Frommer's Picks the Top 10 Airport Restaurants in the U.S.

Local restaurants offering tasty, healthy food are challenging the idea that airport restaurants are places that travelers only stop by when in a pinch. At the request of USA Today, Frommer's has pulled together a list of the Top Ten Airport Restaurants -- and the results might convince you to spend a little more time in the terminal.

The team at Frommer's pinpointed local restaurants and omitted those that "still serve food that tastes like airport food," says Jason Clampet, senior online editor for Frommers.com. "We've picked places that serve food you'd eat even if you weren't trapped," he adds.

Next time you have a layover in New York, Frommer's suggests you stop in at Deep Blue Sushi by chef Michael Schulson in the JetBlue Terminal at John F Kennedy International or Custom Burgers by Pat LaFrieda in the Delta Terminal at LaGuardia.

In Atlanta, skip the greasy fast food and enjoy some high quality eats at One Flew South in Terminal E, the only upscale eatery at the world's busiest airport.

Legal Sea Foods, which has several locations Boston Logan International, received praise from Frommer's for having "a different ... concept in each Logan terminal."

Several other seafood restaurants made the list, including Obrycki's at Baltimore-Washington International, Ivar's in the Central Terminal at Sea-Tac Airport, and the 42nd Street Oyster Bar inside Raleigh-Durham International in North Carolina.

A few top chefs snuck their way into Frommer's list as well. Tortas Frontera inside Chicago O'Hare serves locally-sourced Mexican recipes by reknowned chef Rick Bayless. On the West Coast, Chef Michel Audeon cooks up award-winning "California Fresh" cuisine at the quirky alien-themed Encounter at LAX. Encounter is located before reaching security at Los Angeles International, meaning the restaurant draws guests who aren't even scheduled to fly in or out of the airport.

Rounding out the list is Ike's Food and Cocktails, an elegant full-service restaurant in Concourse E of the Minneapolis - St. Paul International that serves steaks, seafood, and more.

The restaurants on Frommer's list, as well as others serving top-quality food at airports nationwide, "reflect a greater appreciation for food among the population at large, not just travelers," says David Lytle, editorial director of Frommers.com.