Comfort Food in the Dining Room...

[jfishe]

As for salads, you have to love the servers in the dining room... every night when we sat down, they knew that our teenage son wanted a plain boring lettuce and dressing salad. No tomatoes, no cucumbers, no fancy colors... just iceberg lettuce and ranch dressing. He only asked for it on the first night and after that, they knew. As for comfort food, we were on the Zuiderdam floating around during Frances and everyone seemed a bit on edge as to when we were going to actually get into port, and the mac and cheese and meatloaf were hits ! I think people were ready to be off that ship !

[RuthC]

Many in HAL's demographic are once-again single, and cooking even "comfort food" is more than they do for themselves at home. It can be a welcome addition to the menu.

 

As long as the menu choices aren't reduced to make room for the comfort food selections I'm pleased to have the choice.

I'm thrilled that the "always available" choices are back. I really missed them.

[sail7seas]

Caesar salad is my fave. Remember the "good old days" when they were tossed tableside?

 

Sure do, Jim.

 

We also remember when they passed the lovely silver server of various vegetables. I miss that alot. Always a choice of 3-5 nice vegetables and they were actually a side dish and not just garnish as they are now.

 

I have begun requesting a 4x the normal portion of whatever vegetable comes with the entree I am ordering. I love veggies and hate they think they're plate decoration only.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Personally I agree with you, Sail. But DH ordered the meatloaf on our last 7-day and loved it. I never would order comfort food on a cruise, but it doesn't bother me that it's there. So if some people enjoy it, why not? They are feeding thousands, after all. Different strokes for different folks. JMHO:o

 

On the other hand, I wouldn't mind paying just a tad extra and going on a Gourmet Cruise ... nothing but the "pinnacle" of fine dining every night. Now that would work for me. DH may have to catch another cruise for his meatloaf;) .

[sail7seas]

We also remember when they had the lovely tray of French pastries each evening in addition to the regular dessert menu. Remember the wonderful neopolitans, the eclairs etc each evening?

[jfishe]

Oh my goodness.... between this thread and the favorite drink thread and our cool, cloudy Seattle weather, I think we ALL need to be on ship somewhere !!! With snacks, and drinks !

[Sueseb]

Are they serving Roquefort or blue cheese dressing on the Zaandam yet? A couple of years ago they didn't have any. Finally each night they brought my DH a bowl of mayonnaise and a bowl of blue cheese! He had to mix it himself.

[ekerr19]

We also remember when they passed the lovely silver server of various vegetables. I miss that alot.

 

I do too! I loved how the veggies were served - it was more "family style" and there were plenty of them...

 

I also remember that the menu was more like a book instead of a single sheet... I miss that too.

[Peggy Sue]

I was surprised to find how some foods named "comfort" were things like quail! We enjoy reading the daily menu offerings .. we didn't order any comfort foods on the Volendam last November..but I did ask the waiter to bring out a small taste of the meatloaf so we could try it .. actually, it wasn't bad!!

 

I do like the anytime offerings. One evening I did opt for the broiled chicken .. all the fine food catches up to you after awhile. I usually ordered the baked potato and requested the caesar salad most nights.

 

We like trying new things, but we know a lot of folks who just don't care for anything spicy, or with "wierd" sauces (to quote their opinions!) ... so I guess seeing comfort food would be a welcome sight..although their meatloaf was made with veal and had a sauce over it .. it wasn't your traditional hamburger with some breadcrumbs etc. that plain eaters would opt for.

 

We've found the food on HAL generally excellent..agree need more veggies on the plate . and at times...a bit more seasoning!

 

Peggy Sue

[TrentS]

Comfort food in the dining room? On a seven or ten day cruise? What are they thinking?

 

Is it just my opinion or do others agree that we leave our homes for vacation to enjoy, among many others things, fine dining. Having food prepared and served for us that some of us never prepare for ourselves.

 

 

I can't imagine there is a huge demand for mac and cheese or meatloaf on a 7 or 10 day cruise. I think HAL looks ridiculous offering such things on short cruises. Actually.....they look very cheap IMO A way to offer a number of entrees and have a cheap meatloaf there as an option.

 

For the World Cruise....sure, that might make sense. After eating months of fine food, I can easily imagine guests might welcome some homey style meals.

 

Come on, Mr. Fancy New Chef in Seattle......Aren't you here to spruce things up; get the menus modern and tempting to today's cruiser.

 

Anyone agree?

Well I had thought I had taken my last HAL cruise and moved on, but if this is the case I may be back! What ship did you find comfort food on? I am one who loves most of the finer things in life but I draw the line when it comes to my food. I hate foo-foo food, I like things basic, plain and SIMPLE!!! Give me fried chicken, roast beef, turkey, ham, and plain mashed potatoes every day, and to me a salad is a bowl with iceberg lettuce and french dressing, period.

