Domestic Delta Meals

Over the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of flying first class on flights offering meals. Raleigh offers direct flights to Salt Lake City and Minneapolis, and based on time of day first class passengers are offered meals.

RDU-SLC: Breakfast

The flight from Raleigh to Salt Lake City departs at 7:25 AM, usually, and my flight offered a choice between cold cereal and an omelette with chicken sausage. Though the fruit was a little over-sweet, the omelette was surprisingly good.

Omelette and chicken sausage
Omelette and chicken sausage

RDU-MSP

There are flights from Raleigh to Minneapolis, and vice versa, many times a day. Though not as long as the flight to Salt Lake City, meals are still offered if you fly near breakfast, lunch, or dinner time! I opted for the bacon-egg sandwich served on a flaky pastry. As with the SLC flight, the fruit was way too sweet.

Bacon & egg sandwich on flaky pastry
Bacon & egg sandwich on flaky pastry

MSP-RDU

The 7:30 flight from MSP to RDU offers a satisfying dinner service; much tastier than the breakfast! The dinner options were a honey-glazed salmon on rice with vegetables, or a smoked turkey salad. I opted for the salad out of curiosity, and found it was a cross between potato salad, cubed smoked turkey, and edamame. The potato salad also had green beans and radishes. The salad was served with crostini and a cookie Overall a very nice meal for a domestic flight!

Smoked turkey salad
Smoked turkey salad
Crostini
Crostini
C is for Cookie!
C is for Cookie!

Raleigh Restaurant: Capital Grille

Invitation courtesy of American Express
Invitation courtesy of American Express

2016-07-08-Entrance

The Capital Grille national chain has come to Raleigh, and American Express sent me an invitation to sample their menu during a special event. Naturally, I was more than happy to take advantage of the opportunity!

Menu

For this event, only a small portion of their full menu was available to the guests, but it certainly did not disappoint!

Preview Event Menu
Preview Event Menu

I went with the Dry Aged steak while my girlfriend opted for the sliced Fillet. To go with our meals, I had a glass of Malbec, and she had a Blackberry Bourbon Sidecar.

2016-07-08-Drinks2

2016-07-08-Drinks1

Dinner

The presentation was excellent and the wait staff did everything they could to make sure our needs were met. They even served our appetizers to us while holding the plates!

Blackberry Bourbon Sidecar
Blackberry Bourbon Sidecar
Pan Fried Calamari
Pan Fried Calamari
Fillet with Onions and Mushrooms
Fillet with Onions and Mushrooms
Dry Aged Delicousness
Dry Aged Delicousness
French Beans with Tomatoes
French Beans with Tomatoes

For dessert, they surprised us with a chocolate lava cake served with cherries in a Chambord sauce. So many wonderful flavors!

Chocolate Lava Cake
Chocolate Lava Cake

They left a thank-you note as well as a survey to help improve their performance once they are fully open. I was more than happy to be a guinea pig!

Thank you card
Thank you card

Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC

My girlfriend and I went up to Washington, DC for the long weekend and wanted to spend some time re-discovering the city, since we hadn’t visited since our respective childhoods. I booked our room at the Grand Hyatt given its location, and was pleasantly surprised by everything that came with it!

Location

The Grand Hyatt is located on the corner of 11th street and H street, which is a very short walk from the Metro Center Station. There are many restaurants a short walk away, and many attractions are within a 15 minute walk (the White House, the Washington monument, and the National Mall, for example).

Restaurants

There is a Starbucks Reserve in the lobby, as well as Cure – a restaurant that carefully pairs ingredients for a wonderful experience. Located on the first basement level is the hotel’s main restaurant – Cabinet. I received a daily breakfast pass because of my status, which was a pleasant surprise.

Diamond breakfast
Diamond breakfast

Room Information

I was given a corner room on the 12th floor, with the bed offering a nice view of the city below.

2016-07-02-Room01

Room entry

2016-07-02-Room03

Room entry

View from the bed
View from the bed

The TV was placed on a dresser that contained a safe and mini-fridge, as well as an interface system that allows guests to hook up their own devices.

Media inputs and USB charging
Media inputs and USB charging

Hotel Amenities

As mentioned above, the hotel houses two restaurants as well as a Starbucks, so there are many dining options without even leaving the building. Also within the building is a FedEx location – contained within the business center, and a large number of meeting rooms.

Hyatt has a very friendly policy when it comes to forgetting things at home. Simply call the front desk and someone will bring what you need and leave it at the door for you. Depending on what it is, you can keep it, or just borrow it for your visit, allowing you to buy it at check-out.

Forgot something?
Forgot something?

The hotel also has a spectacular skylight and a chandelier that dangles from the 12th floor to the basement.

Skylight
Skylight
Lobby from the 12th floor
Lobby from the 12th floor
Gorgeous!
Gorgeous!