Specialty Restaurant Highlights from Wonder of the Seas

What are some of the dishes you can expect at the speciality restaurants on the (currently) largest cruise ship in the world?  

Had brunch at The Mason Jar which is a southern themed restaurant. This is a brand new concept for Royal Caribbean.  Some delicious cocktails including a PB&J Old Fashioned, complete with mini PB&J sandwiches.  

A massive Cinnamon roll!!

Savory and creamy deviled eggs!!

A Nashville chicken sandwich.  

Blueberry Johnnycakes with pulled pork. 

And at Hooked, a seafood restaurant, some great lunch options.  They start you off with some savory biscuits seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning. 

Then a delicious crab and clam chowder.  

Mussels in white wine!!

Deep fried soft shell crab!!

And the Messy Fish Sandwich where they make you wear a bib!!

Reunion Kitchen Bar

After a great cruise on the Regal Princess on Saturday, we headed to Miami for the night since we would be boarding the brand new Carnival Celebration on Sunday.  After a matinee movie to see the new Black Panther Wakanda Forever, it was time for some lunch.  Not far from the theater was a restaurant called Reunion Kitchen Bar in Aventura Florida. 

This place is known for small plates of food that you eat family style. Nothing labelled as a starter of main.  

We ordered four plates.  

This was the Truffle Shitake Croquettes. 

There was a heavy aroma of truffle which made me a bit nervous since a heavy hand of.truffle can really through off the flavor of a dish.  To my surprise, these were well balanced between the truffle and mushroom. Slightly creamy with a well fried panko coating.  

Next was Crisp Rice with Trout and Tuna Sashimi.  

Instead of using traditional sushi rice, they took that same rice and made a crispy rectangle. And on top of that was either trout or a blend of tuna and spicy mayo. Both so good, especially with the addition of the crisp rice. 

Next was a Beet and Goat Cheese Salad. 

This really highlightes the beets with a great addition of goat cheese and arugula.   It could have used a slightly more acidic dressing to highlight the beets. 

The last dish was a roasted cauliflower.  

This is one dish we have had before at other restaurants.  And while.it sounds simple, it can go disastrously wrong very easily.  I think some restaurants just roast a raw head of cauliflower and hope for the best.  That never works since the outside is done way before the inside.  You need to steam the cauliflower first so that it is almost done. Then you have add your seasoning and roast it.  This version did that and produced a very tendee and flavorful result.  It has some delicious smokey flavor, complimented by a spicy romesco.sauce that has a vibrant tomato flavor and I also think some olives.

Definitely a worthwhile stop.  And the kind of place where you can just order a few things to start. And then if you're still hungry, you can always order more.  My kind of place.

Santa Cruz Tenerife Canary Island for some tapas

Santa Cruz Tenerife is very much like Barcelona. Lots of long streets with shops and restaurants. The central meeting point is an enormous fountain that wasn't operating today. It seemed to be a popular meetup point. We wanted some foods we weren't likely to find onboard the shop. Found a place with a large menu and ordered fried anchovy, croquettes, chorizo and Iberian sausage. And of course some refreshing sangria.  

Many people probably wouldn't order the fried anchovy because they think they will taste like the ones served on a Caesar salad. Or maybe because they are served whole. They actually taste nothing like that. They are mild and fried in a light tempura-sryle batter. A squeeze of lemon is all you need. They do have small bones but you can eat them. Perhaps not for everyone, but I love them. For any Newfies, they are a lot like smelts. 

The croquettes were tasty balls of potato and cheese in a light panko breading. And both the chorizo and sausage were delicious. 

There is a lot happening today on the ship. For sailaway, we were invited to be out by the helipad in the forward part of the ship. Afterwards, they are having a special cocktail reception on Deck 15 with sangria. We also may make our first visit to the dining room for dinner. So far, all our dinners have been in the buffet or The Porch. Then we will likely see the show called The Flyboys which is supposed to be a mashup of all different singing styles. Tomorrow.is our lfinal port of call in Madeira Spain where we have a 4x4 excursion.

