Category: Food

Cruising: Dining on board

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SHIPBOARD DINING

Anyone who knows me and the Chief Penguin well, knows that we are foodies.  As in the case of Caesar, this army travels on its stomach.  One of the delights of cruising with Crystal is the quality and variety of the food. And it is truly excellent!  You can get almost anything you’d possibly want to eat and you will likely be offered a drink anytime you sit down in one of the many lounges.  Despite the fact that there are 970 passengers on the ship, we have always been able to find a quiet, relatively unoccupied public place to sit.

We are early birds and are usually some of the first to attack the breakfast offerings.  Beginning at 6:00 A.M., croissants and pastry as well as a range of fruits and sliced cold meats and cheeses are available to enjoy with coffee or tea.  The Chief Penguin goes up first and gets to have both a pot of English breakfast tea and a cappuccino!  At 7:00 or 7:30 A.M. depending on the day and the schedule vis-à-vis sailing or docking, a full breakfast buffet is open with everything from eggs and bacon to sausages and congee, French toast and pancakes, and about eight different kinds of bread which can be toasted, plus donuts, cinnamon rolls, and other sinful goodies.  We both anticipate the arrival of the bacon strips on the full buffet!

At lunchtime at the grill, you can always order a burger (beef, turkey, salmon, etc.) and fries, or a tuna melt or a chicken Caesar wrap.  Then there’s the lunch buffet:  a salad station with multiple kinds of lettuce, specialty prepared salads, hot entrees (chicken, pork, veal, pasta of the day), sandwich of the day, rice preparations, and representative dishes from other cuisines such as a stir fry of some sort, lots of cut-up fresh fruit, and many little desserts, some sugar-free.  There are also plenty of vegetarian options too.  The selection is amazing to overwhelming and the temptation is to overeat.  Requires lots of self-discipline and more laps around the promenade deck to keep off the pounds!

Dinner in the main dining room is now open seating (used to be you had a set time and table), and we routinely eat on the early side before it gets really busy and noisier.  The dinner menu (presented then as well as posted on a ship screen earlier in the day so you get a preview) offers both modern cuisine and classic cuisine plus traditional favorites. For each course, there is usually a choice of six to nine options.  I have enjoyed several fish preparations, a lovely green salad with Gorgonzola, lamb curry with all the condiments, and several cheeses for dessert.  What is helpful for the calorie counter is that you can order half portions of any course making it possible to taste something, but not overdo.  

Lamb curry with papadum and condiments

And since, “it’s Crystal,” as Ellen would say, you can even request a particular dish ahead of time and they will generally make it for you.  The other evening we asked for veal zurichoise (veal in a cream sauce with mushrooms) and Salzburger Nockerl, an Austrian dessert that is a combination of a soufflé and meringue on top of a layer of pink lingonberry sauce.  The chefs in the kitchen kindly obliged and our delicious Swiss entrée was presented with accompanying roasted potato wedges, cauliflower florets, and asparagus spears while the dessert was a snowy mountaintop wedge covering the plate.

Salzburger Nockerl

And if one should tire of the menus in the main dining room, there are several specialty restaurants which require making a reservation.  We have now eaten at all three: Silk (creative Chinese cuisine served family style), Umi Uma (part of Nobu’s Japanese restaurant group where the onionskin thin new style sashimi was heavenly), and Prego (Italian fare where I had a most delicate and delicious grilled branzino over sautéed spinach with an artichoke potato mousseline on the side).  A yummy set of possibilities! Lastly, if you don’t want to leave your stateroom, there’s room service, of course.

Yet another treat is taking advantage of afternoon tea served on the uppermost deck from 3:30 to 4:30 every afternoon.  There is a tea menu of black, green, herb and infusion teas from which you choose.  You are then presented with a three tier stand of sweets and savories:  dainty cookies, small scones (clotted cream and jam are passed separately), and a row of tea sandwiches from cucumber to cheese to ham.  And if that isn’t enough decadence, a waiter returns to offer oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies!  The chinaware is lovely and all the treats tasty.  What’s  hard is not eating them all—we didn’t!

The ship’s crew hail from 45 different countries and each staff member’s badge indicates his or her home city and country.  They are to a person pleasant, friendly, and delightful, and we have engaged in some extended conversations, particularly if they come from a place we have visited.  

Note: Text and photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo is a tug at work in the Haifa harbor.

Rome: Last Meals et al

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OBSERVATIONS: A few reflections on how Rome struck me on this visit.

