Granato’s Gourmet Market, Salt Lake City (SLC) Airport, UT USA

Ordered takeout from Granato's Gourmet Market in the Delta terminal of the gorgeous new Salt Lake City arport.

A unique year for travel, I couldn’t let Covid hold me back from my life passion, and decided to play it as safe as possible in the process. This approach wasn’t just for the flight, it would also be for my time in Utah – both on and off the mountain.

My annual trip to Park City – although this year the slopes were in dire condition. I suppose the lack of snow and the sad trails was a bit of pathetic fallacy aligning with the times we are in.

Restaurants and bars in Park City were overflowing with people, not a care in sight. It was a different world than the one I came from in Boston (and Los Angeles)… not a care in sight amongst these folk. I enjoyed staring from a distance, as I was in no way ready to partake in it. In fact, I kept my distance at all times, both on and off the slopes.

Back to the flying – the only reason you’d know Covid was present at the SLC airport were the people wearing masks everywhere. Outside of that, the place was packed. Restaurants slammed with boisterous patrons looking for great times and to forget about whatever they were coming from. Revelry from main street in Park City to the gorgeous new halls of the Delta terminal at Salt Lake City’s airport.

It did feel good to travel again. I loved the feeling. And the SLC airport was brand spanking new; you could still smell the fresh paint. They developers did a great job, and left many dining options for flyers – nearly all were full of people. I chose the one that looked fanciest and didn’t cater to a lot of the crowds that seemingly frequented this airport: Granato Gourmet Market.

Next to Starbucks, which had about 50 people in line, I felt confident in my selection. The “club panini” complete with avocado grabbed my immediate attention, and I ordered this club sandwich to go, rushing to catch my flight back to Boston. I used to arrive very early to airports, and now with Covid, I didn’t really feel the need to.

Another empty plane flying back to Boston – no one was complaining, everyone had a row to themselves. I will miss these times in some fashion later in life, but I would gladly give up a mask to sit sandwiched in economy than have my mask on in this solitary confinement.

4 hours to work, I needed to get as much done as possible, but that didn’t stop me from savoring my club sandwich mid-flight, a solid 6+ feet away from anyone else.

Pretty bland flavors. I’m not sure really any ingredient stood out. What exactly was I eating? It didn’t taste bad… it didn’t really taste like anything. Thinking each layer might have been drowned out in the focaccia, I picked apart this club sandwich and tried the ingredient separately.

The thick layer of provolone and hefty slices of focaccia did indeed mask the flavors of the incredibly thin slices of turkey, ham, and tomato, which by my taste buds were decent, the spicy capocollo giving a lovely kick that got totally lost when consuming this club sandwich as a whole. In fact, the capocollo was a standout ingredient that was masked by the others (Covid pun intended). The sherry-dijon was also a lovely touch. Sadly through, paying an extra $2 for avocado was one of the worst decisions I’d made in 2021 thus far.

It wasn’t terrible, but there was no reason to ever rush back to get this club sandwich again. At the least I was full, and content – knowing Delta no longer provided food on their flights outside of peanuts and gold fish, I really couldn’t complain.

Back to work…

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