining invite.

Love the period celebrity photos that line the hallway to Flagship First Dining.

Nice first impression with an impressive bar and communal work table.

Not a big fan of the thick partitions and the two tops squeezed against said partition. 

More two tops against the wall.  And the good seats by the window are too sunny in the morning.

Since I arrived at around 9:15am, it was still breakfast time and the Breakfast Menu.

Service was pleasant... but more friendly and adequate than excellent like JFK.  

The Steak, Eggs, Frites sounded great.   OK, that sure doesn't look very appetizing.   What chef in his right mind would like think this looks good??  And where is the Steak?

OMG, this was disgusting.   All I could eat were the eggs, after brushed off the sauce.   The short ribs were just plain gross.  And the "crispy potatoes" weren't even close to be crispy.  They were soft... just you get them on any AA inflight meal.  I'm betting that the kitchen made a big batch early in the morning and then just served all morning from that.

I sent it back and with time running out, went with just the House-made Toasted Coconut Granola with apricot guava compote and Greek yogurt.   I sure didn't see any granola as this was basically a smoothie.  Jeez.    

OK, not a good first First Dining impression.  Maybe it was the B team in the kitchen for breakfast and maybe it's all still new.  Hopefully, the All Day menu is better... or it's back to the QF lounge.   

Before I headed to the gate, I checked out the regular part of the crowded Flagship Lounge.