QUICK BITE: Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ on Carnival Mardi Gras

One trend I have seen on cruise ships over the last several years is the addition of BBQ speciality restaurants.  Princess has a concept called Planks, Royal Caribbean has Portside BBQ Norwegian has the Texas Smokehouse and Carnival has the Pig & Anchor sponsored by celebrity chef Guy Fieri.  They all have a similar concept in that you pick several proteins and sides and it is served to you on a tray.  This is what I ordered last night. 

Clockwise from the bottom right is pulled pork, beef brisket, Cole slaw, pickled vegetables, green beans and St Louis ribs.  

All the meats were moist and flavorful.  There are also several sauces to add to your selections.  I went with a smokey tomato BBQ sauce but they also had Carolina style and a chipotle.  

The green beans were the most surprising.  Tender, flavorful beans along with some crunchy pork.  The slaw was tangy and tasted great with the pulled pork.  The pork ribs fell off the bone and had some bark for crunch.  And the brisket was some of the best I have had.  The vinegary and briny pickled vegetables provided a nice contrast to the meats. And the most surprising?  Since ships don't have open flames, they have to smoke all this meat using electric or induction heat.  Pretty impressive.  

I hope to try the selections on the other cruise lines soon so I can compare.  

QUICK BITE: ChiBang on Carnival Mardi Gras

One of the speciality restaurants on Carnival Mardi Gras is called ChiBang a Mexican/Chinese concept.  When it was first announced  I was expecting a menu with a fusion of Mexican and Asian.  Instead, it is two separate Chinese and Mexican menus.  That disappointed me a little bit the items available for order still sounded delicious.  

We started with pot stickers. 

Steamed dumplings with a savory pork filling and a somewhat spicy soy dipping sauce. 

Next was lettuce wraps.

Filled with chicken and crisp noodles, surrounded by crisp lettuce.  The same soy dipping sauce that you could drizzle.  

Also had a side order of some delicious stir fried noodles.

These had so much flavor for a simple noodle dish.  Some crunch vegetables and slightly Al dente pasta.  

For mains, we started with a spicy garlic shrimp.  

This dish really packed a punch. And not just with spice.  Full of peppery flavor with just enough sweetness.  I was afraid this would have a goopy sauce, similar to some sweet and sour dishes you see in Asian restaurants.  Instead it was a smooth, velvety composed sauce with a great balance of sweet and spicy.  

Next was the star attraction of the night - fried snapper. 

Somehow they managed to get a super crispy outside and yet not overcook the inside.  It came with a delicious crema for dipping. 

Also tried the chicken mole.

Certainly one of the best I have had.  Somewhat earthy with hints of raisin and Mexican spices.  Well cooked chicken thighs worked well, as opposed to chicken breast.  

Dessert was a creme brulee.

It has a great crackly top of carmelized sugar.   The custard was a bit too liquidy for my taste but had amazing vanilla and bourbon flavors.  

An amazing meal.  And while it wasn't the fusion I was expecting, still was able to try enough dishes from both menus to create my own.  

QUICK BITE: Family Style Italian at La Cucina del Capitano

La Cucina del Capitano is the Italian specialty restaurant on the Carnival Mardi Gras.   It is complimentary for a limited time so there is no upcharge.  And you can order multiple mains so we had a family style feast. 

Starters were the Nona's meatball and arancini.  

The meatball was my favorite.  It had beefy notes with some hints of fennel from sausage.  Complimented by a simple but tasty marinara. 

The arancini (fried risotto balls) were very tasty and creamy but could have been crisper.  Served with the same delicious marinara as the meatballs.   

The highlight of the mains was the Farfalle El Pistachio.  Well cooked pasta in a carbonara sauce with some crunchy pistachios. So good. 

Also tried the eggplant parmesan, veal scallopini and short rib.  

All very good.  The veal was so flavorful with a savory mushroom sauce.   The short rib just fell apart - so tender.  Lots of flavor or red wine and mushrooms. Could have used a bit more au jus.   The eggplant was flavorful but a bit too greasy. 

No room for dessert, but we did enjoy a nice bottle of Chianti.  As my in-laws told me, always look for the black Rooster to verify authenticity.  

QUICK BITE: Rudi's Seagrill

A big wow!!  Rudi's Seagrill exceeded my expectations!!

Every course was flavorful and well cooked. Scallops, ciopinno, seafood bisque, red snapper and dover sole.   Plus some very good desserts (key lime pie and bread pudding).

Also the bread they serve at the beginning is like crack!! It appears to be an Italian bread with parmesan that has been broiled ever so slightly.  Buttery, crispy and salty!!  They asked if we wanted more but we said no since we had our entire meal yet to come.  I would definitely recommend some of that bread with the ciopinno.

QUICK BITE: Big Chicken on Carnival Mardi Gras

The Mardi Gras is the first in a new class of ship in the Carnival Cruise Line brand.   There are several brand new food venues including Big Chicken which is a quick service location on Deck 16 Aft.  This restaurant has a celebrity sponsorship from Shaquille O'Neal.  

As you may have guessed, they feature chicken. Mainly several different chicken sandwiches and tenders.  Breakfast has a few more options with chicken biscuits and omelettes.  

For embarkation lunch we tried two of their chicken sandwiches as well as the chicken tenders.   

The Shaq is your basic chicken sandwich. It has crispy breaded chicken on a soft roll with Shaw sauce and some spicy pickles.  The sauce is equivalent to the "special sauce" at McDonald's.  Essentially ketchup and mayo with a hint of spice.   You can pick either dark or white meat.   

The Jerome sandwich kicks it up a notch with some Nashville chicken spice and some lettuce.  Both sandwiches were excellent.  Will be back to try the two others they have.   

The chicken tenders were meaty and crisp.  There is a topping bar where you can get a few different sauces including a Memphis BBQ 

Not to be forgotten is the fries.  Some chicken shacks would have throwaway fries.  Ones that would not overshadow the chicken.   At Big Chicken, the fries are auprisingly equal to the chicken.  They look like regular steak fries.   But they are thin, crispy and so well seasoned with salt and a peppery blend.   Will defint be back at Big Chicken.