"The Porch" - A Specialty Restaurant on Celebrity Silhouette

The Porch is one of the speciality restaurants on Celebrity Silhouette.  It is primarily a seafood restaurant, although does have a few items for carnivores and vegetarians.

It is a small intimate restaurant, situated up on Deck 15 aft and had a great view of the ocean when you are sailing.  Perfect for a sunset. 

It is setup as a four course menu.  For $30 USD they ask you to pick one from each section.  There is also a seafood tower you can order which is an additional $15 USD. They also add 18 % gratuity to these up charges.  

For wine, they had a very good Sauvignon Blanc from Villa Maria.  

We started with chicken wings with sesame glaze.  These had some great flavor!!  These were not quite as meaty as wings I have had at other places which may be a sourcing issue here in Europe.  

Also tried the blacked mahi mahi tacos.  These were very tasty although had a bit too much sauce for my taste. Once the crispy corn tortilla broke, it was pretty messy.  But I still managed to eat them.

For the "raw" course we tried the Hamachi Crudo. My favorite dish of the night.  This is very similar to a dish served at Raw On Five which is a specialty restaurant on Celebrity Edge and Apex.  Delicious thin slices of fish with a yuzo sauce which just brightened up the whole dish.  

Also had the tuna tartare.  Finely diced nuggets of tuna in a mild citrus marinade.  Just enough to highlight the fish.  

Next course was the corn soup, my second favorite dish of the night. 

 I had low expectations for this soup since so many corn soups are thick and goopy, given all the starch that comes from the kernels.  Not here.  This was a thinz delicate broth full of fresh corn flavor.  I believe they must have used both corn kernels and the cobs to extract the most flavor. And then strained it before adding some chorizo.  One of the best soups I have ever had. 

Did we dare try to "Tackle The Tower*?   We did!!

It had a cold water lobster tail split in half, marinated scallops, mussels, shrimp and a seafood salad which has salad shrimp and mussels.  There was a cocktail sauce, tartar sauce and a vinegrette which tasted of tarragon.  

The scallops were my favorite, especially with a drizzle of the vinegrette. They had been quickly marinated so they weren't rubbery.  The lobster was also very good. It was moist and flavorful.  The shrimp were pretty standard, helped by the cocktail sauce.  The mussels didn't have much flavor.  I love steamed mussels.  But cold mussels just never seem to have any flavor.  The seafood salad seemed like a throwaway dish. Almost like they felt there wasn't enough on the tower to justify the price.   Not terrible, but nothing to rave about.  Adding some of the delicious vinegrette helped. 

For our mains, we had lobster rolls.  

These were nice pieces of chopped cold water lobster in a spicy mayo on a brioche finger roll. And freshly made potato chips as a side.   That is a classic side item if you order a lobster roll in Maine. 

We had so much seafood that we didn't even ask to see the dessert menu. Overall a very good meal.  I would go back and probably just order three portions of crudo and that wonderful corn soup!!

QUICK BITE: Mussels and Oysters in Ston Croatia

During our stop in Slano Croatia, we took a boat to an island where we'd get to see how oysters and mussels are grown. 

The oysters here are grown very differently than any other oyster farm I have visited.  Many oyster farms will get the "babies" from a central source such as Hawaii.   And other farms I have visited (such as in Tasmania Australia and Juneau Alaska), grow them in mesh baskets.  

I was surprised when the owner told us that their oysters start growing naturally from eggs from a female oyster.  Any eggs that catch on the netting that is hung like a string into the water. The ones here in this picture are about six months old.  

On farms that use the basket technique, those are rotated occasionally to make sure all the oysters are getting the proper amount of nutrients from the water. For the method used here, the oysters are just grow on the netting. After about eighteen months, the larger oysters are carefully removed with gloves.  Then they go through an unusual process.  They are cemented one by one to new netting. 

These grow for about another twelve months.  They are checked occasionally to make sure they are healthy and free of any mussels that decided to find a new home.  

