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The Almost Complete Food Lovers Guide to the Oasis of the Seas

BrianAlt

By BrianAlt,
in Cruise Foodies

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jjtt

jjtt

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Wow! I remember when it was far away. Chef's Table is coming up soon on Day 3. Spoiler? Wonderful!

 

 

OH MY GOSH!!!! YOU remember that!?!?! :eek: :eek: I AM impressed!!!

Yes, it is real close now. I can't get anything done around the house. I am always on this site!!! ;) Hubby still doesn't know about the Chef's Table, shhhhhh. :cool: :D

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wheretonow?

wheretonow?

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Thanks for the fabulous review. I really enjoy your writing style and it makes me feel like I'm tagging along (hope you don't mind :))

 

I love the idea of BBC time - would your DW mind if I borrow it for our next cruise? I actually forgot to have one on our last trip and now I'm regretting it!

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BrianAlt

BrianAlt

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Thanks for the fabulous review. I really enjoy your writing style and it makes me feel like I'm tagging along (hope you don't mind :))

 

I'm enjoying your tagging along! :D

 

I love the idea of BBC time - would your DW mind if I borrow it for our next cruise? I actually forgot to have one on our last trip and now I'm regretting it!

 

More the merrier! Remember, we would invite everyone we met to meet us there at 4 PM.

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BrianAlt

BrianAlt

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Part 4: Day 2 Giovanni's with New Friends

When I heard that Giovanni’s in Central Park was a “family style” restaurant, I have to say, I was a little disappointed. As I said to start this review (or guide), I eat at nice restaurants. New York City has some of the greatest Italian restaurants in the world. And those restaurants vary their cuisine from Northern, to Southern, to Continental with Italian style, there’s even one we frequent that’s Roman Jewish style. And of course there are family style places. I have no problem with family style, it has its place. I just wondered if a nice dinner on a cruise ship is the place for it.

 

Well, this isn’t like any family style Italian restaurant I’ve ever eaten at! I think they should drop that, because it’s a misnomer. Just say, “sharing is encouraged.” That would be enough. As I said in the previous part, Rachelle and Jackie joined us for dinner. We all arrived together just before 6:30 and the host looked at us a little funny. I think they knew I had changed my reservation to 6:30, but I think they weren’t really sure that the four of us were eating together. It wasn’t a problem and less than a minute later the four of us were sitting down for our meal.

 

The confusion in calling it, “family style,” is the thinking that you NEED to order that way, as a group. That the plates will be put down in the center of the table and you share. This was not the case.

 

We ordered the Caprese Salad, which says for 2, for the four of us. We each got our own plate. That was wonderful, but if I knew that could be the case we may have ordered differently. Not that we needed to order differently. Mostly I’m warning you, future diner at Giovanni’s, that if you want something, order it. Don’t worry about the “family style” thing. The salad was very good, typical Caprese, fresh and delicious. The basil was very flavorful.

 

My wife and Jackie ordered the Cioppino, which was lovely. The seafood was fresh and the presentation, pouring the broth over the seafood and bread, was spot on. Very flavorful, it had an ocean taste without being fishy.

 

For our pasta course we decided on 3 pastas. We knew it was too much for the four of us, but we REALLY wanted to try them all. So we ordered the 3 plates. I wanted the Maryland Crab Ravioli, we agreed on the Gnocchi with the Lamb Sauce and Jackie really wanted the Pappardelle. The Pappardelle was in a cream sauce and I’m not big on cream sauces, but we had 3 dishes and it would give me a chance to try it out.

The Ravioli was nice, but perhaps a little disappointing. It was sitting in what I would describe as a thickened broth. It was good, but I’ve had better. The Gnocchi was delicious! Little pillows of goodness, just like gnocchi should be. And the sauce? Wow, such great lamb flavor. My mouth waters thinking about it. But the surprise of the night? The Pappardelle! Wonderful dish! So flavorful. Get this dish! Get THIS dish! Others mentioned it to us when talking about Giovanni’s during the week. Nice call, Jackie!

