Equinox MDR 11-night Menus as of 2/7/11, plus LONG MDR review

[jc foster]

An outstanding pro-review. Thank you.

[Baybear]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your detailed food review. Great to see someone who actually cooks and knows about the finer flavors of food that can be attained with freshness and time. We (DW and I) cruised on the new Celebrity Eclipse in late January 2011 and I wrote up a long review of that ship with heavy emphasis on food... I listed EVERY breakfast item on their amazing buffet I was so impressed with the selection and quality. I just saw by your "link" that you did a good job of covering those items also!

 

We did not have as many items as you and your DH (or... we didn't remember in detail about each one), but I found your descriptions and reviews on the ones we did have to parallel what we experienced on Eclipse.

 

I haven't yet read your auxiliary review of the specialty restaurant, but we ate in Murano on that cruise, and I thought the "delta" difference between the food in Murano and the MDR was so slight (service, ambience and noise level were MUCH better in Murano than in the MDR, but I'm talking solely here about the taste and textures of the food itself) that we stuck to the MDR the rest of the cruise. We've been on Carnival, HAL, QE2, NCL, Costa, etc. (see "signature") and except for the QE2 in the mid 80s, Celebrity had the best food in my opinion of any of those lines.

[Perthjo]

Dear Alsmez

thank you for this fabuous critique. About to cruise for the first time ever on Equinox and your information will help us greatly in our dining choices. We can't stand bad mass produced food and are healthy eaters, so again, can't thank you enough.

[suec12]

My daughter and I are sailing on Eclipse in a week - I really enjoyed reading thru your review this morning! I know the cuisine and preparation varies a bit from ship to ship but your review will certainly point us in the right direction. I've always thought Celebrity was strong with their beef and lamb dishes - I will be sure to skip the risottos! I'm also glad to hear they seem to be soliciting honest feedback - several years ago I remember our waiter suggesting that the meals should be rated excellent or he would be penalized. We always thought the cuisine was good, esp. by cruise / large venue standards, but there was room for improvement. Recently we have cruised Azamara - I am interested to see how X compares at this point.

 

And your comment about the pork belly is a classic ("smoked on its balcony and wore shorts on formal night"') - it will bring a smile to me all day when it rolls across my mind!

[dorlene]

Could you please post your receipes that you got for the Onion Soup & Meatballs

Thanks

[dragline]

Thanks Alsmez for your food review. I am just off the Constellation 2/26 - 3/12 sailing. We had Select dining in the MDR for 12 of the 14 nights. I must say I was impressed with the French bread and breadsticks in the MDR every night. I'm from San Francisco, so I know a little about French bread! In general, I thought all the bread and pastries on the Constellation to be high-quality and very tasty, especially in the Cafe al Bacio.

 

- Regards, Dragline

[cirpi]

SUMMARY

There were certainly good meals to be had in the MDR, especially when it came to beef and pasta. These were always cooked well, which is a real credit to the MDR staff, because they’re not always the easiest things to get right. However, overall I felt the MDR experience fell short of what a line like Celebrity should be able to accomplish. There are plenty of small things that should be easy to improve that would really elevate the experience, without costing much (if anything).

 

Thank you for a thorough and thoughtful report on Celebrity food. While you are mostly spot on, my experience with pasta on five transatlantics (Millennium, Equinox and Azamara Journey -- and Silhouette later this year) has been just the opposite. I apparently picked an off night for spaghetti carbonara. It arrived as a gummy, gloopy mess. We've made this dish possibly 100 times over the past 30 years and it never has turned out any less than it should be. However, making it does require patience and fairly precise timing. So, if Celebrity finally has learned to do it right, that's what I will order on the October TA.

[Alsmez]

Cirpi, if you are a stickler for traditional carbonara (i.e., no cream, just eggs cooked by the heat of the pasta), you may not be happy with what was served in the MDR, as it most definitely had cream in it. It was still delicious and recognizably carbonara, but not 100% classic. I hope you have good luck with pasta on your cruise though - it really was the saving grace of our dining experience on several occasions.

[Alsmez]

Thanks Alsmez for your food review. I am just off the Constellation 2/26 - 3/12 sailing. We had Select dining in the MDR for 12 of the 14 nights. I must say I was impressed with the French bread and breadsticks in the MDR every night. I'm from San Francisco, so I know a little about French bread! In general, I thought all the bread and pastries on the Constellation to be high-quality and very tasty, especially in the Cafe al Bacio.

 

- Regards, Dragline

 

Well, as they say, chacun a son gout. IMO, French bread/baguette needs to have a crust, and none of the bread on Equinox did.

[Squire5000]

Are selections from the "Classic Dinner" items available at all times in the MDR in lieu of whatever dining theme might offered on any particular night?

[PS90]

Thanks for the review. This is seriously one of the best food-related Celebrity reviews that I've read on CC.

 

And your review actually makes me feel quite optomistic about the food on our upcoming trip, since I thought one of two things about every review you gave - either "well, I have no idea how that particular dish is supposed to taste, so I probably won't mind as much", or "well, it sounds like I have never had these dishes prepared as well as the OP expects them to be on a normal basis, so I probably won't mind as much".

 

Obviously, I'm not a foodie and don't live in NYC. ;)

[Alsmez]

Are selections from the "Classic Dinner" items available at all times in the MDR in lieu of whatever dining theme might offered on any particular night?

 

Yes, the "Classic" selections are always available.