Mussels are grown in the same way using this netting.  Much less maintenance is required for those. They really just grow until they reach the expected size.   

So we came all the way to this island.  Would be get to sample some?  The answer was under these trees.  

They had setup an oyster and mussel picnic!!

First was the oysters. 

These were briney morsels of goodness, although a bit chewy.  I think they would have been better had they not been allowed to get as big as they were.   Each person on our 23 person tour received three oysters.   There were several people who didn't like oysters so there were some "extras" available.  

Then came the mussels.  Absolutely the largest pot of mussels I have ever seen in my life.  

If I had purchased these in a restaurant, these would easily be $100 USD or more for this enormous portion.  They were steamed in their own juices along with garlic, lemon and white wine.  Simply prepared. And so good!!   

QUICK BITE: What is Peka style cooking?

Stayed overnight in Vis Croatia last night.  This is a quaint village with an old monestary and bell tower.  We had dinner in a restaurant called Konoba Dol that specializes in Peka style cooking.  Also known as "Iron Bell", it is where the food that is to be cooked is placed in a large, shallow, cast iron pot. Then the bell or doke is placed on top.  And then it is covered by the coals.  It is then left to braise until the meat in is tender.  This is much like the braising style used in other cultures.  There was a choice of lamb, veal or octopus.  When octopus is on the menu, I will always order it.  This is what came to our table.  

A succulent stew with potatoes, carrots, onions, bay leaf and other aromatics.  And what about the octopus?  Three large pieces which were the most tender octopus I have ever had.  So flavorful!!  They several bread on the side and it was the required vehicle for sopping up the stew.  

We ordered a great local dry rose which went so well with the hearty stew.  

Scenic Sailing to the Island of Hvar and Dinner at Miaxa

We had our first full day onboard the Ave Maria.  Started with a beautiful sunrise. Then an amazing breakfast of meats, cheeses, breads, fried prosciutto and eggs.  That was followed by some scenic sailing and an amazing lunch!!  The highlight was the eggplant "roll ups" filled with a savory hummus.  Also had local fish cooked in parchment and a flavorful blueberry Panna Cotta. 

We then sailed to the island of Hvar for a short walking tour.  Before we could dock, we had a short swim stop.  Anchored offshore, the crew released yet ladders, set out some floats and a life ring. And then we had the "brochure moment" of swimming in the Adriatic Sea while anchored.   Hvar has the largest public square in all of Europe. It was separated by a moat which do used the nobility from the commoners. The church had two entrances depending on who you were.  We went in as commoners but decided to reenter the square as nobility!!   After the walking tour we watched sunset with a couple of local beers.  Then had an amazing dinner at Giaxa. They had an amuse bouche of tuna on a polenta cake.  A great start!! 

 They also served some local olives which were on their own holder.  Hadn't seen anything like that before.  

Starters were tempura-fried squash blossoms stuffed with cheese.  Then a sushi platter with two preparations of tuna and prawns. 

Our main was brodeto which is a tomato-based fish stew.  The star there was the wonderfully braised and tender octopus and the well developed sauce.  The sauce was slightly sweet but accented by hints of olives and anchovies.  So good that we had to scoop up any remaining sauce with the delicious rolls. 

We had two great wines. One glass is white and a bottle of the red. The red was similar to a Pinot Noir but a bit drier.  Went very well with the stew. And all.of this food and wine was $140 USD which included a fixed service charge.  And we did provide 100 Kuna (about $12 USD) as an additional gratuity since our waiter was so helpful in recommending wines.  Very reasonable and so delicious.  

We walked back to our motor yacht and had a couple of gin and tonics on the open deck.  Since we had docked earlier, five more yachts had docked beside us.   And to get to the other ships, guests have to walk from one to the other.  So part of our people watching was seeing all these other guests from other ships parade past us. It was quite fun.  All part of the yachting experience.  

Today we may have an opportunity to see the Blue Cave.