MzShae

So sad to hear about Koda. Rest in peace.

3 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

That's a brain teaser!

21 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

The photographer was here earlier... Koda in black and white...

 

What a great picture. It looks like Koda is living his best life now!

I'm really enjoying your trip review so much! I hope to get to see Paris one day & experience it. 

12 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

Since the owner was out of town, "mom" needed a "date" for dinner tonight... (Now, last night) We headed over to North West Atlanta's most famous meat and three, the OK Cafe... This place has been there for years, and is actually owned by the same people who own the famous Bones Steakhouse. The wait staff here are dressed as if it were the mid 1950's... To start, I had some baked wings...

 

And, for dinner tonight, the bone in pork chop, collard greens, and fried okra...

 

Not as good as the Houston's pork chop the other night, but still very good. Also, this was the second time today that I had collard greens. And the fried okra? I love, love, love fried okra, and this was really good and fresh...

Everything looks great, but I give a hard pass on the okra.

On ‎7‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 12:39 PM, BNL1213 said:

Thursday night, July 27

 

Hello again!  I am back for part 2 of my 7/27 day to get into the Chef's Table.  I will start by saying that I waited to book my reservation until I was on ship because I was hoping the price would drop.  But that didn't happen and then when I made it, as stated previously, the reservation got lost and I thought I was out of luck.  But alas, it came through in that mysterious Royal Caribbean way!

 

So I headed to Bolero to meet up per the invitation.  I got so lost trying to find Bolero, btw.  I kept walking right by it, because for some reason I thought Bolero was a restaurant, and that we were to meet in the bar of the restaurant.  Anyway, I eventually just asked a ship's officer I ran into on my wandering and led me right over to the bar I had walked by half a dozen times.  Oh well.  So I immediately met a couple there and started chatting. I was a bit nervous attending this alone, but I also didn't want to miss out!  And being such a last minute invitation, I didn't have time for social anxiety to kick in!  The bartender handed us all champagne to sip on while we waited for our host and the other dinner attendees to join.  After about half an hour, we were escorted to our table that was tucked up on a balcony in the dining room.  It was a really interesting location since there were no other tables around us, but a little louder than I was expecting for fine dining.  We each had our own personalized menu left at our assigned place setting, which outlined each course along with the wine pairing (check out all the wine glasses provided!!). 

 

 

When we sat, our host/server explained the process and what we can expect.  It wasn't long before we got our first pour and first course, the Scallop Carpaccio

Delicious once I removed the slice of radish.  It was very strong and overtook the taste of the fish.  A nice start, though!  The server came by and then introduced each of us to the next wine and described course two, the Smoked Tomato Soup.  

 

omg..... omg..... so damn good.  I practically licked the whole bowl.  It didn't look like it would be very interesting when they put it down... i mean, looked like regular old tomato soup with a dollop of cheese and some croutons.  But the taste was unreal.  That smokey flavor was so addicting!  and then having the wine with it.  It was crazy good.  

 

Next up was the lobster salad, which was actually three chunks of lobster tail.

 

Really interesting flavor with the sweet of the pineapple and vanilla.  I may have wolfed that one down way too fast.  Of course, at this point, we are three or four glasses in with wine and conversation really starts to get funny and loud.  We had such a crazy fun outgoing group that it made it that much better.  

 

Our next course was not a favorite of mine at all, but I normally don't like fish with skin on, plus it was over a mediterranean flavored salad that is just not normally my jam.  

 

But that was fine because that meant I could save room for the main course coming........  And we finally were switching to a red wine.  I was so surprised to see that they were serving us Caymus, which is a really really yummy Cabernet at a higher price point than I normally pay for in the wine store!  So score for me!  Our Chef would come out every course or two and explain how he prepared and what the flavors were in each dish and how they played off each other.  Very interesting and he was super personable.

Beef Tenderloin (sorry, started eating before remembering to snap - wine brain!)

 

and finally our dessert which was a such a unique experience..... they came by with this chocolate ball:

And the server came over to each plate and poured hot chocolate over it until the ball melted around a scoop of ice cream.  OMG, it was decadent and delicious. 

 

 

At this point I am so far deep into the wine I don't remember if we had a dessert wine.  I don't believe we did, pretty sure we were still just enjoying the Caymus.  We then sat here for about another half hour or so chatting.  Such a fun night!  I was concerned at the price of it, but when it was over, I would definitely say it was worth the price for the experience.   I can see how some people would be one and done with Chef's Table, but I would definitely try and do it again when we go on our next cruise in a couple of years.

 

The dinner got over a little after 10pm which meant too late to attend the Quest unfortunately.  I was looking forward to it, but at this point I was so FULL and tired, I looked forward to just going back to the room.  

 

Ok, you probably already think I am little crazy, but I have a question as a first time balcony passenger.  Every night I thought it would be great to grab a drink and head back to my room to sit on the balcony and read or play a game with DS.  But every time I did, it made me so uncomfortable to sit out there!  I just felt like it was so dark and the waves were rough and crashing and that I would fall off, never to be heard from again.  I just didn't enjoy it out there at night as much as during the day.  Such a strange and disconcerting feeling.  Does anyone else feel that way at night on your balcony?

 

So that concludes Thursday.  Tomorrow is our Barbados day!  

 

 

 

I've only had a balcony once, but I loved sitting out there at night alone. Just looking at the stars and listening to the waves. I fell asleep several times.

