Travelling in the US recently allowed me the chance to visit the American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth (Terminal D) and experience the food. Now being a flagship lounge I immediately expected the food to be outstanding, but I allowed those expectations to sink a little having been in enough Admirals Clubs over the years and also having recently visited the American Airlines First Lounge London (which I left the lounge feeling a little disappointed at the food). But alas my fears were not justified. I was nicely surprised to see the American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth food experience was enjoyable, having both nutritious options, delicious foods and also a bit of a creative flair. There was more than just the standard eggs, bacon, tomatoes type buffet.
American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth Menu
There was a large American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth menu at the end of the buffet showing the buffet options and also listing a number of dietary requirement symbols. There was also a burrito station and a noodle station.


What’s Healthy?
- One of the first things to grab my attention at this lounge was the colour – there were lots of colourful foods available on the buffet. For example the smoked salmon was accompanied by lemons, fennel, eggs, red onions and capers which makes for a nutritious addition to breakfast.
- The cheese plate had a range of dried fruits available for breakfast including dried cranberries. The cranberries were a nutritious addition to the usual typical dried fruits you usually see such as sultanas/apricots. Cranberries pack a powerful antioxidant punch which is fantastic for travel.


- The fruit platter was brimming with a range of fresh fruit – look at all those beautiful colours! Each colour generally represents a different bioactive and so by choosing a variety of these fruits for breakfast you are providing your body with a range of building blocks to help keep you healthy.
- I just loved the strawberry and spinach salad for breakfast – what a lovely side dish to add the your plate. The strawberries provided a little bit of sweetness and complemented the spinach. I am a big believer of having vegetables at breakfast to help get your 5 serves a day in more easily and it is great to see the American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth thinking past just the typical cooked tomatoes and mushrooms.


- The little chia pots with strawberry, blackberry and mint were a fabulous addition to the cold buffet. Chia is a source of soluble fibre, and is low FODMAP helping you have a happy healthy gut, but also not tending to cause IBS symptoms. This is a great if you are travelling as you don’t want foods to contribute to bloating while flying.
- The pieces of sushi provide a good source of iodine (through the seaweed). Also what I liked about these pieces of sushi was they only had a small amount of white rice, rather than being mostly rice without much filling.


- The shakshuka was delicious, absolutely delicious. The eggs were poached perfectly too. But besides the taste, shakshuka provided a nice nutritious alternative to traditional plain poached eggs by adding tomatoes, olive oil, peppers (capsicums), onions and spices. Cooked tomatoes are a good source of lycopene which has been shown to important for health. While this one did look a little oily, I feel the nutritious potential outweighs this.

- Ah the humble cooked tomato – staple of any hotel or airline lounge buffet. While I love variety, I do always welcome cooked tomatoes as it provides a vegetable option for people for breakfast. The fingerling potatoes were not too greasy.

- The noodle bar was quite popular and I couldn’t get a full picture of it as there seemed to be always someone standing there using it. Noodle dishes like this can be hard to place as sometimes the bowls of noodles are just that – noodles without much else. However with many other vegetables and higher protein options in this lounge to have I have placed the noodle bowl here as it can provide nice variety for different styles of dishes in the US. There were also a range of vegetables available and since this was a do-it-yourself station then you could bump up the vegetable content. If you like your noodles then try adding a couple extra spoons of vegetables – your body will thank you for it while travelling.


- The burrito bowl station had a member of staff making bespoke burrito bowls from a range of fresh ingredients. The bowls were small and flavoursome. The bowl I requested was quite balanced with a small amount of potato hash, egg, meat and beans, avocado salsa and a little cheese. They were a good size – filling enough but not large enough to promote over eating.

- There were ricotta, zucchini and herb frittatas. These are great on a breakfast plate or having one as a snack instead of a sweet pastry. They were not too greasy and it was great to see zucchini added (nice way to increase daily vegetable intake).

Not so great. Caution.
- A charcuterie plate and streaky bacon added a choice of processed meats to the buffet. Processed meats are common place in many breakfast buffets (usually bacon and sausages) however it is recommended we limit these in our diets due to the association processed meats have on negative aspects of health. It was great though there were some artichokes and cornichons – pop a couple of these on your plate if you feel like some salami or prosciutto.
- There were some varieties of cereal available in individual plastic pots. Always check the levels of added sugar and fibre in cereal if you like to have it for breakfast. Also try adding some fresh fruit, seeds or nuts to boost the nutrition.


- Sausages and gravy – a traditional dish in southern USA. Biscuits are kind of like an English scone and the gravy is usually a creamy white colour. This gravy was a sausage gravy which is typically made from the drippings of sausages, flour and milk. This dish can be pretty heavy in calories if lashings of gravy are eaten. And it isn’t very nutritious as the biscuit is served plain (with only the gravy). If you like to eat this try half a biscuit and try not to add too much gravy – adding some cooked vegetables to your plate would be great too.



- Along with sweet pastries there were also a range of sweets available including lollies and chocolate pretzels.

Final word on American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth
The American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth in Terminal D is quite a nice lounge – definitely a step above the Admirals Clubs. I was delighted there were a variety of nutritious foods available for breakfast that went above and beyond the stock standard American breakfast buffets.
NOTE: All pictures of the American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth are my own and I review the food from the foods available at the time I visited the lounge. There may be different options available at other times.
If you are visiting Terminal D at Dallas-Fort Worth international airport you might like to check out my review of the Amex Centurion Lounge Dallas in Terminal D.

American Airlines Admirals Club Charlotte Food and Nutrition Review
The American Airlines Admirals Club in Charlotte offers a selection of healthier options like fresh vegetables with pimento cheese dip, salads, and a BBQ glazed chicken dish, as well as less healthy choices like processed meats and sugary desserts. The lounge provides a reasonable mix of nutritious and indulgent options, making it possible to eat well despite a limited selection.