Back in February I wrote that American Airlines would trial sliders as a first class pre-order meal out of Chicago, accompanied by French fries. This proved popular, and in March they announced a nationwide rollout. But the offering is being pulled May 14.

I finally had a chance to try them. They were good, not great, but I like having them as an option. And it’s a much better choice than what’s available on my hub-to-hub lunch flight next week. They’re also tastier than the pre-pandemic American Airlines burger that was offered in domestic first class and better than United’s burger.

I really liked the pretzel bun. I’ve seen complaints that it turns a bit spongy when reheated but that wasn’t my experience.

Others complain that it gets delivered way too hot. If it’s reheated too long, sure. Not my experience!

What I don’t see are criticisms of the meat. It’s not the highest quality burger you’ve ever had, but the meat and cheese are reasonably tasty.

Two things that do ring true here, though, are that the fries come out either wonderfully crispy or totally limp (mine were the latter, sadly) and that condiments are rarely offered.

Slider trays were delivered to me and to the woman seated behind me, and both lacked condiments. I asked the flight attendant about this, and she shrugged that this is how it’s loaded. I asked if she might check in the utensil drawer? She came back with condiments for me and for the woman behind me. And her mind was blown that:

• there were condiments
  
• she’s been delivering these for some time and never knew this
  
• but I knew where to tell her to look

I was very humble in the way that I asked, so she didn’t mind a bit, she even seemed to appreciate it – genuinely marveling at how a passenger would know something about galley setup that she didn’t. (Clearly she didn’t read the memos on this, I didn’t explain that I did).

Now, the tray setup is the tray setup. I find pita bread an odd accompaniment to burgers. And the bundt cake is so cheap and sad. When first introduced, the airline promoted how woke it is not how good it is.

I have to give Alaska Airlines credit for both their burger and their dessert efforts.

Alaska Airlines Burger

Alaska Airlines Dessert

At the end of the day a great burger starts with quality beef and you need to cook it properly, ideally grilling it. You should get a nice char on the outside, while leaving the meat rare-to-medium rare on the inside.

It should have processed cheese that melts well. And it should be inside of a potato bun. Brioche and ciabatta are not well-matched to a burger. The bun is the delivery vehicle for the burger, big enough to contain it but not so large that it overwhelms the contents. Everything you put on the burger needs to fit inside so it doesn’t fall apart when you eat it. You want to balance the flavors inside, getting a combination of everything with each bite.

And how good is this? Although in The Menu Elsa says that perfection is aging their meat for 152 days, but aging it for 153 means that the bacteria in the meat would kill anyone that ate it – so surely Margot’s burger was made with 153 day aged meat and unshown is the after-effects?

United first served a cheeseburger in first class back in 2001, shortly before 9/11. It was controversial then, even though it was genuinely a gourmet burger with high quality meat. It was still such a downgrade from the standard of first class fare at the time. Now it’s exciting compared to what the airlines serve.

Honestly I think the best American Airlines domestic meal choice has been the enchiladas which are quite tasty. It’s hard to do a good burger, reheated in an airplane galley, but offered as a pre-order item no one has to preorder it-and I’m disappointed to see it go.