Finally, three of us ordered the Filet Mignon and Jackie wanted the Ossobuco. Again, I figured it was a sharing situation, but each of us got our own Filet. Too much food, but it didn’t stop me from finishing. :D It came with French Fries. And they were delicious! Or could it be that I’ve been avoiding Fries for so long? We also ordered the Shrimp dish, which was put down in the center and we each had one. That was a nice little addition. However, once again, Jackie trumped us. The Ossobuco was the dish of the night. Actually, I didn’t try it, but I could tell by her reaction and Rachelle, who had both, declared it the winner!

 

For dessert my wife and Rachelle had the Doughnuts in Chocolate Sauce. Not sure what Rachelle thought, but my wife was disappointed. I had the Flourless Chocolate Cake, which was nice, and I’m not sure what Jackie had. We also shared a nice bottle of dessert wine after the ladies shared one of the bottles from their wine package with us. All in all, a GREAT dinner and so nice making new friends. We were worried that this would be more difficult since we weren’t eating in the MDR. But Cruise Critic made that easier!

 

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Jackie and Rachelle at Giovanni’s with us.

 

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My wife and me, seconds later.

 

Next Part - Part 5: Park Café and Chef's Table!

 

(next part won't be till at least tomorrow morning)

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Jan_In_Maine

Jan_In_Maine

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Thanks again! Now I'm going to have to start another list ... this one of food's to try. Think that Giovanni's will be the only time we will be eating away from the MDR ... but if your dinner's are as good as this one, we might change our minds!. Jan

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sailingawaysoon

sailingawaysoon

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Absolutely loving your review of all the food and restaurants, etc. Can't wait to see more. Something to look forward...yay! We are going on the Oasis in September, so I've picked a few restaurants already...very exciting reading your take on the food. Thanks for posting!

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Babyberger

Babyberger

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Thanks again! Now I'm going to have to start another list ... this one of food's to try. Think that Giovanni's will be the only time we will be eating away from the MDR ... but if your dinner's are as good as this one, we might change our minds!. Jan

 

Jan, I was thinking I also need to start a CANT MISS FOODS LIST to go with all my other Oasis notes!

 

Thank you again Brian for doing this!!!!

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BrianAlt

BrianAlt

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Was everyone dressed up for dinner at Giovannis?

 

This is an excellent question! As you can see, I was wearing a suit and tie. It was formal night. Formal wear is not required there, just smart casual. However, when we came in at 6:30 (pretty early) we saw many people there wearing shorts! We didn't leave Giovanni's till around 9:15. See, I threatened to eat slowly and did! :). Actually I think it was mostly due to the conversation with new friends. That always extends things. By the time we left everyone was well dressed. Actually there was a large table behind us that was filled with what looked like bridge crew. They were all very dapper. Thanks for reminding me of this.

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Babyberger

Babyberger

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Hey BabyBerger! Thanks for the invite, but ironically I actually was the one who started the original roll call thread for our cruise. I booked way back in August 2008! I'll be back soon...I promise.

 

That is too funny!!! Now that I look back 28 pages to the first page I see you on the roll call! Looks like a lot of people have come and gone, but glad to know you are still around. Give us a shout sometime ;)

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skandls

skandls

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Thanks for taking the time to write this post. We aren't going on the Oasis until next year - with all the restaurants on the ship we may not make it to the MDR at least for dinner. Did they have the 'chopped salad' bar in the MDR at lunch on sea days?

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Ella2

Ella2

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Brian, we have a group of 18 on the Oasis in about three weeks, and I'm really enjoying your alternative restaurant reviews! I have a feeling we are going to add more of those to our plans once on the ship (just have two booked now, plus we will do many of the others for breakfast/lunch that are not pre-booked). I've done the MDR menu for dinner plenty of times and just can't get that excited about it any more. There are just too many enticing choices on this ship to not add more alternatives in. Can't wait to read and see more...thanks for posting this! :)

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