Celebrity Apex: Veuve Clicquot Dinner

Last night's dinner was a bit out of my comfort zone. I am not a big fan of sparkling wine or champagne. I will usually only drink it when it is made available for a toast, take a sip and give the rest to my wife. At last week's chef's table dinner, the sommelier made us aware of a special Veuve Clicquot dinner on this week's cruise. Angie loves champagne and I was intrigued how they would decide to pair it with food so we decided to book it. We attended last night and it was very impressive. 

Started with an amuse bouche which was caviar on a bellini. Salty and briny!! They paired that with Veuve Clicquot Rich. This is a sweeter champagne which they recommend you serve over ice to balance the sweetness. They offered you cucumber slices or pineapple depending on which flavor you wanted to highlight. I went with pineapple. It was very refreshing and the sweetness went well with the briny caviar. 

Next was a poached pear salad paired with Veuve Clicquot Rose. This was drier with fine bubbles and went well with the sweet pears. 

Next was a sea bass crudo. Great combination of flavors, especially the ginger. This was my least favorite of the champagnes. It was way to dry for my taste so Angie got most of it. 

The sommelier for the dinner was Adrian who we had first met on the Celebrity Equinox in 2014.

The sea scallops were cooked to medium rare which I prefer, but needed more sear. The dish was just overall too sweet, even with a parsnip puree which is usually a bit spicy. The brussel sprouts helped with some bitterness but there need to be more of them. I would have liked some pea tendrils for freshness and crunch. This was paired with a deliciously buttery unfiltered chardonnay. I had never had such a wine before.  

You could order the filet to order and I went with 

with rare and it came out the way I expected. It was well seasoned and the mushrooms were very earthey which went so well with the Malbec from Argentina. Definitely my favorite pairing of the dinner. 

Dessert was a creamy tiramisu which had lots of great espresso flavor. This was served with perhaps the list famous Veuve Clicquot champagne, the demi sec. It was a good pairing since it cut the richness.  

Celebrity Apex: Daniel Boulud's Chef's Table

What is Daniel Boulud's Chef's Table like on Celebrity Apex?  This is from last week's cruise.   Some great plates of food. At a private table.   And we added the wine pairings.  It was $150/person and the wine was $60/person.  Some really good pairings.  

Started with a curried cauliflower soup. Rich creamy broth with hints of saffron.  

Next was a savory mushroom risotto.  The wine was well balanced with the savory taste of the persillade,  a mix of parsley, garlic, oil and vinegar.

The seabass was perfectly cooked and went so well with the fennel and tomato.  Great acid from the lemon.  

Fourth course was the duo of filet and short rib. The short rib was my favorite.   So tender and flavorful.  The filet was cooked to medium rare but didn't have a lot of flavor.  That is my experience with most filets.  Not much fat. Not much flavor. 

Dessert was a.playful dessert that focused on coffee flavors.  Chocolate/coffee mousse "lollipop" on a crispy cookie "stick".  With some additional crispy crumbs for dipping.  A well composed dessert.

Celebrity Apex: Eden Restaurant Experience

Some great plates of food last night at the Eden speciality restaurant. 

Truffled risotto with mushrooms.  Accented with some crispy pea tendrils and marscapone. 

Agean ceviche with an excellent twist of coriander sorbet to keep it cold and fresh tasting.  

Sheep's milk gnocchi. Pillowy and fluffy with some additional pecorino for flavor.  

Branzino with crispy bread.  The bread added such a great crunch to the well cooked fillet.  

Grouper in a delicious broth of curry and coriander. 

Azteca Chocolate Pie which had notes of a great like and hints of spice.  Great combination of flavors with the cardamon ice cream.  

Meyer lemon tart which had sweet and sour notes perfectly matched with lavender ice cream. 

At the end of the meal they have an assortment of bon bons, truffles and marshmallows, just in case you needed something else sweet. 

This is $55/person plus wine and you are able to order as many items as you want.

QUICK BITE: Santo Winery on Santorini

If you are a wine lover visiting Santorini, you won't want to miss going to Santo Winery.  Amazing wines and a great view.  

You can choose to sample six, nine or twelve. You can guess what we tried.  

And great views.  

My favorite wine was the barrel aged white which was similar to a chardonnay.  The also had a delicious dessert wine which beats any port I have ever had.  

Celebrity Apex: Le Grand Bistro

Lunch at Le Grand Bistro started with a charcuterie plate. A great assortment of brie, machego and a soft cheese I couldn't place. There was also some salami, pickles and olives. 

For starters we both had one of the soups. First was the onion soup. Served in a large terine that had been covered in cheese and then baked in the oven. 

Such a rich, oniony broth, chock full of onions.  

The lobster bisque was tasty, with large chunks of lobster but not the best I have had.  

It needed to be creamier and have more seafood flavor.  

Another starter was the Frisee Lardon Salad. This was a delicious combination of pork belly, arugula, pickled shallots and poached eggs. So delicious. 

Also tried the mussels which were not as successful. They were overcooked and the sauce was missing some garlic and red pepper. Disappointing since I have had this same dish before and it was very good.   The pomme frites that served with it almost saved the dish. They were thin, crispy and so we'll seasoned with salt, garlic and parsley. 

For the main, we both had the Francoise Burger. This included two well seasoned patties on top of arugula and topped with gruyere cheese. The burger had crispy edges for some extra flavor. And the arugula being on the bottom helped keep the bun from getting soggy.  

Dessert was the apple tatin. This should have been a great dessert but poor execution got in the way. The caramel was burnt which ruined any apple flavor. I was expecting the pastry to be slightly warm but instead it was cold. The best part of the dessert was the whipped cream.