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Host Dan

By Host Dan,
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BWIVince

BWIVince

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IMG_1549.thumb.jpeg.0ead890ea9453b109e131cd8ff40b6ac.jpeg

Here’s a fun memory…


We talked recently in another thread about Piero Selvaggio and his consultancy for Prego where he contributed a select number of dishes to be featured among Crystal's regular dishes there, but we seldom talk about his counterpart that contributed a similar number of dishes for Crystal’s (at the time) Asian Fusion concept, Jade Garden (only on Symphony).  

Yes, Wolfgang Puck was the Nobu before Nobu in Crystal’s history!  I’ve mentioned the many concepts of Jade Garden before, and one of the iterations was a fusion concept bolstered with dishes by Wolfgang Puck inspired by his L.A. restaurant, Chinois on Main.  Like Selvaggio’s consultancy, and unlike the licensing deal with Nobu, Crystal just got recipes and training for a set number of dishes, the rest of the menu, venue, service and concept were Crystal’s to manage in both cases.  This project started before Crystal’s work with Nobu started, reportedly, but from a passenger perspective we started hearing about both at roughly the same time, and the two projects operated concurrently for a while as they were on different ships.  Both the number of Selvaggio and Puck dishes were scaled back over time, and this was one of the final concepts for Jade Garden before the conversion to Silk Road in 2008.  

 

I no longer have the full menu, but this section above appeared alongside the regular items developed by Crystal’s chefs, the same way Selvaggio’s dishes had a separate section of the Prego menu around 2003.

 

The fun part is that at least two of these items are still in regular circulation on Crystal — the Chinois Chicken Salad, and the Mongolian Lamb Chops with Cilantro Mint Vinaigrette.  I still smile when I see them listed, knowing their long history.

 

Enjoy!

Vince

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

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For those who enjoy walking on the Promenade Deck and want to know how many time arounds equals a mile or a KM  and which direction to walk.  If you've never walked the promenade deck the arrow is always in the same position. Just glad it isn't facing in the up or down direction. Houston we have a problem.


Keith

 

IMG_3316.thumb.jpeg.b278d596ca27fee19829906c2a8563c8.jpegIMG_3317.thumb.jpeg.bdc990853ae129acbb53738708e48591.jpeg

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BWIVince

BWIVince

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2 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

For those who enjoy walking on the Promenade Deck and want to know how many time arounds equals a mile or a KM  and which direction to walk.  If you've never walked the promenade deck the arrow is always in the same position. Just glad it isn't facing in the up or down direction. Houston we have a problem.


Keith

 

IMG_3316.thumb.jpeg.b278d596ca27fee19829906c2a8563c8.jpegIMG_3317.thumb.jpeg.bdc990853ae129acbb53738708e48591.jpeg


Im still waking up, and looked at the photos too quickly and thought that was one picture, not seeing the railings clearly…. My heart literally started racing and I panicked, thinking the arrow was pointing the wrong way!  😆 The top picture is clearly a sign on the superstructure instead of on the bulwark (where the arrows normally are on Seeenity), so it would be opposite…. Anyway, I need some coffee now clearly.  lol. And a walk around the deck, if I had one.

 

Vince

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KenzSailing

KenzSailing

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On 9/20/2023 at 6:48 PM, KenzSailing said:

 

The Chez takes a Night Off, Part 2:

 

Or: Adventures in dining here in the DMV(District, Maryland, Virginia)

 

There's this Table 22 outfit that is basically offering a one-stop-shopping service to restaurants for take-out/delivery orders.  Essentially, what restaurants were doing to survive during the pandemic, but with a "you cook it, we'll take care of the rest" model.  They handle the on-line ordering front end, delivery(inside the beltway), probably provide ancillary services like packaging recommendations, etc.  They appear to be continental US wide, but they are really big in DC.  You sign up for a restaurant and it's one meal a month, cancel anytime(I really like that no subscription is required.)  It's a way to get high end meals delivered to our home, with just a bit of reheating involved.  We're signed up for L'Ardente and The Dabney w/Petite Cerise.  To give you an idea what I'm talking about, here's our last  menu from The Dabney/Petite Cerise:

 

Chilled summer corn soup, shrimp, poblano and vadouvan

Heirloom tomato panzanella salad, ricotta salata, red onion and basil

Duck leg confit, ragout of white beans, herbs and peppers served with peach gastrique

Nectarine rice pudding, orange lavender honey, tangerine lace, white chocolate

 

Some assembly required(this meal came in 16(!) containers of various size.)

 

Now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

     

 

We got the September offering a couple of night ago.  It came in 33 containers.  I swear, I'm working as hard putting these pre-made meals together as I would whipping up a simple at home.  Might be verging on overkill.

 

To put it in this board's terms:  some nights you're ready for the Osteria, some nights you just want Prego.

 

(That's a semi-wry comment, so let's pass on the what-do-you-mean "just" want Prego replies.)  

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