What some fliers (this one included) consider to be the planet’s premier airport restaurant is closed, but just for a while.
The Encounter Restaurant, atop the spidery theme building at Los Angeles International, will be shut down while the building’s upper arches are renovated. Look for the makeover to last about six months, but the Encounter should open lots sooner.
What’s interesting about this airport eatery is that Angelenos, residents of the city itself, come out to the airport to eat – not just fliers passing through. That says something about the food.
Among Encounter’s entrees are Shrimp Penne Pomodoro Citron, jumbo shrimp tossed with fresh roasted garlic, white wine, fresh herbs, tomato concasse and finished in a citrus pomodoro sauce. You get the idea. This isn’t fast food.
What goes on outside the window, however, is fast. Flights to faraway places with strange-sounding names: big Boeings off to Tokyo (NRT) and Hong Kong (HKG), Airbuses bound for Papeete. The panorama comes with the price of the meal.
The LAX theme building is perhaps the most recognizable structure in any airport in the world. It was last renovated in 1999. The original building was completed in August 1961, built around 135-foot parabolic arches meant to symbolize LA’s optimism, with more than a hint of the Space Age about it.
Forty-six years later, the iconic symbol of LAX still stands, and so does an extraordinary restaurant that resides in its upper reaches.
© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler
