Tailwind Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Tennessee

I purchased a Ham & Swiss sandwich from this concession enroute to Boston yesterday. They are $10.

Walked over to the condiment counter, opened the sandwich to apply mayo and saw that the lettuce was not only dead flat and stuck permanently to the ham but was almost entirely black. Seriously. It was black. Where it wasn't black, it was grey. Until this, I had never actually seen rotten lettuce before.

I got the attention of a girl behind the counter and showed it to her. This is where I started to become angry. She looked at this dumpster food and said in a monotone, "yeah, that's how the lettuce has been coming in lately. If you want, you can get another". I did. It was worse.

At this point she said there wasn't anything she could do about it and that I'd have to wait for the manager to return from break. I said I'm waiting for a plane, I'll take a couple of bags of chips instead. Nope. Had to wait for the manager.

The two women behind the counter not only had zero regrets about any of this but instead reacted as though I was a nuisance. I waited for about 10 to 15 minutes for the manager to return. Told him what happened whereupon the girls ACTUALLY DENIED it. Said it wasn't true that I had been standing around waiting.

The manager apologized for the bad product and granted me a pair of bags of potato chips in compensation.

I will always be grateful that I opened those sandwiches before I tried to eat them. The concession has a monopoly on this airport. I would not eat anything purchased from this place again unless it came in a sealed container. Like chips or bottled...

Context: Easter morning flight. Single staff taking orders and cooking food. Located past the gate.

The order: egg, bacon, and cheese on an English muffin salted caramel latte

The service: The woman behind the counter was courteous, bright, helpful, and a talented cook. It wasn't crowded but it wasn't empty, and this person balanced all the responsibility of the cafe with grace all while making a banging egg sandwich.

The food: The egg was over easy, and runny in the right way. The bacon was crispy, not burnt, and plentiful for such a small sandwich. It wasn't the largest sandwich, and if your really hungry I recommend doubling you eggs or getting two.

The coffee was very flavorful and balanced to my sensibilities, a nice strong real caramel flavor, but the rest of the coffee was not over poweringly sweet.

Closing thoughts: Definitely recommend, though it is your only option (like others mentioned). I did not try there premade sandwiches, and though they looked ok, I would definitely recommend ordering something from the grill if you can.

That being said I don't know if my experience was because the staff person was exceptional or whether all staff members have such skill. Either it's...

Two marks against this business, which apparently has a monopoly in the food vending at the airport (snack bar, store, and bar). First - the espresso bar/snack stand outside of security charged me $6.11 including tax for my order of a macchiato, which is worse than Bay Area prices. However, I was given a latte. Then the barristra argued with me explaining it was a macchiato. Then, inside the gates past security, I paid $1.50 more than the price label stated for my Gardetto’s rye chips. $6.39- really?! I wish TRI used the philosophy of servicing instead of price...