Sinistar
En-Route
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2016
- Messages
- 3,734
- Display Name
Display name:
Brad
This only the second time I have flown for lunch, the first being my wife and daughter and I for our anniversary. That was Holman’s table at KSTP, it was pricey but very nice and parking was easy.
For this trip, I asked my wife’s flying buddy (Nancy) to join me as my wife was busy watching her nieces and nephew. We were flying to Eau Claire to meet an old scuba buddy and his wife. Everyone was republican so it was safe
The Restaurant:
The most important part first...the food was awesome and the prices were good. The restaurant interior is very nice with a great view of the ramp in front restaurant/terminal. They had nice large bar with all the games on if sports is your thing. We arrived at 11:45am and it was kinda quiet but by 12:15 it was very busy. Part of what made it busy was a regional jet arrived and and then departing. I thought it was awesome when right before the flight people from the terminal walked into the restaurant and walked around and notified the traveler that the flight was about to leave. This would be an awesome terminal to catch a regional hop to Vegas, Florida, Phoenix, etc.
Two of us had their smoked turkey sandwich and they were excellent. One person had a burger and was very happy and one had a small steak. Everone enjoyed their meals and would go back. The three of us that had fries all agreed that their fries are exceptional.
I would say the only negative critique was the time it takes to get your order. I had read this in other reviews as well. I think for 3 of us it was not an issue.For me, my mind was on my return flight since we had unexpected rain on the way in. So if you are stopping in and its a rush, this may not be your best bet. I have a hunch that to find a decent balance between good food, good service and lots of quiet time between regional flights they probably can’t justify a heavily staffed kitchen/wait staff except the evening meals. This would be a fantastic dinner stop if you were parking there for the night! And I hear this is a very popular restaurant for people from town who are not pilots. Way to go!!!
The Airport:
I love this airport. It’s a Delta with two awesome big runways. We did not stop at the FBO. I had read that they charge a ramp fee but I can not confirm that.
Restaurant Parking:
The tower was great...I would say this was my first ever progressive taxi...barely. The good news you can park on the left side of the terminal. There are almost indistinguishable tie down parking ‘T’s there. But there is a white sign with red writing which indicates the terminal/restaurant parking.
Perhaps the most complex part of the whole day was getting back out to the plane. In a new to me twist...the door opens going into the building but requires a lock code to get out!!! It turns out the access code was on the outside of the door but since it was unlocked we didn’t bother to write it down or remember it. In the end it took one of the bartenders about 10 minutes to find me the number.
The Flight:
We flew in from west of the Twin Cities (KGYL). We were cleared through the Bravo on the way there but I decided to skirt along a rain shower (not sure if it was freezing rain) to cut my distance through the precip so about 141nm to get there. We cruised at 5500, had 157mph over the ground were just 5 minutes behind schedule. Averaged just over 10gph, not bad for the 182.
On the return trip we also had FF but were not cleared into the bravo and routed underneath on the south side. That ended up being shorter. We had about 148mph over the ground on the way back flying at 4500 until the bravo and 3500 under the bravo. To get that speed against the wind and flying low I burned 11.5gph.
For this trip, I asked my wife’s flying buddy (Nancy) to join me as my wife was busy watching her nieces and nephew. We were flying to Eau Claire to meet an old scuba buddy and his wife. Everyone was republican so it was safe
The Restaurant:
The most important part first...the food was awesome and the prices were good. The restaurant interior is very nice with a great view of the ramp in front restaurant/terminal. They had nice large bar with all the games on if sports is your thing. We arrived at 11:45am and it was kinda quiet but by 12:15 it was very busy. Part of what made it busy was a regional jet arrived and and then departing. I thought it was awesome when right before the flight people from the terminal walked into the restaurant and walked around and notified the traveler that the flight was about to leave. This would be an awesome terminal to catch a regional hop to Vegas, Florida, Phoenix, etc.
Two of us had their smoked turkey sandwich and they were excellent. One person had a burger and was very happy and one had a small steak. Everone enjoyed their meals and would go back. The three of us that had fries all agreed that their fries are exceptional.
I would say the only negative critique was the time it takes to get your order. I had read this in other reviews as well. I think for 3 of us it was not an issue.For me, my mind was on my return flight since we had unexpected rain on the way in. So if you are stopping in and its a rush, this may not be your best bet. I have a hunch that to find a decent balance between good food, good service and lots of quiet time between regional flights they probably can’t justify a heavily staffed kitchen/wait staff except the evening meals. This would be a fantastic dinner stop if you were parking there for the night! And I hear this is a very popular restaurant for people from town who are not pilots. Way to go!!!
The Airport:
I love this airport. It’s a Delta with two awesome big runways. We did not stop at the FBO. I had read that they charge a ramp fee but I can not confirm that.
Restaurant Parking:
The tower was great...I would say this was my first ever progressive taxi...barely. The good news you can park on the left side of the terminal. There are almost indistinguishable tie down parking ‘T’s there. But there is a white sign with red writing which indicates the terminal/restaurant parking.
Perhaps the most complex part of the whole day was getting back out to the plane. In a new to me twist...the door opens going into the building but requires a lock code to get out!!! It turns out the access code was on the outside of the door but since it was unlocked we didn’t bother to write it down or remember it. In the end it took one of the bartenders about 10 minutes to find me the number.
The Flight:
We flew in from west of the Twin Cities (KGYL). We were cleared through the Bravo on the way there but I decided to skirt along a rain shower (not sure if it was freezing rain) to cut my distance through the precip so about 141nm to get there. We cruised at 5500, had 157mph over the ground were just 5 minutes behind schedule. Averaged just over 10gph, not bad for the 182.
On the return trip we also had FF but were not cleared into the bravo and routed underneath on the south side. That ended up being shorter. We had about 148mph over the ground on the way back flying at 4500 until the bravo and 3500 under the bravo. To get that speed against the wind and flying low I burned 11.5gph.
