Extra Virgin Italian Restaurant on Scarlet Lady

When we sailed on the Scarlet Lady for the first time it was a four night cruise.  We weren't able to go to every restaurant.  We made up for that on this current sailing. 

Extra Virgin is the Italian restaurant onboard.  The menu is broken into the traditional courses you would see at an Italian restaurant on land.  

Virgin labels it "Elevated Italian" and I think this fits.  The menu doesn't have the Olive Garden's "all you can eat pasta bowl" but I am also not expecting a meal equivalent to Michelin chef in the Tuscany region of Italy.  Somewhere in between which makes sense for a cruise line that has to make so many meals per day.  There has to be some balance. 

There is a bread service which was some very garlicy toasted bread.  Not quite as dense as an Italian bread.  And the typical olive oil and balsamic presentation. 

We started with the crispy artichoke. 

This was in a tempura-like  batter.  The artichoke had a great flavor of mellowed garlic.  You just pulled the delicate leaves from the bottom. There was a grilled lemon which was a nice balance to the fried batter. I found the garlic aioli was not  needed.  

Next was mini meatballs. 

These tasted like they had a combination of beef and veal.  Surrounded by a savory tomato sauce and topped with smoked mozzarella.  

Next was some terrific wagyu beef carpaccio.

How do I know it was wagyu  Because the menu said it. Seriously, whether wagyu or not, it was so delicious.  Tender sliced beef with a truffle oil dressing, sunchokes and a little parmesano reggiano.  Really tasty.  Some of the best I have had anywhere.  

Also tried the chicken liver mousse.  

When it first arrived, I thought I was being punked since it looked like the Big Pink Doughnut you can get in the Springfield area of Universal Studios in Florida.  But it was actually a very tasty mousse.   There was some tarragon and fennel for freshness.   I didn't get any of the promised grilled ciabatta but it wasn't needed. 

Our next course was a chef's charcuterie platter.  

Theee was prosciutto, salami and mortadella with pistachios.  There were also three cheese.  A relatively mild blue cheese alongside a parmesan and pecorino.  There were four sides of honey, roasted eggplant, quince jam and my favorite which was some roasted nuts with rosemary. I can't remember having nuts roasted this way before.  The rosemary essence went so well with the nuttiness.  Will have to try this at home.  

Main courses were the pappardelle ragu and a strip steak.  

The pasta was well cooked to Al dente and the Bolognese was flavorful.  The steak was also flavorful but wasn't a NY strip. I think it was flank steak.   I was actually fine with this since that cut has so much more flavor.   It might have had a bit more salt than most diners would like but I thought it brought out the beefiness. 

Dessert was something I had never had or even heard of: Affogato.   

A cart appeared with three different gelatos. 

 You picked one (I went with whiskey cream).   Them you can add meringue, chocolate chips or pine nuts.  Then it is drizzled in espresso.  Then topped with sambuca whipped cream. 

So delicious!!  How had I never heard of this before?   Maybe I will try espresso and soft serve on my next cruise.