PARTNERSHIPS WITH RESTAURANTS, CHEFS AND MIXOLOGISTS ELEVATE THE CLUB EXPERIENCE FOR TRAVELERS AT LAGUARDIA AND JFK. BY PATRICIA COBE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE FLIES HIGH AT NEW CHASE SAPPHIRE LOUNGES IN 2 NYC AIRPORTS MENU
T he newest Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club opens at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport Tuesday, with a second location coming to JFK Airport on Jan. 23. Both are exclusive to Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers. Visitors expecting breakfast pas- tries, cheese and crackers will surely be blown away. The two-story lounge at LaGuardia offers elevated meal and bar service, created through partnerships with celebrated restaurants, chefs and mixologists. For the all-day menu, served from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Chase teamed up with Joseph Leonard, a popular Man- hattan bistro, to develop a number of made-to-order items. This extensive small plates menu is rounded out by chef-driven dishes from Sodexo Live!, the foodservice contractor also respon- sible for most of the breakfast menu, served from 4:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Sodexo Live! also manages the back- of-house. “We worked closely with the chefs from Happy Cooking Hospitality [parent company of Joseph Leonard] to make sure we could translate and
The new Chase Sapphire Lounge at LaGuardia Airport boasts two levels of dining options, a bar with signature cocktails and plenty of pampering.
execute their menu items,” said Scott Geller, Sodexo Live’s culinary director for the LaGuardia lounge. “We hesitated to do an airport lounge before, but this one has great equipment and a trained staff,” said Patrick McGrath, executive chef at Joseph Leonard. The state-of-the art kitchen is all electric and he and the Happy Cooking team trained the back- of-house to prep and cook all his restau- rant’s dishes. The Joseph Leonard menu items
are a mix of classics and adaptations. Brussels Sprout Hash on the breakfast menu, for example, is an iteration of the restaurant’s signature Brussels sprouts, shaved and combined with crispy diced potatoes, sauteed with bacon and on- ions and topped with poached eggs and a little hot sauce. On the all-day menu, Lentil Ragout, Seared Salmon, Salt Cod Brandade and Kale Salad with toasted farro, smashed avocado and pickled peppers are all close to the originals but downsized into small plates. The menu gives people a chance to eat Joseph Leonard’s food in a differ- ent setting, said McGrath—perhaps prompting them to visit the restaurant in the future. Sodexo Live! chefs developed the bulk of the menus, which include a large selection of made-to-order and ready-to-eat cold and hot small plates. “Our goal was to make most of the dishes vegetable-forward and aller- gen-friendly,” said Geller. “For the Pe- sto Burrata, for example, we prepare nut-free basil pesto, and the Overnight
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Our goal was to make most of the dishes vegetable-forward and allergen-friendly,” said Geller. “For the Pesto Burrata, for example, we prepare nut-free basil pesto, and the Overnight Oats at breakfast are gluten-free.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHASE SAPPHIRE CLUB
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