Last Word: Heathrow Upgrade

I am not a big fan of airports, which is a shame, as they’re places in which I spend so much of my life. Not long ago, Terminal 2 at London Heathrow definitely occupied the lowest circle 
of airport hell. But on June 4, it reopened after a $3.9 billion redevelopment. 
(For that kind of money, you’d think they’d be able to put up something fairly decent.) Reading about this overdue transformation, 
I learned with amazement that the new facility will include a restaurant, The Perfectionists’ Cafe, by none other than three-star chef Heston Blumenthal (he of The Fat Duck and Dinner), the man who made liquid nitrogen an indispensable part of the modern culinary repertoire. Apparently, the café will offer “fantastic food ... fast” and will contain the airport’s first high-temperature woodburning pizza oven — which sounds a little scary to me with all that jet fuel around. Consistent with Blumenthal’s fondness for scientific gastronomy, the precise dimensions of the burger have been determined by an “oral physiologist.” And dry ice will allow guests to savor cocktails through an “aroma-scented cloud.” I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I’m really quite looking forward to my next trip through Terminal 2.