I cashed in an expiring Delta Regional Upgrade Certificate on a recent flight from Detroit (DTW) to San Francisco (SFO) and ended up in an A321’s First Class cabin. (Despite a half-dozen seats being open that Saturday night, the upgrade didn’t clear until about 90 minutes before departure. #FirstWorldGripe)
Our scheduled 8:45 PM departure just squeaked by Delta’s 9:00 PM cutoff for First Class meal service. That provided an opportunity to try and review a Delta dinner!
Delta’s Pulled Beef Tart First Class Dinner
My flight was an even number — which dictates service starts in the front of the cabin. I occupied seat 1B, which meant my row had first dibs on dinner. Our options were something like a prawn salad (no), artichoke ravioli (meh), or a pulled beef tart (the best option for me). I chose the last.
Longtime Eye of the Flyer readers will correctly guess that I ordered the Tip Top Proper Cocktails Old Fashioned as my beverage of choice. I also has some water.
After a few sips, my dinner arrived.
This concoction looking like leeches perched atop lettuce and cherry tomatoes is Delta’s cold eggplant salad.
I’m pretty sure actual leeches would’ve tasted better. I like cooked eggplant (especially eggplant parm — maybe that’s my problem). But I barely managed a bite. (My nearby water came in quite handy to wash it down.)
Next came the beef tart in some sauce and served with vegetables.
(For those who want to jump on me for the “A Rather Bland Tart” headline, I know tarts aren’t supposed to be actually tart in flavor. I just wanted something catchier than “Delta’s Pulled Beef Tart First Class Dinner Review” 😉 )
I found the crust good and flaky. The beef itself was decent but nothing too exciting. I’m grateful Delta provided salt on the side. That added some needed flavor. I enjoyed the sauce and most of the vegetables (I’m a super-picky eater).
I didn’t dislike the pulled beef tart — but didn’t find it a really “Wow!”-worthy dish.
Finally, we came to dessert.
This caramel flan absolutely popped with flavor! It was so delicious! This truly is one of the better desserts I’ve enjoyed on a Delta flight — and most Delta desserts are very good.
Something that actually was tart? The berries. My goodness. I love berries — but even these made my taste buds plead for mercy.
Final Approach
There are some Delta meals I genuinely anticipate. The meatballs dinner is fantastic. I still dream of the blueberry pancakes I ate during the inaugural flight of Delta’s first A321neo. Only once have I flown a trip during which Delta’s amazing cheeseburger was served. I wish it were offered more often! (That or maybe my luck stinks, who knows?)
I’d eat the pulled beef tart again, depending on the meal choices. It was fine — just nothing too exciting.
Have you eaten the Delta pulled beef tart? What were your impressions? Please share your thoughts in the below Comments section!
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The prawn salad? They’re still serving that. Last year’s iteration of it was horrible. I don’t know if Delta has kneecapped Do & Co or Do & Co can’t find good local kitchens, but the meals aren’t good at all since meal service was restored after the worst of the pandemic. And, of course, hot bread is never coming back either. Most days I just grab a meal at a restaurant.
I, too opted for the pulled beef tart and found the beef tasteless. It was quite bland and I understand many people prefer bland foods but a little dry rub or some kind of seasoning while the beef is cooking would have been better versus using the salt and pepper after the fact.
I’m a notoriously picky eater — and even I was shocked at how bland it is!
Why order anything you don’t normally eat on a plane? Everyone knows that the companies used to cater aircraft (in the US) pretty much don’t care how the food tastes or looks like. I’ve often wondered why the airlines don’t do their own catering since it is an ongoing complaint that NEVER ceases. The food scores consistently bring down US airline ratings. For some reason all of these blogs put so much focus on the food that sometimes we forget that the goal of flight is to get somewhere safely & hopefully on schedule.
what flight was this?
DFW to SFO
Have Tabasco will travel!