(Update: The Surdyk’s Flights we visited in Terminal 1 closed in 2016, but there’s still another location over in Terminal 2 that’s still open, as of 2023)
One of our vacations this year was a trip to Oahu, and, quite frankly, coming from New Hampshire, there’s no easy way to do the trip. Most every option either involves multiple hops, a very long layover, or a red-eye flight. Indeed, our trip this time was BOS-MSP-SEA-HNL, with moderate layovers at MSP and SEA. And that means airport dining.
There are good and bad airports for layovers, and I’ll have to say Terminal 1 (the Lindbergh Terminal) at MSP is one of the better places to have a layover. The terminal is huge, and has more than a few good options for food and drink. Previously, I’ve enjoyed sandwiches and beer at Ike’s (including indulging in a rare pint of Surly Furious), and just about every coffee company in Minnesota (Starbucks, Dunn Bros, Caribou, …). There’s even a reasonably good burger place (TwinBurger) and a good sushi place (Shoyu). But a fairly recent addition has been an old Minneapolis favorite of mine: Surdyk’s.
Surdyk’s is one of the Twin Cities’ better liquor stores, located in Nordeast Minneapolis, and they have a great selection of wine, liquor, beer, and specialty foods. And more recently, they opened up Surdyk’s Flights, miniature stores selling wine and sandwiches in both of MSP’s terminals. You can cruise on in, sit down, and order up a sandwich and drinks and enjoy a pleasant lunch while watching the busy world of the airport cruise on by.
On this visit, I opted for a fairly simple sandwich: a salami and roasted red pepper sandwich, with a side of mustarded potato salad. A simple concept, this was a great sandwich due to some excellent building blocks: the salami was some excellent dry salami, with nice spicing and bold pork notes. The roasted red peppers were nicely roasted, with just a hint of char to them. Add in an aoili, and serve it up on a really crusty French bread loaf, and this was a great sandwich. The potato salad was pleasant as well, tasting primarily of nicely cooked potatoes with just a hint of sharp mustard.
Carol opted for one of their panini: the Minneapple, with roasted turkey, brie cheese, apples, red onion and creamy lingonberry sauce. This was also a very pleasant sandwich: the combination of turkey and apple is always a good one. About the only issue? The “lingonberry sauce” was basically just a lightly-tinted aioli, when folks like us (who both lived in MN for years) who love actual lingonberries are a bit disappointed.
That said, Surdyk’s basically delivers a quality, friendly, and efficient product: good sandwiches, salads, and beverages, delivered to you at reasonable prices…. in an airport.
