Best airport restaurants around the world

• There are dozens of outstanding airport restaurants, many a destination in their own right
• As airports revamp terminals, the world's best chefs are finding places to serve good food to fliers
• The Daily Meal evaluated restaurants, judging them according to cuisine and/or style/décor/service

Faced with concourses filled with shrink-wrapped sandwiches, greasy fast-food burgers, and processed pastries, the thought of eating at an airport is rarely appetizing. But that may soon change, as airports around the world are revamping aging terminals and the world's best chefs, several of them Michelin-starred, are recognizing the value of serving exemplary meals before liftoff.

The Daily Meal's list of the 31 best airport restaurants around the world was carefully curated through a six-month-long nomination process. Globe-trotting gourmands that we are, The Daily Meal staff packed its bags, hit the road, canvassed concourses around the world, and compiled a preliminary list of more than 100 restaurants. We also consulted food and travel experts like Nikos Loukas of InflightFeed and other trusted sources and added their recommendations to those of The Daily Meal's editors, who have traveled and dined extensively around the world.

Restaurants were judged in two categories: cuisine and style/décor/service. From innovative menu options to plating and presentation to freshness, quality, and taste, The Daily Meal evaluated each restaurant's cuisine and only included the restaurants that were deemed to be extraordinary. For the second category, panelists evaluated the dining experience, from the restaurant's interior and dining-room ambiance to the service, voting for the restaurants that offer an unrivaled experience. Each restaurant had the chance to be voted on twice. Finally, the percentage scores from each category were averaged to arrive at the final ranking.

From Miami to Munich and Seattle to Singapore, there are dozens of outstanding airport restaurants, many a destination in their own right. From the Full Monty Breakfast (two free-range sausages, crispy smoked bacon, crispy black pudding, "Burford Brown" eggs, potatoes and sticky onions, roast tomatoes, field mushrooms, and organic baked beans) at Jamie Oliver's Union Jacks Bar at the U.K.'s Gatwick Airport to the seasonally changing prix fixe menu at Michelin-starred chefs Gilles Dupont and Thomas Byrne's Altitude at Genève Aéroport in Geneva, dining at the 31 best airport restaurants around the world is likely to make you wonder why you ever settled for a lackluster lunch during your last layover.

"When you're flying, you want something healthy and light," said Iron Chef Cat Cora, whose Cat Cora's Kitchen, located in three airports around the country (Houston (IAH), Salt Lake City (SLC), and San Francisco (SFO)), serves healthy fare made from sustainable, organic, and locally sourced ingredients. The grilled avocado Cobb salad and baked jalapeño poppers stuffed with feta cheese and breaded in panko breadcrumbs are enticing enough to make our list and make travelers think twice about eating plane food, unless, of course, you are referring to Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food at Heathrow Airport in London, which also made the list.

Whether you're in the airport for a few minutes or a few hours, make sure you packed your appetite.

1. Porta Gaig (El Prat del Llobregat, Barcelona)

After a much-anticipated Ricardo Bofill-designed completion of Terminal 1 in 2009, in-transit diners with extra time have been stopping at Porta Gaig for chef Carles Gaig's traditional Catalan fare. Gaig, the Michelin-starred chef behind Barcelona's Restaurant Gaig who also prepares the tasting menu aboard the Barcelona Gourmet Bus, has created a menu that includes roast chicken, veal, and croquettes.

2. Salt Lick BBQ (Austin-Bergstrom International Airport)

When it comes to food, barbecue is a staple in the state of Texas. Salt Lick BBQ at Gate 12 in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport provides an authentic Texas barbecue experience for incoming travelers who can't wait, outgoing travelers who still crave it, and through-traffic travelers who have no time to leave the airport. The Salt Lick started 45 years ago on a ranch in Driftwood, Texas, which was run by Thurman and Hisako Roberts, as well as their son Scott, who now runs the business. Thurman Roberts dreamed of living and working on the same property that he grew up on, so he built a barbecue pit on his favorite spot of the ranch and began a barbecue business — The Salt Lick still uses that pit to this day. The Salt Lick is noteworthy for its signature beef brisket and pork ribs, but save room for desserts like a slice of peach cobbler, pecan pie, or blackberry cobbler.

3. Tortas Frontera (Chicago O'Hare International Airport)

You don't have to be in Mexico to get great south-of-the-border food. Located in Terminal 1 at gate B11 and Terminal 3 at gate K4, Tortas Frontera, created by chef Rick Bayless, features a guacamole bar with chips and salsa, as well as toppings like pepitas, bacon, and sun-dried tomatoes; a yogurt bar with Greek yogurt and toppings like honey and granola; and tortas (Mexican grilled sandwiches) including the Cubana featuring pork, black beans, Chihuahua cheese, and avocado. Tortas Frontera serves breakfast until 11 a.m., with dishes like an egg and chorizo torta or molletes (open-faced sandwiches), including the caramelized plantain mollete, which has peanut butter, caramel, and pecans. Don't forget the drinks! Tortas Frontera serves up refreshments like strawberry and mango smoothies, as well as cocktails such as bloody marys, margaritas, and Goose Island beer.

4. Bubbles Seafood & Wine Bar (Amsterdam Airport Schiphol)

As the name suggests, Bubbles Seafood & Wine Bar is a wine, champagne, and raw seafood bar. The sister restaurant of Amsterdam's Bubbles & Wines, the airport location is built around a saltwater aquarium in Departure Lounge 1. Don't leave the airport without trying sipping a flute or two of the champagne (there are more than 50 to choose from) and sampling the raw herring with fresh bread and onions — a Dutch tradition. There's even a casino in case you're feeling lucky.

