The only problem with indulging in the chocolate chip cookie skillet at United Polaris Lounge dining room at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is that you know the best part of your trip is already behind you before you even take off. Topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate drizzle, the dessert is served warm out of the oven in a cookie-sized skillet, a perfect portion for one while relaxing pre-flight with a front-row seat to the taxing planes backdropped by the New York City skyline.

Having lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, for more than two decades, I’ve become a diehard loyalist to my neighborhood airport EWR, as well as its largest carrier, United Airlines, which accounts for nearly 70% of the hub’s flights .…