[Bookish Angel]

Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, etc. Yum.

 

I am an adventursome dilettante in many areas, but food is not one of them. Overall, I want it meatless, fresh and simple.

[bluehorizonlover123]

i love cesar salad and shrimp cocktail and cheesecake.

[sail7seas]

Well I had thought I had taken my last HAL cruise and moved on, but if this is the case I may be back! What ship did you find comfort food on? I am one who loves most of the finer things in life but I draw the line when it comes to my food. I hate foo-foo food, I like things basic, plain and SIMPLE!!! Give me fried chicken, roast beef, turkey, ham, and plain mashed potatoes every day, and to me a salad is a bowl with iceberg lettuce and french dressing, period.

 

 

 

The new 'comfort food' offerings are on all HAL ships' menus.

[stanford's girl]

 

I find any type of food "comforting"!!!!! :) :) :)

[richnorto]

For those who eat "comfort food" because of a sensitive stomach - I read elsewhere on these boards that if you take acidopholus tablets (live yogurt cultures?) beginning 2 weeks before the cruise and continuing through, you will have a stomach of "iron". I don't know if it's true, but it might be worth trying if there are foods you want to eat, but which have caused problems.:rolleyes: Anybody tried this or know more about it?

[ekerr19]

I am really surprised at the number of people who prefer the comfort foods... maybe this is why HAL began offering them and continues to do so - personally, I like having all the things that I can't easily make at home, or that I don't make because the kids won't eat.

 

Just goes to show - everyone has different preferences. :)

[Southbound]

We always enjoy the opportunity to try selections that I normally wouldn't prepare at home for dinner, such as beef Wellington, and certainly enjoyed doing so during our 14-day Rotterdam sailing this past Christmas/New Year's. However, there were evenings when we and our eight tablemates also tried some of the comfort foods. DH enjoyed the sliced beef tenderloin so much he requested seconds; another gentleman tried the lasagne and declared it excellent; a third tablemate said the lemon rosemary roasted chicken was terrific, and I was very pleased with the roast leg of lamb. Other selections during the trip were roasted cornish hen, honey glazed ham and, of course, meatloaf. We found the variety and quality offered quite satisfactory.

[dougnewmanatsea]

On our recent Veendam 12 day cruise, I think Caeser Salad was available every night at dinner.

I guess this is new then... And a good idea.

 

Most cruise lines' "always available" menus do not seem to extend to salads - just main courses and maybe (just maybe) side dishes.

 

they were actually a side dish and not just garnish as they are now.

Well... That's become quite a trend. I mean, who eats side dishes any more ;) ? It seems to me that restaurant food lately has become an assault on the idea of a balanced diet.

 

A couple of months ago we ate in a rather expensive restaurant in San Francisco (a great city for food - and coming from New York, the prices seem cheap!). What really surprised me was that if you ordered a main dish that was, say, a steak, all you got was a piece of meat, with a little garnish to make it look pretty. Now, I've been to plenty of restaurants that are a la carte, where you order your side dishes separately (and of course pay extra for them) - but this place did not offer any side dishes. None. I finally settled on an entree based more on the fact that it actually came with something (a few marble-sized parsnip puffs and a mound of some Asian leafy stuff that looked and tasted like spinach). It was certainly an interesting experience, and if this is the trend in cooking, I will have to start bringing my own vegetables to restaurants ;) !

 

Personally while I enjoy all different sorts of food, I can't stand a lot of the trendy nonsense that is being peddled so routinely these days. It often seems that the goal is include the most ingredients that the diner has never heard of, in one dish, regardless of how horrible the combination is. Another restaurant I ate at recently, the side dish for the entree I'd ordered was wilted something-or-other (another previously-unheard-of type of Asian shrubbery). That was the actual menu description, "wilted"! And I always thought "wilted" was a bad thing! I'd better not go someplace and complain that the salad is wilted, they'll think it's a complement ;) ! (For what it's worth, the greenery in question was definitely wilted... And lukewarm... And frankly it was quite revolting. It looked like something that some monster from a horror film might spew forth onto his victims. But I'm sure that for wilted whatever-it-was, it was very good, and no doubt professional food critics would coo over the stuff. To me, it was just some unappetizing greenish gunge...)

 

I was surprised to find how some foods named "comfort" were things like quail!

I'm rather surprised that that showed up as a "comfort food" item... That's something that I would think a lot of people, even those who are not totally unadventurous, would shy away from.

 

Anyway this is an interesting topic. We all have limits to what we will and will not dare eat; I know I have never eaten squab, and probably never will, solely on account of the fact that the French word for squab is "pigeon"...

