Carnival MDR food quality going down?

[Keys2Heaven]

a good steak is trimmed of the outside fat and yes, the marbling of the inside fat is the flavor.

 

I can say without a doubt that the steak I ordered via the MDR was NOT trimmed.

[frayedend]

I'm kind of surprised that the supposed steak lovers here can't tell what cut of beef they have. It's pretty easy to learn the basics and be able to tell what you are getting. No steak should be well done that is served in the steak house. An earlier post said that some fatty steaks need to be overcooked to melt the fat. That's incorrect. Tough cuts of steak may be braised or bbq low and slow until the breakdown of collagen causes them to basically shred. But no grilling steak should be treated this way. A good steak will have a lot of marbling and not necessarily big chunks of fat. The thin marbling fat will dissolve even when medium rare.

 

Anyhow maybe some of you need some steak info...

 

Ribeye and Prime Rib: Same cut of beef. The ribeye is a steak and "prime rib" is a roast. If you slice up a prime rib into steaks you have ribeyes. Not all "prime rib" is actually prime and should be called "rib roast" if it's a lower grade.

 

Porterhouse: A T-Bone steak that has the NY strip on one side of the bone and a piece of filet mignon on the other. If the filet portion is removed then it's just called a T-Bone. If the bone is removed and no Filet, then it's a NY Strip and you should be able to tell by the shape.

 

Filet Mignon is the tenderloin. Very lean and not as flavorful but very tender even when cooked medium rare.

 

In any case if they served me a Flat Iron or Sirloin Steak instead of any of the above it would be very easy to tell.

[jocko4279]

Before my last cruise, I thought that maybe it had gone down a bit. With the implantation of American Table, I think it went up significantly. I felt every night I could find something that was good, to great. Before that offerings were kind of so - so.

[Cruisegirl6]

Keys2Heaven- It was not the same steak as the Steakhouse thats why, you and I know the truth!

 

Frayedend- Oh, trust me I know my beef! Its the stuff you get at the Carnival MDR you can't make heads or tails out of, because they buy the lowest quality human grade beef possible, certainly, I don't dine in restaurants that serve this type of beef nor do I purchase it at home, so of course, I can't tell what the heck I got.

 

I know the difference between the Rib Eye and Prime Rib of course...The Rib Eye is a cut from the rib section and the Prime Rib is the cut from the Rib roast....prime rib does not mean its prime grade or beef or even choice for that matter.

 

Porterhouse is the McCoy of the T_Bone, they are cut from the short loin area, T bone shape steak is divided one side a tenderloin filet and the other a top loin, which is known as the NY Strip.

 

Filet Mignon is my least liked out of the above....its taken from the smaller end of the tenderloin...it can be sold "whole" so you can make filet cuts, and the wider part of the tenderloin, its suppose to be the most desirable and more costly I think because a steer or heifer provides only a certain amount of filet mignon, this piece of beef also contains less connective tissue the reason why its tender, but its not as flavorful as the above cuts of beef, at least to me

 

Flat Iron is from the shoulder blade....generally should be marinated I bet you the flat iron steak and its tough and boy is it tough, its also a less expensive cut, the reason why Carnival serves you Flat Iron.

 

 

....now do I know my beef!!:D

[ryano]

.The Rib Eye is a cut from the rib section and the Prime Rib is the cut from the Rib roast...

 

Youve actually got this confused a little. The only difference is the ribeye is cut from the rib roast BEFORE cooking. "Prime Rib" is cut from the same rib roast AFTER cooking. They both come from the same section of rib roast. You are correct in that "Prime Rib" does not always mean USDA Prime. In that case it should just be called rib roast. Not Prime Rib.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the flat iron cut as long as you eat your steaks on the rare side. Its actually NOT the "cheapest" cut Anything past medium rare on flat iron and you might as well chew on a shoe. I have to agree in that all mass market cruiselines likely use Select cuts instead of Choice cuts in their included meats.

[Cruisegirl6]

Yes, correct the Rib Eye is cut from the rib before cooking and Prime Rib after. ;)

[VASOXFANN]

A gazillion food shows on every network, specialty grocery stores that overprice basic ingredients, a populace that eats out almost as much as they eat at home, millions of dollars spent on cookbooks which nobody ever uses (but the pictures are pretty). The current "fad" is that everybody has started thinking of themselves as foodies...they think they know everything about "great" cuisine, that the best food is created with the most obscure ingredients that you can't find anywhere, that the more obscure food is the better it tastes.