Love the review so far!

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

After finally getting my car into the garage, and having a quick shower, I walked down to Holeman and Finch for some drinks and food... First drink of the day (but, definitely not the last...) a herrudura margarita...

 

For lunch today, I ended up just having some leftover goat curry from the Jamaican restaurant last night, so I needed some food to go with that... They had something on the menu called fried Buffalo chicken skins, so I had to see what that was all about...

 

How were these?

29 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

I needed some real food, now that I'd sucked down a few drinks and an appetizer... I knew that it would come to this... Their world (well, Atlanta, at least) famous, double cheeseburger...

 

They make their own ketchup here, and it's pretty amazing with those freshly cooked fries. I had another margarita to go with it, even though I knew that my bill was getting larger by the minute...

 

At this point, I was feeling good, but not yet drunk... I knew that if I continued, I'd have a bill that I would regret in the morning. I knew that there was beer at home in the refrigerator, so I went ahead and asked for the tab. It ended up being about $85... Plus tip, that would put me a little over a hundred, for about an hour and a half... I paid up, and started walking back home...

 

About ten minutes later, I was back at Casa del Sid, and just hoped that I would be able to get into the building... (Spoiler alert, I did...) There's beer here, so at least I'm not running up a tab at the rate of about twenty dollars every fifteen minutes...

Yum!

21 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

I've been wanting to get over to Heirloom Market BBQ for several months, but it just hasn't happened... Well, today was the day! I was already out on the motorcycle, so it was a pretty quick hop skip and a jump across town... It's basically tucked away in the side of an old convenience store, and it's busy from open until close. During lunch hours, there's a line coming out the door and out into the parking lot. Sometimes, later in the day, they'll run out of stuff, and just close down. It's take out only, but they have a small standing room only area off to one side, but there is no seating whatsoever. When they opened a few years ago, they set a new standard for barbeque in the entire region. It's owned by Koreans, and many of their items have a Korean flair. They have five different sauces, each one great and unique. I will just drink some of their sauces by themselves.

 

They also have a rotating selection of sandwiches and sides, as well as the permanent menu. Today, their special sandwich was the North Carolina pork, so I had that, and some of their great collard greens and a Mexican Coke...

 

I cannot stress enough how great this place is... It is definitely a must do if you're ever in the Atlanta area... It is sort of in a strange place, and maybe a little out of the way, but it's that good...

If I get back to Atlanta, I'll definitely try this place. I love BBQ & this seems like a delicious twist. 

4 hours ago, JennVT said:

Have a great 4th y'all! I'm taking off shortly to go pick up 6 lbs of beef tenderloin for grilling. It seems likely that some beer will somehow end up in my cart as well. And more soda for palomas.....which will mean I need to buy more tequila. 

 

We also have to drive over the mountain to my parents. My Dad is having 2 should replacement surgeries this summer and I am surprising him with an electric lift recliner so he will be able to get up and down without Mom's help. He has parkinson's so getting up on a good day takes him some leverage and a couple tries. 

My dad has Parkinson's too & he loves his electric lift recliner. 

You will win! Kill him with your silence!

22 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

Y'all know that I'm a joker, or at least trying to be funny 99.9% of the time, but I'm going to be serious for just a minute... The owners dog, Koda was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor about a week ago... She was considering having him go through 12 rounds of chemotherapy, but decided that since he's not in pain, and otherwise happy, just to let him enjoy every minute, rather than go through that... If any of you believe in devine intervention or prayer, could you please think about him... I've known Koda since the day she brought him home. He could literally fit in the palm of your hand... He has lived an extraordinary life, and had it better than most humans for certain... He's always been a joy to play with, and having him here at the store always brings in customers, if only to stop by and pet him... I'll be drinking one to you tonight, little buddy...

 

 

 

So sorry about Koda! I think just letting him enjoy his time is best. Chemotherapy is worse than cancer in many people cases I've seen. I wouldn't put my dog through it.

It's my first check in every day, too. I love most of your food/drink choices. Even though your life may not have turned out how you expected, you're making the best out of it. And we really are enjoying your journey. Keep on keeping on!

And some good strong drinks!

Right after the passage that says "Thou Shalt Let Thy Wife Shop As Much As She Pleases, and Thou Shalt Not Count, Nor Judge, Her Boxes of Black Shoes When She Returns. THIS! LOL! This is me all day!!!

Watching Chopped on Food Network and there is a male chef named Sakari! On Food Network's site, it says season 41, episode 13 Team Ice Cream. But if you look on Wikipedia's site under list of Chopped episodes, it's under season 42, #514 Team Ice Cream on June 11, 2019. The chef's name is Sakari Smithwick, eliminated after dessert. Your Sakari was the 1st in my mind though! 😁

You're putting your place together quickly & it looks great!

Watching Chopped on Food Network and there is a male chef named Sakari! 

I just searched yesterday to see if you had a new review up and today, here it is! YAY! Loving it as always!

I did Grand Turk, the DR, Aruba & Curacao on the Vista in March 2017. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Great start to your review! I've never been on Horizon, but I loved her sister, Vista!

Those are two of my favorite foods: shrimp and pie!

I like the new place too.

Enjoy the memories and find peace in them. Today is my husband's & I 17th wedding anniversary. We try to make memories because every day isn't promised to anyone. Enjoy life! Having a great steak and some great wine today too!