  • More young people seen smoking on the street including high school students.  A mix of cigarettes and vaping devices.
  • More pedestrian-only zones which make Rome quieter and even more pleasant for walking from piazza to piazza. Other than getting into and out of the city upon arriving and departing, we walked everywhere! Didn’t take even one taxi.
  • Rome is popular!  This is early October, pre-Columbus Day, and the crowds everywhere are huge.  
  • Dress here is as casual as what you see in cities everywhere.  Lots of jeans on all ages, and mostly pants on the women.  Of course, we were focused on tourist attractions which probably accounts for some of this.
  • Rome’s fountains and buildings all look cleaner and almost pristine; stanchions and signs are in evidence to deal with crowd management.  Obviously, the government has invested in making the city more appealing.
  • The Spanish Steps are as beautiful as ever, but you are no longer allowed to sit on them.  Enforcement officers were around making individuals get up and move.  I found this disappointing as I always liked sitting there and watching the world swirl around me.
  • Vibrant restaurant scene with many options for Roman cuisine and also some very sophisticated creative fare.

CREATIVE ROMAN CUISINE

Again, thanks to Journy, we experienced a very sophisticated and innovative dinner menu at Per Me Guilio.  It’s built around fish and seafood, particularly raw fish, and such Roman specialities as tripe.  There are a couple tasting menu options, but you can also order a la carte which we did.

Shrimp carpaccio

I had scampi carpaccio which was served with four tiny cubes of foie gras and bit of onion jelly followed by cuttlefish gnocchi with clams, celery and bottarga.  

Cuttlefish gnocchi

The Chief Penguin ordered the roast cuttlefish followed by scorpionfish with codfish tripe and beans.  

Roast scorpionfish

Desserts were fancy, but more recognizable.   And as is typical of very fine restaurants, there were lots of little extra tidbits along the way.   Another superb dining adventure!

TRUFFLE FAVORITES

On our last night, we trekked through Piazza Navona, Pantheon square, past the Trevi Fountain, and on to the Spanish Steps before going over to Osteria Barberini for a dinner that featured truffles, both white and black.  This is a very small restaurant, and we discovered, very popular!  Our reservation was for 6:30 when they opened, but there were at least six other folks outside the door hoping to snag a table.  

In addition to the regular menu, there’s a truffle menu. We love truffles, especially the pungent white ones.  We ordered the bruschetta with white truffle and Parmesan (lovely), and then each had an order of the tagliolini with white truffle in a very light cream sauce.  Sublime! 

 The Chief Penguin had his all time favorite, saltimbocca, which he said was the best ever.  I ordered the veal strips with red bell peppers in a balsamic glaze which was good, but not exceptional.  We shared an order of sautéed spinach with oil and lemon. Our waitress was an animated woman who added to our enjoyment of the evening.  The chef also came out from the kitchen to see if we were happy with our dishes. 

Note: Text and all photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Eating in Rome: Cafes & Restaurants

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Despite my earlier observation about Rome being trendier these days, you can walk the neighborhoods from Campo de’ Fiori to Trastevere and pass many restaurants and cafes.  But this is Italy and every single establishment we passed was offering some version of Italian cuisine.  No Chinese, Thai or Vietnamese in sight.  Every one has its versions of spaghetti cacio e pepe or carbonara, its saltimbocca, or a wide variety of pizzas.  Today we did see one Indian restaurant nearer the center of the city.

CAFÉ CULTURE

If it isn’t raining, chances are you can sit at a table outside on a square somewhere.  Lunch our first day was at Verso Sera in peaceful Piazza del Biscione.  On Sunday mid-morning we contemplated life over cappuccinos and cornetti at Vyta in Piazza Farnese.  Still and peaceful until about 11:00 when people started swarming.

 Lunch later that day was at Da Pancrazio, a more elegant restaurant with cozy inside seating (perfect for winter), and tables on the now familiar Biscione square.  

Saltimbocca

Here we shared a wonderfully peppery rendition of bucatini alla gricia (with bacon and pecorino) and then dived into saltimbocca for the Chief Penguin and vitello tonnato for me.  The latter is one of my longtime favorites—-it’s thinly sliced roast veal served cold with a smooth layer of tuna mayonnaise and dotted with capers.  

 I have fond memories of my first taste in Rome many years ago and also of my good friend Hilda making it for a picnic lunch one time.  It’s a fussy dish so I was both impressed and pleased that she served it!

