Review of American Airlines flight from Miami to San Francisco in Domestic First

Welcome to the return portion of my one day trip to MIA.
SFO-MIA in F - click here
MIA-SFO in F - you are here
After exiting the plane I went directly to a kiosk to print out a boarding pass for the return flight. I then discovered that I was upgraded and was assigned 6E. I checked the seat map to see if there was any vacant seat further up but unfortunately the cabin was full. so I resigned myself to playing the meal lottery. I knew that the choices will be either an "Herbes de Provence" chicken OR cheese lasagna.
It was around my lunchtime back in SFO so I headed to a Cuban restaurant named "Ku-Va" that i've been wanting to try for some time. On the way there I spotted this 777 in Oneworld livery and took a shot. A beauty isn't it?

Finally I arrived at Ku-Va and was seated by a friendly hostess. The restaurant has a take out counter next to the entrance and I have seen a lot of AA employees congregate there during previous visits. Stepping inside I was seated in a booth with plenty of space to stretch out. It was not that busy but I saw a few pilots eat there during my stay. I ordered "ropa vieja" which is shredded flank steak stewed in vegetables in a tomato based sauce. It is said to originate from a Sephardi dish during the Middle Ages in Spain. It was accompanied by white rice, a bowl of black beans and fried sweet plantains. I know some will be horrified at the unorthodox pairing of something sweet with savory, but I am from the New World and I like it. As a matter of fact I also like lamb with mint sauce. :P

"Ropa vieja"

After the meal I was offered coffee or dessert but I declined. I walked to Cafe Versailles and La Carreta to get some guava and cream cheese pastelitos instead and got a couple of Cuban sandwiches for take out. One was a classical "medianoche" and the other one "croqueta preparada". Dios santo que glutoneria!

I walked aimlessly like a soul lost in limbo and eventually was rewarded with some great spotting.
AA in retro livery.

Without forgetting the pieces of artwork on display . This one was supposed to represent waves.

I eventually learn that my flight was delayed by 30 min. so I headed out to Terminal E for more plane spotting. I took the train to the satellite area where the high numbered E gates were located and upon exiting a heat wave hit me since the air conditioner was not working properly in that area. I took the train back to the terminal and tried to get some shots of a QR plane while the train was moving. It was challenging to say the least and here are some pictures.

Back to the terminal, I encountered this lovely sunset and took one last plane spotting picture.

At the gate, I requested a new boarding pass since I hate the flimsy toilet paper ones issued by the kiosks. A very nice and smiling agent gave me a new one and I waited patiently for boarding to start. As usual, priority was given to the elderly and families traveling with children. When I stepped in another gate agent scanned my boarding pass and welcomed me back with a smile. MIA does not usually have outstanding agents, but the ones working the gate for my flight today were truly exemplary.
I enter the aircraft and there were 2 FA's having a conversation oblivious to my presence so quickly settle in my seat. I was hoping that this was not going to set the tone for the rest of the flight. My seatmate arrives and he takes his seat. I flip through the magazine and there is no pre-dept. beverages. After a few more minutes the FA hands out a pillow and duvet package to each passengers that is brought by cabin service but still no beverages. The last passenger boards and the door shuts so I guess no pre-dept. beverages on this flight.
Cabin without IFE's.

We leave at 20:48 instead of 20:15 and the captain asked the crew to remain seated due to potential turbulence for a good 45 min. after take off. When service starts the purser takes meal orders from back to front. I thought that this practice was suspended and that nowadays meal orders were taken from front to back. Anyways this proved to be a positive development since I had first shot at my meal choice. I read a lot about the "Herbes de Provence" grilled chicken so I decided to try it. Beverages order were taken and hot towels marked the beginning of the dinner service tonight.

I had a 1/2 orange juice and 1/2 cranberry accompanied by warm nuts.

Then the meal tray arrived. The size of the main dish was fine but the hummus appetizer was disappointing. I thought that it was a bit cheap to serve this on a dinner "transcon". I had better appetizers on midcon lunch flights. Warm breads consisting of sourdough or wheat were offered from a basket.

Salad was uninspiring but adequate.

Chicken dish.

For dessert there was a choice between cheese plate OR made to order ice cream sundae. I had the sundae.

The purser turned out to be a nice guy and very proactive during the meal service. He never used the trolley and brought each tray individually. Beverages were refilled and he made several passes to ensure that everyone was taken care of.
After the meal service the snack basket was set up in the galley.
We landed at 23:22 instead of 22:50.
***BONUS***
Completely irrelevant to the FR, but I wanted to include these shots that I took @ SFO recently.