 

So, the "complaint" of the week is how "bad" food is on a cruise...'cause everyone is now a food expert and their palates are world's ahead of what is prepared on a ship. Ship's food hasn't changed to any great extent, but expectations by a whole slew of foodies has perpetuated the myth that it is increasingly bad, or awful, or uneatable, or wrongly cooked, or made of sub-standard ingredients.

 

Food is sustenance, it serves a purpose. Thinking that food is a source of elegance, a path to status is pretty much wishful thinking and just another "I'm better than the next guy because it isn't up to my personal standard" and a way of expressing that "I'm smarter, more discerning than the average joe".

 

Why do people think that an "inexpensive" cruise line should be up to the standards of a Michelin 5 star restaurant that charges $100 for a minuscule plate of food is just absurd.

 

This! Amen!

 

It cracks me up all of the people who brag about overpaying for their groceries and post that the food on Carnival isn't fit for dogs. :') Yep, you're a foodie....keep loving the smell of your own flatulence while the rest of us enjoy our cruises :*

[sfaaa]

while the rest of us enjoy our cruises :*

 

And cruise deals.

[Gypsywych]

I've been pretty vocal about my utter hatred of the American Table set up. The table ends up crowded and cramped, I miss the tablecloths, the dining room seems louder, and the service level has dropped due to Carnival cutting back on personnel.

But we've never eaten dog food on a Carnival ship, we've always found something tasty to eat, and we like the flat iron steaks.

 

I do wish they'd learn to make proper grits though. ;)

[JohnSpo]

I've been pretty vocal about my utter hatred of the American Table set up. The table ends up crowded and cramped, I miss the tablecloths, the dining room seems louder, and the service level has dropped due to Carnival cutting back on personnel.

But we've never eaten dog food on a Carnival ship, we've always found something tasty to eat, and we like the flat iron steaks.

 

I do wish they'd learn to make proper grits though. ;)

 

I am OK with no tablecloths but my water glass did slide around my table on my last cruise. I tried the flat iron for the first time and it was good cooked medium but I will try it medium rare the next time.

 

I do wish Carnival would make a proper mac & cheese.

[frayedend]

Youve actually got this confused a little. The only difference is the ribeye is cut from the rib roast BEFORE cooking. "Prime Rib" is cut from the same rib roast AFTER cooking. They both come from the same section of rib roast. You are correct in that "Prime Rib" does not always mean USDA Prime. In that case it should just be called rib roast. Not Prime Rib.

 

T.

 

Thanks. This is exactly what I was trying to say and you described it much better by mentioning the cutting after or before cooking. Yeah, and Prime used to mean USDA Prime. But over the years restaurants started calling it Prime Rib even though it surely is not USDA Prime. You will hardly ever see Prime Rib roast in a supermarket. It's always labeled Rib Roast and is usually Choice grade. Usually it's still awesome at Choice grade.

[First and Ten]

I know the difference between the Rib Eye and Prime Rib of course...The Rib Eye is a cut from the rib section and the Prime Rib is the cut from the Rib roast....prime rib does not mean its prime grade or beef or even choice for that matter.

 

 

....now do I know my beef!!:D

 

Not as well as you give yourself credit for....Rib Eye and Prime Rib are the exact same cut of beef....Prime Rib is cooked as a roast, then sliced whereas a Rib Eye is sliced first then cooked as a traditional steak. Both are from the same cut on the cow

[Cruisegirl6]

Fact is, Carnivals any type beef in the MDR really is very bad....the Steakhouse was very good each time we had it and the one time I had the "upgraded steak" in the MDR it was not the same piece of beef as the Steakhouse offers.

Not going forward about the cuts of beef fact is Carnival gives everybody the lowest possible human grade form.

[sparks1093]

Fact is, Carnivals any type beef in the MDR really is very bad....the Steakhouse was very good each time we had it and the one time I had the "upgraded steak" in the MDR it was not the same piece of beef as the Steakhouse offers.

Not going forward about the cuts of beef fact is Carnival gives everybody the lowest possible human grade form.

