The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[travelberlin]

One of the excursions offered by the Serenity, when we were cruising with this ship, included a vip service on one of the Canary Islands. We booked it and I was astonished to see that the vip service consisted in some bananas and a low quality sparkling wine. I am not sure why I am remembering this right now 🧐. 
 

 

[KenzSailing]

7 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

My favorite barbecue grills are charcoal.  I've had the gas grill in our last home but I still prefer my Weber Kettle Grills where I've cooked lots of items including Turkey as large as 29 pounds. Ugh getting it off the grill.  LOL.

 

Well you are never too old to try something new so we just received our first smoker pellet grill.  On Sunday, fired it up and seasoned it and now it is ready for cooking.  Although it will be very cold here this starting tomorrow (two Ughs) and we might have a small ice storm early Thursday morning, I am hoping to use it this Saturday.  I won't be testing it out with a turkey and while I won't be able to cook the mother of all Turkeys according to my son who was my advisor for grill selection I could cook two 20 pound turkeys.

 

It won't be the Trident Grill and I would rather be on a cruise but it should be fun.

 

 

 

A Traeger?  I did not see that coming.  I've been trying to settle on an approach to grilling for months now. I have a little baby Kamado Joe in the garage, waiting for spring to fire it up.  Not sure that will be my ultimate solution, but there was a holiday sale that was too good to pass up.  And I've already bought a table/stand for it that cost more than my bargain grill (that's how they hook you.)

 

Will be interested in your experiences with a pellet.  Conventional wisdom is that they are great for set-and-forget cooking (more time to drink beer) but they do require occasional maintenance.

 

Time will tell! 

 

PS: You plan on cooking for the homeowners association with that beast?  I mean, Anne Marie can't eat THAT much.

[Keith1010]

KenZSailing. I will let you know.  And they make larger ones. LOL.  They do a great job with instructions and documentation. Even I could figure it out.  I know. Amazing. 
 

Keith

[KenzSailing]

 

Speaking of the real 50s Diner, here's tonight's menu at the Chez: 

 

OLoPP's meatloaf

Velveeta mac n cheese

Romaine lettuce with blue cheese dressing

(OK, that last one could have been iceberg with Green Goddess, but still)

 

Try telling me that's not the way to eat on the first of February in the northern hemisphere.

  

[BEAV]

You’re right except when February 1 falls on a Tuesday. Here in California, which last time I checked, is still in the Northern Hemisphere, tacos are the LAW each and every Tuesday. 
 

(absolutely no offense to the lovely OLoPP)

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by BEAV

[KenzSailing]

Beav,

 

Fair, but there's not a a taqueria on the planet thinking "yeah, that GIF will be good for business."

 

[oakridger]

@KenzSailingHa ha, yes!  I found the twirking taco a little........disturbing!!!  

 

😳

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, KenzSailing said:

Beav,

 

Fair, but there's not a a taqueria on the planet thinking "yeah, that GIF will be good for business."

 

 

1 hour ago, oakridger said:

@KenzSailingHa ha, yes!  I found the twirking taco a little........disturbing!!!  

 

😳

 

It got a lot of laughs on the Carnival board! 😂🤷‍♂️

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from a 2013 cruise on my next ship, Enchantment of the Seas.  Groundhog day was the first of 2 sea days from Labadee, Haiti, on the way back home to Baltimore.

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

I just found out one of our premier regional theaters has someone on staff whose job title is "Intimacy Consultant."  Apparently it's very common for the stage and screen.

 

And all those years ago I thought going into information technology was a smart career move. 😏 

[Ant@sea]

On 1/31/2022 at 5:02 PM, BWIVince said:

In the spirit of this thread, I thought I'd dig up examples of the Royal Feast and 50's Night menus from the generation of Keith's pics.

 

As a side note, within the context of how subjective food is and how different Serenity may be from Symphony, I usually strongly disagree with people that say how much worse food has gotten over the years.  As someone who regularly reads old cruise menus for entertainment (and not just Crystal's), I'm regularly reminded just how much Crystal's food has improved over the years -- ESPECIALLY under Genting.  Here's some strong evidence to that point.  😉 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vince

I always thought those “theme night” was a bit out of place on a luxury line. 

[rafinmd]

I have a sunset today instead of a sunrise and am shocked to even have that.  It's from my 2016 Antarctic cruise on Crystal Symphony and on February 3 we were pretty much in the middle of the Antarctic experience.

 

 

Roy

[BEAV]

How many people does it take to fill a PH shower?

 

#SymphonyMemories

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by BEAV

[Keith1010]

Brian, now the question is was their a group photo of you all taking a shower.  🤩

 

Well, maybe I am better off not knowing.  LOL.

 

Memories....

 

Keith

[BEAV]

Only the Butler knows.....

 

 

[Keith1010]

First Passover Seder for us with Crystal Cruises in 2007, ironically as Serenity was leaving Egypt.  Back in the days of large food portions. This was for one person so you didn't have to choose ahead of time if you wanted white or dark meat or both.  

 

NOTE: Single portion rather than for the entire table.  🤗

 

Keith

 

[BEAV]

Waikiki sunset February 4, 2021

 

 

 

[KenzSailing]

7 minutes ago, BEAV said:

Waikiki sunset February 4, 2021

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous.

 

If our previously allocated travel budget unfortunately frees up, I'm booking a week at the Halekulani to help relieve our disappointment.

If our travel budget

[BEAV]

Halekulani would be a very good alternative to a Crystal cruise gone awry.

 

Introduce a few menu items from the Chez to the Head Chef of Orchids if you wind up there. 😉

 

Halekulani was still closed during my month long stay last year. Missed their signature coconut cake! 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2015 Maasdam cruise that was the effective start of my planned circling of the Americas.  On February 4 we visited Devil's Island.

 

 

Roy

[May B]

20 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

First Passover Seder for us with Crystal Cruises in 2007, ironically as Serenity was leaving Egypt.  Back in the days of large food portions. This was for one person so you didn't have to choose ahead of time if you wanted white or dark meat or both.  

 

NOTE: Single portion rather than for the entire table.  🤗

 

Keith

 

I don’t think I ever heard about the seder leaving Egypt. Rabbi Morrie must’ve loved it! Well, all the guests must’ve.

Edited February 5, 2022 by May B

[Mackenzie1]

Halloween 2019 on the Crystal Symphony! So much fun! I posted this on another thread, but this one is more appropriate. 

  

[May B]

8 minutes ago, Mackenzie1 said:

Halloween 2019 on the Crystal Symphony! So much fun! I posted this on another thread, but this one is more appropriate. 

  

I looked at this and thought, this looks REALLY familiar. Could I have been on this same cruise? And lo and behold, I walked right into the scene, taking my own video, just as fast as my little iPhone could manage. THANK YOU for posting this! So exciting! Was it New Orleans to Miami?

 

Oh, how fortunate I feel to have gotten to enjoy this.

[Mackenzie1]

28 minutes ago, May B said:

I looked at this and thought, this looks REALLY familiar. Could I have been on this same cruise? And lo and behold, I walked right into the scene, taking my own video, just as fast as my little iPhone could manage. THANK YOU for posting this! So exciting! Was it New Orleans to Miami?

 

Oh, how fortunate I feel to have gotten to enjoy this.

Yes! This was the Crystal Symphony New Orleans to Miami cruise in October 2019.  I have other clips from that Halloween cruise that’ll post. I hope you were in them as well!

[Mackenzie1]

Halloween 2019 on the Crystal Symphony: