JFK First Dining and AA to Bermuda

With LGA's ongoing construction, ground transportation is a mess.  Since you needed to shuttle to get to taxi stands, I opted for Uber.  My driver was waiting in the nearby shared ride lot, but it took 30 minutes just to get onto Grand Central Parkway.  Another 30 minutes later and we're at JFK.

I was able to use Flagship First check-in for a direct path to PreCheck, where amazingly I was the only passenger at PreCheck security.

Upstairs in the Flagship Lounge to the First Dining...

... which was surprisingly crowded with all 4 booths and 5 of the window tables occupied.

Since I had two hours to kill before my flight, I decided to sample the menu, three starters.  After a slow start, this turned out to be one of the best FFD meals I've enjoyed.   I started light with the Spring Pea Salad, sugar snap peas, English peas, pea shoots, lemon, mint, parsnip-cauliflower purée, toasted macadamia nuts.  This dish just didn't do anything for me.  Very bland with inedible snap peas. 

But after that disappointment, a big wow.  The Korean-style Beef Carpaccio was sensational.  Creekstone Farms beef tenderloin with with sweet soy, Asian pear, French radish, baby fennel pickle, ke2pie furikake.

Next up was the ChimichurriRock Shrimp Arepa.  Another wow, with marinated rock shrmip, white corn arepa, red cabbage slaw, aji amarillo crfema, soft herbs.  Amazing.

After the crowd left, I moved over to a booth.

For my main, the Lamb Porterhouse with chickpeas, fava beans, Persian cucumbers, herloon cherry tomatoes, ricotta salata, herbed goay cheese.

The lamb was spectacular. Perfectly prepared dish with an amazing combination of wonderful flavors.

I had intended on having dessert but AA revised the departure time from an earlier delayed 7:10pm to 6:50pm.   So I rushed out for the long trek back to Gate 33, the furthest gate from the Lounge.

For the 1h45m flight, snack options of protein plate or cheese and fruit.

Despite the late departure, we made up time and arrived a few minutes early... to a very dated airport terminal.   

Customs was easy although the agent had a little trouble understand why I would only come for 16 hours. LOL.