Best airport for healthy dining options? Baltimore tops new list

Which airport has the best offerings for healthy dining?

According to a new survey by the nonprofit Physicians Committee, it's Baltimore, when it comes to restaurants offering at least one cholesterol-free, plant-based, fiber-packed meal. The study says 92 percents of eateries there have at least one such meal.

Charlotte Douglas came in 16th, with 73 percent of restaurants having at least one "healthy" choice.

The news release from Physicians Committee said, "Menu items that garner healthful points this year include dark leafy green salads, ancient grain bowls, roasted vegetable wraps, Mediterranean- or Mexican-inspired vegetable plates, and gluten-free macrobiotic sushi. Healthful snacks and meals-to-go include portable fruit cups, steel-cut oatmeal bowls, vegetable crudités and cups of lentil soup or black bean chili."

Here are the top rankings, with their "healthy dining" percentages in parentheses:

1. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (92)

2. Seattle-Tacoma International (90)

3. Los Angeles International  (88)

4. Reagan National, Washington area (87)

5. Newark Liberty International  (86)

6. (tie) LaGuardia , New York  (84)

6. (tie)  Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (84)

8. Denver International  (83)

9. San Francisco International (82)

10. Dulles International Airport, Washington area (80)

11. Boston Logan International (79)

12. (tie) John F. Kennedy International, New York (78)

12. (tie) Chicago O’Hare International (78)

12. (tie) Philadelphia International Airport (78)

15. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (74)

16. Charlotte Douglas International  (73)

17. Las Vegas McCarran International (72)

18.  Miami International (69)

18.  Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (69)

20. Dallas/Fort Worth International (67)

21. Orlando International (66)

22. Houston George Bush Intercontinental (65)

23. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International  (52)

Britt's donuts of Carolina Beach high on national list

You may have come across thedailymeal.com directly if you're a foodie, or while poking around at huffingtonpost.com, which reposts some of its articles.

Thedailymeal.com covers a wide range of  food- and drink-related subjects, from chefs and cookbooks to traditional food-related breaking news to food-related travel.

Its forte is lists: "10 Best College Football Stadium Eats," "7 Healthy Kids' Drinks," "11 Rum Cocktails for National Rum Day," etc., and one posted recently was "America's 25 Best Donuts."

No, N.C.-based Krispy Kreme didn't make this particular roster, though thedailymeal.com's "8 Decadent Donuts From Around the Country"  included KK's Key lime.

But the just-out top-donut list did have the plain glazed created at Britt's Donut Shop, in Carolina Beach, in  11th place.

It's an inspired choice, even if Britt's is open only during tourist season.

H.L. Britt's debuted in  1939. Britt sold the operation (and secret recipe) in the mid-1970s; the Nivens family has operated it since.

The glazed, airy  wonders cost 90 apiece in 2013; the shop usually opens for the season around Easter. Regular-season hours are 8 a.m. to around 10:30 p.m. Monday Saturday, with an early closing (4 p.m.) Sundays.

It's right on the Carolina Beach boardwalk, adding a  sweet and tasty morsel to North Carolina history.

The illustrious Oxford American magazine did a detailed and glowing feature on Britt's in its July 2012 issue. And on the Internet you'll find its fan club site.

You'll learn at the fan site that a book about the place , "Britt's Donuts: Forever Sweet," will be coming out in March.

And while you can't buy donuts at the site -- and the shop doesn't open until spring, remember -- you can pad your holiday gift list by ordering Britt's bumper stickers (starting at $2) or art prints (starting at $45). One of the stickers available from the fan site is shown at the top of this tale.

Of the top 25 on the "Best Donuts" list, only three are from the Southeast. Britt's is the only one from the Carolinas.

Here, by the way are the 10 ranked just above Britt's:

1              Doughnut Vault, Chicago (Plain glazed)

2              Round Rock Donuts, Round Rock, Texas (Plain glazed)

3              Dough, Brooklyn, N.Y. ( Lemon poppy)

4              Bouchon, Yountville Calif (Broiche with seasonal preserves)

5              Stan’s Doughnuts, Los Angeles (Peanut butter and banana)

6              Danny’s Donuts, Vista, Calif (Blueberry cake)

7              Verna’s Donut Shop, Cambridge, Mass. (Chocolate honey-dip)

8              Congdon’s Doughnuts, Wells, Maine (Blueberry jelly)

9              Federal Doughnuts, Philadelphia (Cookies and cream)

10           Donut Man, Glendora, Calif- (Fresh peach and strawberry)