Including my first visit to the Philadelphia Centurion
Lounge, where Michael Solomonov is the exective chef.

Unlike many Centurion Lounges, this is hidden - I knew
it was near the Qatar gate, but I walked past it a
hundred feet before deciding to turn back and take a
closer look. This contrasts with Houston and Dallas,
which tuck them away into a corner but don't hide it,
or San Fran, where it has its own glass-walled elevator
shaft, or Miami, where there are signs for it all through
the terminal. I guess it must have something to do with
the anticipated level of usage. In Philly, it's unsigned,
and the elevator is at the end of what looks like
a service corridor. I presume that if everyone knew
it was there, they would be mobbing it to escape the
pit that is the PHL airport.

Inside it's okay, nothing more, and the food is okay,
maybe a bit more.

It's not big, and seating is not generous, and surely
the management took this into account when deciding
not to put up any signage - at the Miami one we
overheard a family trying to talk its way in via its
Priority Pass or some other dubious credential, an
annoyance that has to be factored in when deciding
whether to put big signs out front.

On the buffet there were so-called Romanian beef kebabs
with legumes - these turned out to be kofte kebabs,
decent meat, very salty, overdone so as to last on a
buffet for a long time. The rice that accompanied was
fluffy, nicely done, and also quite salty.

I didn't try any of the vegetables, even in the interest
of science. There were crudites that looked okay and some
kind of cooked middle eastern something that didn't interest.

Desserts included tahini shortbread - a dubious idea, so I
took only one, and passionfruit and pomegranate mahlabi, a
very sweet panna cotta with very tart mango-passionfruit
puree over and a few seeds strewn on top. This was decent,
the contrast thought out well but pretty jarring in the
execution. The shortbread was excellent, like Pecan
Sandies but with sesame instead of pecans, not too sweet
and with a wonderful fine-grained crumble. I regretted
taking only one and went back for more - there had been a
whole tray of them when I'd gone to the buffet, but word
must have gotten round, because when I returned, they
were all gone. So I retired to the bar, safe in the
knowledge that my flight was only a short stroll away.
The house brandy here is Hennessy VS. Better than the
United Club, which doesn't give you any any; on the
plane, either.

Plenty of time to check my e-mail, which contained the
news that the gate had changed from A2 to C30, so the
three minute jaunt turned into twenty, so I abandoned
any hope of the next batch of cookies coming out and
rushed off, making the gate when they were calling Group 5.
Luckily they'd reserved overhead space for me.

I was welcomed like long-lost family by a rather flirtatious
and well-turned-out young flight attendant, who unfortunately
or perhaps fortunately was male.

When serving my red plonk, he amusingly did the bunny dip,
which he seems to have practiced. The wine was less so,
tasting like raisins marinated in toilet bowl cleaner.

The meal choices were beef filet with mac and cheese and
"vegetable falafel" - I chose the latter, which turned out
to be four 1/2-to-3/4 oz patties that may have been crisp
at one point in the distant past, seasoned with the 4 Cs -
cumin, coriander, cardamom, and caraway - rather odd, and
you can probably guess which one I would have omitted. On
the side orzo with peas and green pepper. These didn't
actually taste bad, but everything was mushy. On the side
a 3 oz blob of fresh mozzarella sided with caponata and
green and black olives and a baby shinach salad with red
and yellow cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette and feta
on the side. A choice of whole grain or white roll, of
which I had neither, which earned me a little pout and a
comment along the lines of what, you don't like my cooking?
which cabin crew must always learn in flight attendant school.

The dessert was sundaes or fruit and cheese plate. I asked for
just fruit without cheese and got a sizable serving, the
equivalent of a small bunch of grapes cut up into manageable
4- or 5-grape handfuls. It turned out everyone else had opted
for the ice cream, so I got all the grapes that they'd loaded.

We landed half an hour early.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

Title: Skewered Kefta
Categories: Lamb, Moroccan
Yield: 2 servings

10 oz Ground lamb -marjoram, salt, and
pepper
2 tb Minced onion 2 ts Olive oil
1 tb Chopped fresh parsley 1 ts Lemon juice
1 tb Chopped fresh mint or 1 1/2 1/2 Garlic clove, minced
-teaspoon dried mint 1/4 ts Paprika
1/4 ts Each ground cumin, ground

In medium bowl combine lamb, onion, parsley, mint, cumin, marjoram, salt,
and pepper; mix well. Divide lamb mixture into 4 equal portions. Form
each
portion into a sausage shape, pressing each onto a 12-inch wooden or
metal
skewer; transfer skewers to rack in broiling pan.

In measuring cup or small bowl combine oil, lemon juice, garlic, and
paprika; using pastry brush, brush oil mixture over keftas, coating all
sides. Broil, turning once, until keftas are browned on all sides, 5 to 6
minutes on each side. Makes 2 servings, 2 skewers each.

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