 

For the price I pay for the beef in the MDR I find it to be quite good.

[tinkerman70]

I have a theory I want to pose to everyone and see what yall think. From what I have heard on reviews on here and from what I have seen in the past several years, the food quality in the MDR is on the decline. It seems variety selection and quality are declining. Is that a fair statement? If it is true, why do you think?

 

My theory is that cruise lines, Carnival specifically (maybe others) are trying to get passengers to switch to the pay for restaurants by lessoning the quality and variety in the main dining room. I think they are doing this gradually to eventually make the change to a pay for all of your food cruise system. I think if they just starting charging for all food on the cruise, they would see big declines in ridership so they have decided to get customers to slowly pay for better food, comparable to what you used to get in the mdr.

 

What do yall think?

you hit that right on the head. it does not take a rocket scienitist to figure what they are up to

[Thorncroft]

A gazillion food shows on every network, specialty grocery stores that overprice basic ingredients, a populace that eats out almost as much as they eat at home, millions of dollars spent on cookbooks which nobody ever uses (but the pictures are pretty). The current "fad" is that everybody has started thinking of themselves as foodies...they think they know everything about "great" cuisine, that the best food is created with the most obscure ingredients that you can't find anywhere, that the more obscure food is the better it tastes.

 

So, the "complaint" of the week is how "bad" food is on a cruise...'cause everyone is now a food expert and their palates are world's ahead of what is prepared on a ship. Ship's food hasn't changed to any great extent, but expectations by a whole slew of foodies has perpetuated the myth that it is increasingly bad, or awful, or uneatable, or wrongly cooked, or made of sub-standard ingredients.

 

Food is sustenance, it serves a purpose. Thinking that food is a source of elegance, a path to status is pretty much wishful thinking and just another "I'm better than the next guy because it isn't up to my personal standard" and a way of expressing that "I'm smarter, more discerning than the average joe".

 

Why do people think that an "inexpensive" cruise line should be up to the standards of a Michelin 5 star restaurant that charges $100 for a minuscule plate of food is just absurd.

 

Ain't that the truth. People use word play to try to inflate their importance. "Working in hospitality" could be anything from washing the pots and pans in a sweaty restaurant kitchen to being CEO of a major hotel chain. Not that there's anything wrong with either position, or anything in between.

[VASOXFANN]

 

I do wish they'd learn to make proper grits though. ;)

 

True dat!

[Cruisegirl6]

I love grits and agree

[Keys2Heaven]

I love grits and agree

 

Is mixing jelly or jam in your grits acceptable? Aside from cheesy shrimp and grits, it's the only way I'll eat them. ;p

[bobbismith]

Compared to what we eat at home Carnival's MDR is like a 5 star restaurant to us lol... We dont eat fast food but me and the wife both cook very plain vegetables and crock pot meals usually so for us the MDR is great lol... We dont care much for the buffet, but we have never had a bad meal in the MDR on Carnival or Royal... The food in the dining room is much better than any of the restaurants that we frequent in the $20-25. Guess we are super easy to please when it comes to food...

I agree. Cooking at home is basic! MDR is great

 

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[MandyMooToo]

Is mixing jelly or jam in your grits acceptable? Aside from cheesy shrimp and grits, it's the only way I'll eat them. ;p

 

 

Personally I like butter, salt and pepper but to each his own. Of course I once knew a person who put ketchup in their grits!! Now that was odd to me[emoji15]

 

 

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[VASOXFANN]

Personally I like butter, salt and pepper but to each his own. Of course I once knew a person who put ketchup in their grits!! Now that was odd to me[emoji15]

 

 

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Butter, salt and pepper is yummy, as are cheesy grits, as are shrimp & grits. The other concoctions mentioned here.....not so much :o:o

 

Love Waffle House grits

[Cruisegirl6]

Keys2Heaven- There are many variations in adding things to grits and yes, jelly is one way some people like to add to their grits, some also like fresh fruit, sausage, shrimp, crawfish, cinnamon and sugar.....I wonder how it is with honey I may just give that a try. :D

[Thorncroft]

I adopted the south almost 40 years ago and still haven't learned to love grits. Can I still be an Asian redneck? LOL

[Cruisegirl6]

hahaha