INDOOR DINING

Last evening we booked at a restaurant we discovered while out walking.  DanEl, is the brainchild of two individuals whose names make up the restaurant name.  The chef is Elisa and her father was our maitre d’ cum waiter and very informative about the restaurant’s history and the aromatic truffle bread in the pretty basket.  This is Roman cuisine, but a more traditional version.

We started with some carmelized shrimp in their shells (tasty!) and then followed that course with semolina gnocchi and sea bass.  The bass was a lovely filet that was rolled up and served on a slab with scattered berries and several broccoli florets.  Sophisticated dishes and delicious!

Semolina gnocchi

For lunch today, we walked farther afield past the monument to Vittorio Emanuel II, Trajan’s Column, the Forum and up a hill to Ai Tres Scalini.  This was another recommendation from Journy and we were very pleased with it!  The dining room is small and pretty and the menu has a mix of snacks, pastas and entrees as well as meat and cheese plates. 

 We opted to try the truffled sausage snack (tiny bites) and the thin columns of Gorgonzola with honey and walnuts.  Yum!  To follow, the Chief Penguin had a lovely plate of pink prosciutto with a ball of mozzarella.  The mozzarella here has been more piquant than that we typically get at home.  

Ravioli

I ordered the ravioli stuffed with cheese and glazed with a cherry tomato sauce which were equally good.  We arrived at the beginning of the lunch hour and were glad we did as the restaurant filled up soon after.  

After lunch, we walked uphill a few more blocks to the domed Basilica Papale Santa Maria Maggiore.  From our approach all we saw was solid fencing and tightly closed doors.  The Chief Penguin was convinced we could go in so we trudged all the way around to the opposite side.  

Ceiling of the basilica

After going through a bag check, we entered the sumptuous sanctuary and had the extra treat of hearing part of choir practice to organ accompaniment.  As we were leaving, the pews were filling up with nuns and others of various ethnicities all wearing name tags.  We surmised they were South American attendees at the Vatican conference on saving the Amazon rainforest taking place this week.

Note: Text and all photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo is of a recently cleaned Trevi Fountain.

Return to Rome: Arrival Day

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RETURN TO ROME

The Chief Penguin and I determined that it’s been 45 years since we visited Rome for the first time and about 12 years since we last were here.  We initially came for a scientific conference for him and then visited fairly frequently through the years, bringing our son when he was just 2 and again when he was three, with more trips for all of us and later just us.

On our re-introduction yesterday, Rome was busy and bustling with groups of tourists midst the locals, but overall appeared cleaner, trendier, and more au courant.  We’re staying around the corner from Campo de’ Fiori, and enjoyed a light lunch of tomato bruschettas and then melon with prosciutto and mozarella at a cafe in the square. After, we navigated through the throngs around the olive oil vendors and produce stands, busy on this Saturday afternoon, and headed for some favorite spots.  

Piazza Navona was lively with a Michael Jackson wannabe dancer, a combo of three older guys playing vaguely classical music, and lots of people just milling around.  The day was perfect—sunny, dry and about 75 degrees. From there to the Pantheon was a short walk. We wanted to go inside, but the huge crowd was off putting.  We’ll do that another day, not on the weekend.

After a short break at our Roman abode, we walked past high fashion shops, art galleries, tech stores and the like, to dinner at Pianostrada Laboratorio.  This restaurant with its contemporary décor is helmed by women and serves creative Italian food with a twist.  

Sign in the restaurant

The bulk of the menu is starters arranged by type (everything from fried to veggie to focaccia to small sandwiches and burgers) with a small single sheet of entrees.  Given that it was our first night and, we were dragging from jet lag, we opted for three selections from the starter menu. 

Layered, deconstructed zucchini blossoms

 Our focaccia had Gorgonzola, pine nuts and honey on it with a hint of cinnamon.  Four luscious squares of it.  We then had their fish and chips, a riff on the traditional which was a variety of chips along with four fish cakes of tuna and lemon.  Light and delectable!

 We also sampled deconstructed fried zucchini blossoms layered with mozzarella and a bit of anchovy.   The meal was a creative and tasty experiment, but not for those hungry for spaghetti and meatballs!

Fish and chips, Pianostrada style!

You might wonder how we ended up at this intriguing restaurant. Although we do know Rome well, we used the online travel specialists, Journy, to help plan this trip. They did an excellent job for us for our earlier trip to Mexico City and so far their recommendations here have been spot on! They made this restaurant reservation for us plus several others.

For the day we logged a reasonable 12,000+ steps. Now for some sleep!

Note: Photos and text ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).