International. Tuscan is Italian. Normandy is French. Cyprus is a Mediterranean themed restaurant. Each restaurant has three sections to their menu. One section is Classics. These are items that will be available to order each night in all four restaurants. Theae are items like caesar salad, escargot, broiled salmon and NY strip steak.
Then there is a section that will change each night. Like the classics, these items will also be available in each restaurant. Examples from tonight we're cappuccino mushroom soup, beet and feta salad, prime rib and seared salmon.
The last section is exclusive to the restaurant you are in. These will be the same each night so you can order them each night. Here is that section from Cyprus.
For tonight's dinner I had three starters and one main. All the appetizers came from the rotating menu.
This is the cappuccino mushroom soup. This has been a signature item on Celebrity for as long as I have been sailing. It is not offered every night - but should be.
The soup has a "crema" like a good cappuccino or espresso does that adds some additional creaminess. The soup itself is the embodiment of a mushroom. Rich, savory and meaty. The kind of soup where you just have to go back for more. The addition of some rosemary on too adds a little freshness.
Next was the Thai spring roll with beef
This was super crispy on the outside and jammed full of seasoned beef. The sauce looked like it was going to be super sweet like a duck sauce but had a surprising and welcome spice. The rice noodles were a nice addition so you could sop up the remaining sauce.
Next was a beet and feta salad.
This as equal sizes cubes of roasted red beets and mild feta cheese. If you have read my other blogs, I am particular about beet dishes and whether they showcase beets or hide them. This dish did a good job at respecting the beets. Fork tender with a slight sweetness. I think a touch of vinegar would have helped bring out more sweetness. Some feta cheese can be overpoweringly salty. While this one wasn't that way, there was simple too much of it on the plate. I would have liked more beets.
For my main, I chose something from the Cyprus Exclusive menu. This is the grilled sea bass.
Sea bass is one of those fish where I think restaurants assume the diner may think they are ordering something they are not. What do I mean? You have to go back many years ago when you would see Chilean Sea Bass on many menus. Diners thought this was some exotic species and were willing to pay a premium. In reality it was just another type of codfish specifically known as Patagonian. Chilean Sea Bass sounds more marketable on a menu. Was it tasty? Yes. But not really special. And then there were the issues with overfishing so any "real" Chilean Sea Bass was even rarer - and even more expensive.
So that brings me to this menu. Sea Bass by itself is a generic name for all kinds of bass. But I think many restaurants hope that a diner see "Sea Bass" and automatically assumes it is "Chilean Sea Bass". Perhaps the ultimate "bait" and switch.
So onto his dish. This was an amazing piece of fish. While the three fillets were thin, they had only been grilled a short time skin side down. The skin was remarkably crispy and the flesh still moist. The fish had been very simply seasoned with salt. I believe when they were in the pan, capers were added which gave the fish an additional needed brininess. And there was a drizzle of olive oil after plating. It was one of the best pieces of fish I have ever had on a cruise or land. I would order it again.
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