[richnorto]

We always enjoy the opportunity to try selections that I normally wouldn't prepare at home for dinner, such as beef Wellington, and certainly enjoyed doing so during our 14-day Rotterdam sailing this past Christmas/New Year's. However, there were evenings when we and our eight tablemates also tried some of the comfort foods. DH enjoyed the sliced beef tenderloin so much he requested seconds; another gentleman tried the lasagne and declared it excellent; a third tablemate said the lemon rosemary roasted chicken was terrific, and I was very pleased with the roast leg of lamb. Other selections during the trip were roasted cornish hen, honey glazed ham and, of course, meatloaf. We found the variety and quality offered quite satisfactory.

 

In our household, beef tenderloin (@12.99 a pound) is a "special night" dinner served only about 1 time a month, and I wouldn't even begin to know how to fix lemon rosemary chicken, roast leg of lamb (I don't think I've ever even eaten lamb, BAAAH), or cornish hen. These are not "comfort foods in the South, they are specialties! It all sounds wonderful, especially the veal meatloaf! I actually grew up in SB, CA and ate alfalfa and avocado sandwiches, and never had straight beef in anything. My mother mixed 1/2 soybean in all beef dishes. Healthy yes, but...:rolleyes: . If you want to know what comfort foods I don't want to see on the menu... salmon patties (with or without bone parts), turnip greens or otherwise, beets, tuna cassarole (sp?), butter beans, black eyed peas and cornbread, ochra, and anything utilizing excessive onion or bell pepper!:p

[TrentS]

Somehow I don't think HAL's idea of "comfort foods" and mine are the same... Quail is definitely NOT a "comfort food"!!! I'd love to see some menus if anyone has them online somewhere.

[gizmo]

 

Another restaurant I ate at recently, the side dish for the entree I'd ordered was wilted something-or-other (another previously-unheard-of type of Asian shrubbery). That was the actual menu description, "wilted"! And I always thought "wilted" was a bad thing! I'd better not go someplace and complain that the salad is wilted, they'll think it's a complement ;) ! (For what it's worth, the greenery in question was definitely wilted... And lukewarm... And frankly it was quite revolting. It looked like something that some monster from a horror film might spew forth onto his victims. But I'm sure that for wilted whatever-it-was, it was very good, and no doubt professional food critics would coo over the stuff. To me, it was just some unappetizing greenish gunge...)

 

ROFLMAO :D :D Loved the description !!!

[ROZO'SBEAU]

Let's hear it for the MEATLOAF !!!!!!! Don't knock it til you try it.

 

I seem to recall that a Caesar salad was included in those standard fine-print always-available things at the bottom of the menus.

 

Whoever said that quail was on the "comfort food" menu?

 

If you don't like the stuff don't order it is what I would suggest....there are more choces than ever on the current menus.

Beau.

[Vic The Parrot]

I have to say, that on my recent Oosterdam voyage, if we enjoyed a particular selection from the menu, nothing was refused by our wait staff if we asked for another helping.

 

And if we asked to try another course, it was accomodated with grace. The closest selection to 'comfort food' that I had on board was the mashed potatoes I requested with my salmon one night.

 

I, too, miss the silver platter of fresh veggies... perhaps they needed to cut down on those who's eyes were bigger than thier stomach? IE., 'I'll have all the carrots, even tho I won't finish them.....'

 

 

 

Look at it this way, many are picky with food, and I'm no exception. It's good that HAL IS OFFERING those alternatives.

Why go on holiday if you can't look forward to enjoying your favourites, like in all resorts... And, to enjoy other dishes that the ships offer?

 

 

Some like em, some don't ....

 

At least there's variety, so we should stop whining about this already. Come meatloaf, or pizza, I'm still going on my next HAL cruise!

[Esme]

Let's hear it for the MEATLOAF !!!!!!! Don't knock it til you try it.

 

I seem to recall that a Caesar salad was included in those standard fine-print always-available things at the bottom of the menus.

 

Whoever said that quail was on the "comfort food" menu?

 

If you don't like the stuff don't order it is what I would suggest....there are more choces than ever on the current menus.

Beau.

 

 

Here's one for the MEATLOAF - Westerdam's chefs made a delicious meatloaf with mushroom gravy. I hesitated trying it because of all the adverse comments about it' date=' but there was nothing else on the menu that caught my eye, so I thought, what the heck, if it's no good, I'll send it back. Well, I ate every morsel. :D

 

I did try the pot roast one night and it was like shoe leather - sent that back.

 

Caesar salad was on the menu every night - listed at the bottom of the page.[/b']

[BoardwalkBabe]

I have to admit, I am happy to read about the comfort food options because I am a fussy eater and the last time we cruised, I was totally sick of eating steak and chicken for 7 days straight. If turkey and ham are on the menu, I'll be all set for the week. :)