5. Obrycki's (Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport)

Originally a bar in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, Obrycki's original spot was within two townhomes bought by the Obrycki family. Eventually, food was added to the menu. There are two locations at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, one located between gates B-9 and B-11 that is a full-service restaurant serving favorites like crabcakes, crabcake sliders, hot crab dip, and turkey club sandwiches, and the other between gates A-10 and A-11, a bar that serves pub snacks like crab and shrimp salsa with tortilla chips. Obrycki's signature crabcakes, typically served fried and made with jumbo lump crabmeat and a little bit of seasoned breadcrumbs and egg, embody traditional Maryland cuisine. The bar offers a drink with a local twist called the Crabby Mary, a bloody mary made with Absolut Peppar Vodka and spicy mix, served in a glass rimmed with seafood seasoning.

6. Crust (LaGuardia Airport, New York City)

Crust is one of two pizza restaurants at LaGuardia to make The Daily Meal's list of 31 Best Airport Restaurants Around the World (the other being Tagliare at #14). While Tagliare serves New York-style pizza, Crust, in terminal D, features thin-crust, Neapolitan-style pizza with artisanal toppings. Each pizza is cooked to perfection at 700 degrees. Order from the menu or design your own pizza. Options include the pesto (mozzarella, pecorino toscano, garlic, Gruyère, and basil pesto), prosciutto and cheese (mozzarella, fennel seeds, Gruyère, pecorino toscano, and prosciutto), and meatball (tomato, mozzarella, veal meatballs, caramelized onions, olives, pecorino toscano, and oregano). This sit-down eatery also offers takeout. At the airport early in the day? Breakfast choices include an omelette with hash-brown potatoes and your choice of herbs, cheese, mushrooms, or ratatouille, and brioche French toast with Vermont maple syrup and apple-wood smoked bacon, as well as pick-me-up drinks like cappuccinos, espresso, and fresh-brewed Intelligentsia Coffee.

7. Five Guys (Washington Dulles International Airport)

If it's good enough for President Obama, it's good enough for us. Five Guys, located in Concourse A and Concourse B, isn't just another burger chain. Made-to-order hamburgers and cheeseburgers served with copious amounts of fresh cut french fries are the special here. Add on as many toppings as you want, including barbecue sauce, jalapeños, hot sauce, onions, mushrooms, and more. President Obama orders his cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, and mustard.

8. Custom Burgers by Pat LaFrieda (LaGuardia Airport, New York City)

Located in the food court in Terminal D, Custom Burgers by Pat LaFrieda serves hamburgers made from a special blend by the fourth generation of the LaFrieda family, who make 75,000 hamburgers a day in their 36,000-square-foot facility in North Bergen, N.J. Their original hamburger blend is made using a 90-year-old recipe and includes a combination of American Black Angus beef chuck, brisket, and short rib. The restaurant's most popular menu items include a Goodfellas double burger with Italian peppers, smoked mozzarella, mushrooms, and onions, and the Fat Cat, a double burger with bacon, and egg, and each burger is cooked to order. For the perfect sides, order a fresh-made thick milkshake and french fries.

9. Encounter (Los Angeles International Airport)

Fresh California cuisine is on the menu at Encounter, which is located in the Theme Building, a futuristic building with 135-foot high parabolic arches in the center of LAX (pre-security). The dining space is Disney-esque (the interior was designed by Ed Sotto and Ellen Guevara for Walt Disney Imagineering) — Encounter features an intergalactic-themed décor showcasing a futuristic Los Angeles, with moonstone quarry walls, a crater-shaped bar, and soda fountain guns that have laser lights and make sound effects when bartenders pour a drink. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, and the menu includes appetizers like steamed edamame with sesame pepper, fleur de sel, and ponzu sauce and sandwiches like the California smoked turkey B.L.T. served on Italian sourdough bread and piled with sliced tomatoes, avocados, bacon, baby bibb lettuce, fresh basil, and oven-roasted garlic aioli. Lunch mains include Encounter's signature Cobb salad with California avocados, diced Roma tomatoes, green onions, organic boiled eggs, and a blue cheese Cobb salad tower of maple smoked bacon, herbed chicken, blue cheese crumble, and a buttermilk dressing, and dinner mains include pan-seared Pacific blue fin tuna with ginger-scented rice, steamed bok choy, char-broiled Hawaiian pineapple drizzled with soy vinaigrette, and foamed wasabi dipping sauce sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. On Saturdays and Sundays, The Observation Deck is open and offers free admission.

10. Legal Sea Foods (Boston Logan International Airport)

The first Legal Sea Foods started as a fish market in 1950 under the ownership of George Berkowitz in the Inman Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Mass. Berkowitz was inspired by his father Harry's Legal Cash Market, an adjacent grocery store which also likely inspired the current motto of the restaurant, "If it isn't fresh, it isn't Legal!" Legal Sea Foods' first restaurant opened next to the fish market in 1968. Berkowitz's son Roger took over the business in 1992 and opened a location in Terminal C at Logan International Airport. Legal Sea Foods now has four restaurant locations within the terminals of Logan International (terminals A, B, and C). Want to dine like a U.S. President? Order a customer favorite — a bowl of Legal Sea Food's New England clam chowder, which has been served at every presidential inauguration since 1981.