Johnny Jet's Travel Tales

True to prediction, my 1:20 pm departure out of San Diego for Dallas meant that I could sneak into the airport at 12:15 pm! If you recall my last article, I try to avoid the 7:00 am morning commute and because I have some control over my schedule, try to lick mid morning or early afternoon departures. The risk of course is that these flights could get backed up and could be delayed… but if it means getting up at 4:30 am to stand in line, I would rather take my chances and go mid morning when I am at least awake. Lana at the Delta Crown Room welcomed me in her usual accommodating self, and I was the only passenger in there after the 6 others left for the 1 pm SLC flight. The MD 90 flight was okay, although my audio did not work on this flight, and I found the chef’s salad to be a little wilted - but loved the Pepridge Farm cookies. I had the choice of flying onto DFW on Sunday but the cost differential really made me gasp….the Saturday night stayover dropped the fare from $994 to $336, and I would have had to take that dreaded 7:00 am departure anyway to get there in time for an evening meeting.

I literally got shuttled to the Hyatt Regency, on Reunion Boulevard, and shoved into another waiting car for dinner with my friend Bill and some work colleagues. And what a great restaurant it was. Al Biernat’s had a broad selection of lobster, steak and seafood, in portions that only Texans know how. Located at 4217 Oak Lawn Avenue, this restaurant feels upscale and seems to attract all the pretty people in town. Give the crabcakes a miss, but dive into the calamari and the huge shrimp appetizers. I had a pepper encrusted tuna that was grilled to perfection, while I sampled a dry aged New York Strip that was to die for, and also tried the Filet Mignon that was prime! Everything here is a la carte, so plan on sharing spinach, hash brown potatoes or some asparagus. I can’t even remember the sampler plate of dessert, but for the key lime pie, the chocolate mousse and the pecan torte. Their website is Al Biernat’s

Back at the Hyatt Regency, I found the rooms to be less than stunning. Due to our convention, I was assigned a room overlooking the rail tracks, and believe you me, that 5:21 am train does pull in on time every day. The carpet was dated, and very dirty, while the batroom was not as clean as I would like… an old showerhead and some horrible yellow tile. The amenities were inconsistent - some days I got one brand of stuff, and some days I didn’t get any at all. And don’t touch that bottled water… there’s a $4.50 charge right there… and if you forget your shaving cream, the $2.19 Edge from your local drug store will set you back $7.99 in the gift shop. And a cup of coffee (albeit Starbucks blend) is $2.50 for a large…. No foam, no fuss - and it’s self serve, they hand you the cup and there you go…The service is inconsistent, but the bellmen, Andy and Abram are top notch. Picking out restaurants, making recommendations and helping me chart out a running course. Andy reminded me to stop by after my run for some bottled water and a towel at the desk… and inquired after my dining experiences to ensure I was happy. Not often you come across service like that.

If you are going to be in the downtown area, go out to the West End for some dining options. It’s a short walk from the Hyatt, and you walk past the JFK memorial, and there’s museum along the route where JFK was shot. I dined at the Butcher Shop and YO Ranch… and what a world of difference between the two. The Butcher Shop lets you grill your own cut of meat of you want and is very basic, but I found the various plates at our table to be off the mark - overdone, underdone, and poor plating appearance. Around the corner, the Y.O. Ranch offers great steaks, and an interesting sampler plate of boar sausage, ostrich, venison, rabbit, quail. Here the food is excellent with very good service, and for those faint hearted, there’s seabass and chicken on the menu too. We received thumbs up from everyone at the table! Across the street from Y.O., there’s the Palm restaurant, which is also highly recommended.

I made it to the airport at 7:40 pm for a 9 pm departure. After going through security, I was thoroughly rechecked, and when I asked the guard if he was looking for something in particular 9he had that intent look), he said that he wanted to see my clippers. I always keep that in an outer storage area, and have the file removed. For the second time since the new screening procedures were put in place, was selected for secondary security check and off came my shoes again. The flight back was on an MD 90 and was uneventful Delta did serve a sandwich with potato salad as the evening snack in First Class, and landed without much event.

Next Log: SAN/ATL (again)