The Market Grab-N-Go at Newark Airport
It was hard to leave New York. Saying goodbye to our new friends and all of the fabulous food wasn’t easy. I headed to the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey a little sad but ready for the next part of our trip to begin. Before taking off, I had a chance to scope out the food offerings and was delighted to see a giant sign that included the word VEGAN. At The Market, in the terminal B food court, before you pass the security checkpoint, there are a small selection of vegan-friendly snacks.
Airport Smoothies
They had Odwalla smoothies, which make a great airport breakfast. They were incredibly overpriced, $3.60 USD, but that’s what you can expect to pay if you arrive at the airport unprepared.
Energy Bars
You can also find granola and energy bars without any dreaded milk ingredients. They’re priced $2.50-$3.00 USD. The selection isn’t very extensive but at least there’s a selection, right? It’s a start!
Advertisement in Security Bins
Before going through security, I was considering buying some snacks with my leftover US change. I decided to wait, assuming there would be more options on the other side. I went through empty handed, stopping to notice an interesting Zappos advertisement in the security bins. I <3 unique ad placements.
Newark Airport
Once I reached the gate area, I was disappointed to find there weren’t many places to spend my change (just over $3.00 USD). Actually, there wasn’t much of anything, only a tiny magazine rack, coffee vendor and fancy cosmetic and perfume store. I did find an Odwalla bar and put my chance to good use. If you’re visiting the Newark airport and need a snack, I’d recommend buying it from The Market before the security screening.
Virgin Atlantic Flight
Okay, now for the more exciting bit. The flying! I was really looking forward to flying with Virgin Atlantic. I’d heard so much about the airline’s cool vibe, entertainment system and food. My choice to fly with them was purely economical, they were the cheapest option. I wouldn’t have paid more for any of the features I received but appreciated them as a nice little bonus.
Virgin Atlantic Amenities Pack
For example, this cute little amenities pack. The eye cover, socks, pen and tooth brush kit are still with me and have come in handy. This is the kit they give to the economy passengers, the premium economy and business class version is even swankier.
Virgin Atlantic Vegan Meal
Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. I present to you, The Virgin Atlantic Vegan Meal. The main was vegetables (baby corn, broccoli, peas, eggplant and cauliflower) and rice with a teriyaki sauce (I think). The sides, an iceberg lettuce salad, whole wheat roll, fruit cup and water. Both the Naturally Fresh salad dressing and Country Crock spread contained milk ingredients. The main was good, but the salad with it’s one lone tomato was lacking. Overall, I was happy and well fed but disappointed to find non vegan items in a meal that’s supposed to be for vegans.
Virgin Atlantic Seat to Seat Messenger
The biggest let down of the flight was my experience, or maybe I should say lack of experience, with the seat to seat messenger. I was oddly excited about this feature and would have loved to try it out with another passenger. Sadly, I could not find anyone online. It wasn’t like you could see a list of all the people who had the messenger turned on, you had to randomly select a seat number or know someone on the flight willing to chat with you. I tried and tried but couldn’t find anyone online. I suppose I could have asked a stranger, but that would have been weird.
To sum it all up, I’d recommend flying with Virgin Atlantic if they’re the cheapest option. I wouldn’t pay a premium to fly with them, or any other airline for that matter. I choose flights based on the airports they start and end in, price, and layover times. That’s it. I’d rather bring my own food, entertainment and amenities than pay more for a plane ticket that has these items built into the cost.
John's Vegan Airport Food Reserve
I landed in London Heathrow and met up with John, who had spent two nights there because of the volcanic ash. He was lucky to have packed so much food and didn’t have to buy anything other than tea, chips and orange juice.
Organic Vegan Sandwich at London Heathrow
Leaving London Heathrow via Terminal 1, heading to Dublin, we found a Bugsy sandwich made by Fresh Organics. Their organic vegan sandwich was made with carrots, hummus, salad leaves, alfalfa sprouts on wholemeal bread. It was really good and just the right price (2.20 British Pounds) to use up our leftover change. It seems like there are more and more vegan options every time we fly. This is great news for vegans but I’d still recommend packing your own snacks and meals whenever possible.
9 Comments »
That ‘Market’ at Newark looks amazing. I’ve flown from the UK to Newark and back a lot but I think I’m usually in a different terminal as I’ve never seen that market before.
Is the toothpaste in the Virgin amenities pack vegan?
Last time I flew from the US I had an awesome ‘vegan sandwich’ (ie. similar to a veggie burger) as my meal with Continental. Best meal I’ve had with an airline ever. I hate rice and most foreign food… It drives me crazy when airlines think vegan = rice.
Most of the airlines seem to get the dressing wrong in the meal. I’ve noticed milk/whey in certain items over the years.
I always pack stuff since I’m wheat-free as well as vegan.
I did have a good meal on airfrance once.
@Shari Black Velvet – Not sure about the tooth paste being vegan or not. What could be in tooth paste that would make it not vegan? I haven’t flown with Continental but maybe I will get to try that vegan sandwich if I fly with them someday :)
bitt – It’s sad to hear you haven’t had any good experience with airline meals. What’s the worst you got?
I am the same as you when it comes to Airlines. The price makes the decision for me. When I went to Ireland I flew Aer Lingus and it was similar to Virgin with all the fun free stuff. I didn’t get a vegan meal because of a mix up but the flight attendents were super sweet and came out with a huge fruit plate and offered it to me (it was their own fruit plate.) I didn’t take their food but they were beyond nice actually caring that I didn’t have a meal.
I haven’t found any spectacular vegan selection at airports. The Newark one looks great. I think just seeing a sign saying vegan at an airport would get me excited.
There was a place called…uh… Nude (I believe that was it Nude or Naked) in Dublin. It was a food place that sold all kinds of yummy fresh wraps and stuff. I don’t remember what street but it was in the center. Did you eat there when you were there? I am assuming it is still there it was awfully busy everytime I went. Though, it has been awhile.
@Shari “I hate rice and most foreign food” really? how sad for you, and how limiting… where do you live? what do you class as foreign?
Cool post. I always wanted to fly Virgin Atlantic. Guess this is the closest I’ll ever get.
This was a fascinating read. I always pack my own food for flights but I’m also fascinated to see what the meal ends up being. A few times I’ve been pleasantly surprised – once, an Amy’s burrito, and another time (I think on American Airlines), a pretty decent chana masala with rice and vegetables. The salads are always dismal. And the airplane packaged rolls depress me. And yet, I’m fascinated by it all and stare down the aisle with anticipation as the food cart heads my way. Love the pic of your carry-on emergency food. Especially the “Whole Meals to Go” – so cute!
I didn’t realize airlines gave out meals, let alone vegan options. Any time I ever flew I got a cup of soda (or the whole can) and maybe a pack of apples with some caramel dipping sauce (This was before I was a vegan so I ate it). I’m going to be going on my first ever international, more than a weekend long stay, since becoming a vegan. I was really nervous, and I still kind of am. Your blog has showed me that traveling and being a vegan is possible. Going on the airplane is always my favorite part of the trip! =)
Do you know if they have a flight Chicago—>NJ ?
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