This might just be a function of my low expectations, but I feel American Airlines deserves some credit here…
Ordinarily, a beef filet wouldn’t really check either of those boxes — I’m not a huge meat eater, but when I do eat it, I enjoy a higher quality piece of meat, and ideally not one that’s reheated.
Back in the day I had tried American’s “steak” in domestic first class, and I can’t say it was great. My worry was that the piece of meat here would be even lower quality, since I imagine other components of the dish cost more than normal, so you’d assume there would be even more budget control.
So while I don’t want to exaggerate and suggest this was some amazing meal that I would’ve been delighted to be served in a restaurant, it was better than I was expecting. I’m not a huge Waldorf Salad fan, but the Beef Wellington pastry had a good texture, the veggies were crisp, and the beef at least wasn’t lower quality than usual (so it was just your typical hockey puck). Meanwhile the pecan tart was excellent.
Personally I probably wouldn’t order this again, but if you do like airplane beef, then you’ll probably be pretty happy ordering this.
If you’ve dared to order American’s Beef Wellington, what did you think?