This newsletter is called “Gastro’s Obscura’s Favorite Things.” We all know this. Sometimes, though, we end up writing about topics that fascinate us, but that we emphatically do not love. (For example, there was the time we wrote about how cults use food to control their members.)
Today’s newsletter is largely about planes. I spent years being terrified of flying, and I still tense up during turbulence. Flying is definitely not one of my favorite things. However, I do love unique restaurants.
A few years ago, as I was noodling around Google Maps, I spotted a tiny fork-and-knife symbol situated in the middle of what the map denoted as a small airfield. Perplexed, I tapped the icon, and it displayed rave reviews for a barbecue joint that had been left by locals, pilots, and planespotters. Many of the reviews included incredible pictures: not of the food, but of planes taking off and landing, snapped from inside the restaurant.
There are lots of these airfield restaurants across the United States. I found this out when I went down an online rabbit hole and found sites such as Fly2Lunch and forums compiling lists of the best restaurants to visit near or within small airfields. Many were aviation-themed, and functioned as meeting spots for both planespotters and pilots flying in from all over.
Today, your pilot on this journey through the country’s airfield restaurants is Bryan Peetz. Peetz flies a Van’s RV-10, builds flight training software for Boeing, and is passionate about both food and flight. We discussed the cuisine of airfield restaurants, why they exist, and the truth behind the “$100 hamburger.”
