Todd English at JFK

Four days after we returned from Mexico and I was still completely out of whack. Mr. T and I had both caught a terrible cold and being back in the nasty March weather was pretty miserable. Work was even crazier than it was before I had left which seemed impossible but is true. Then I got some very sad news about my friend’s father passing away. I basically grew up with this family- my friend and I spending equal amounts of time at each others homes, so it was upsetting to say the least. I obviously wasn’t in the best shape, terrible cold, Mexico hangover, and tons of work to do; but I needed to be there for my friend so I booked a flight to Buffalo the next day. I put in a half day of work and then rushed to the airport only to find Terminal 2 pretty deserted. I was through the security in a matter of seconds and had plenty of time to actually have a proper lunch.

Todd English’s Bonfire was right next to my gate so it seemed like an obvious choice. I put in an order for a Cesar Salad and a Caribbean Martini made with Bacardi, pineapple juice, limoncello and sour. I figured the martini could help me in two ways. One- the pineapple juice would give me much needed vitamins to fight my cold. Two it would help me fall asleep on the plane so I wouldn’t be coughing all over everyone the entire flight.



I have to say this martini was seriously good. My senses had been dulled the last few days so it was nice to actually taste the sour twist. I actually felt a million times better after drinking one. I didn’t feel any effects of the alcohol but just a general sense of better health. By the time my salad arrived I was finished and decided to order another one. Woo Hoo! My first two martini lunch! Doing it old school!



Now my salad on the other hand actually frightened me a little when it arrived. I had never seen a Cesar that looked like this before. It was basically one big stalk. I decided to try and break it up into a more normal looking salad.



With lots of creamy Cesar dressing (maybe a tad too much), grated Parmesan and capers, I have to say for $9 this was a fantastic deal for airport food. I barely got through half of the salad before being stuffed and I enjoyed every minute of eating it.

Back to the cold curing martinis. I’ve got to tell you something folks- I know they always did this back in the day and that’s great but a two martini lunch is way too much for me! I hadn't felt any effects from the first one but the second really hit home. I was seriously loopy at the end of my meal. I don’t know if the cold had something to do with it but I was like a space cadet. How would people go back to work like this? Luckily I only had to float over to my gate and find my plane seat where I promptly fell asleep. An hour and a half later I awoke in Buffalo, sober and well rested. It happened to be the perfect plan all along,

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