Luminae Burger

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, TeeRick said:

I do like a 5 Guys burger too.  Maybe they should put a franchise on Celebrity ships.  That would be awesome.  Sort of like Johnny Rockets on RCCL.  Good burgers there too.

I also love their fries but they way they over fill the serving I eat far more than I should. 

 

How about peanuts.... to go along with the theme. 

[DaKahuna]

7 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm a big burger fan and is probably my favorite thing to eat.     I enjoy the Luminae Burger but have to admit it isn't the best I have ever eaten.   I would take a 5 Guys Burger over a Lumnae Burger any day. 

Jim,

 

 I am curious about your opinion of the burger from The Habit Burger Grill.  For a single patty burger they have replaced Five Guys at the top of our list.   My favorite thing about both is that you can get fresh jalapenos with them. 

 

[DaKahuna]

I miss the Bison burgers from Fudrucker's .. maybe the next time I am out and about in Ashburn, VA. 

 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

6 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I think I am spoiled by the gourmet burgers available in my hometown, because I was really unimpressed with Luminae's burger after reading all the hype on here.

There are a lot of opinions out there about everything and so there are bound to be different opinions about the burgers at Luminae.  We had our first burger there on a February cruise on the Reflection mostly because of comments I read on Cruise Critic.  My DH thought the bun was too thick and I thought the beef patty was too thick.  Just goes to show.......

[Jim_Iain]

38 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Jim,

 

 I am curious about your opinion of the burger from The Habit Burger Grill.  For a single patty burger they have replaced Five Guys at the top of our list.   My favorite thing about both is that you can get fresh jalapenos with them. 

 

I have only tried the Habit Burger once.   Locally it is just across the street from 5 Guys.   It was ok but I prefer Five Guys.    I'm curious about the Smash Burger I saw someone mention.   I saw one close to my Son's house.     I think the closest one to my house is a good 10-15 miles away.

 

I'm not big on Jalapenos buy you would be my daughter's best friend, she puts hands full of them on everything she eats.

[DaKahuna]

 Although it had nothing to do with their burgers, I have avoided Smash Burger since a friend of mine received a cockroach in his milkshake.  I was sitting in the booth next to him when he took a ship of his shake and then pulled a cockroach from his month.  Needless to say the shake that he had just bought me went untouched. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

4 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 Although it had nothing to do with their burgers, I have avoided Smash Burger since a friend of mine received a cockroach in his milkshake.  I was sitting in the booth next to him when he took a ship of his shake and then pulled a cockroach from his month.  Needless to say the shake that he had just bought me went untouched. 

 

Yikes... that would be enough to turn you and me both off. 

 

After the big issue of the Pink Slime at McDonald's I couldn't eat one for 3-4 years.  

[sdnich]

I am just curious if anyone knows if they have a gluten free bun option in Luminae?? I went gluten free since our last cruise! And did love a good burger from time to time.

[39august]

I expect you only have to ask to get gluten free anything at Luminae. However, I would ask upon the first experience dining there. Then expect to have that option by the next day. 

[sdnich]

3 minutes ago, 39august said:

I expect you only have to ask to get gluten free anything at Luminae. However, I would ask upon the first experience dining there. Then expect to have that option by the next day. 

True ! They have always been so accommodating I have never had any special request! Oh except for gelato ! I asked for it 2 nights and then it came every night ! 🙂  I miss Luminae !

[Jim_Iain]

I would expect they would have a gluten free alternative as I'm sure it is not an uncommon request.

 

On our last cruise we were in AQ and on Blu Menu they had a number of items available every day.  One item was a BeyondBurger (veggie burger) -   One night I told our waiter I just wanted to try it in addition to my choice for the evening.   It only took me one bite to say  I'm glad I order the entree I did.      I'm sure some must enjoy it but I thought it was terrible.

[jagoffee]

My DW and I enjoy the Luminae burger on occasion, but we always spilt the burger with our own fries.  It is very thick. We like the Lawn Grill version just a little more.

Edited February 26, 2022 by jagoffee

[Northern Aurora]

Interesting reading.  I've always thought that the Luminae burger was overrated but I have to admit I am not a great fan of hamburgers in general.  

 

My husband loves lamb, and will order the lamb version when offered.  The ones he has had were 100% ground lamb -- not a mix of beef and lamb.

[dateacher]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

I miss the Bison burgers from Fudrucker's .. maybe the next time I am out and about in Ashburn, VA. 

 

I didn't know there was still a Fudrucker's. Definitely one of the best burgers ever.  I'll check it out the next time I am out there.

[WonderMan3]

10 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I think I am spoiled by the gourmet burgers available in my hometown, because I was really unimpressed with Luminae's burger after reading all the hype on here.

Same. Although I will say, in like the first year or two that Luminae was operating the burger was very good, better than any other onboard. Then they did something to the quality and since I think my mid-2017 cruise onward it has been disappointing and really not much better than a burger from the buffet (which isn't horrible btw). The worst burger I ever had on a Celebrity ship honestly was the "Luminae Burger" I had served at the Retreat sundeck on Edge. At this point my favorite burger onboard is at the pool grill, the one on Edge being fantastic. I have not tried the burger at the Rooftop Grill though so I can't make a full comparison to all burgers onboard.

Edited February 26, 2022 by WonderMan3

[Guppy99]

8 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Do you have a meat grinder?  I guess I could try a food processor.

Food processor makes a mushy mess. I have a grinder attachment for my mixer, but I lost the directions and can't recall how to put it together.

[Guppy99]

I know everyone has vastly different likes and dislikes, but recently I've been traveling ob different ships and lines.  I now believe that it depends upon who is doing the cooking. The same dishes are vastly different in presentation and portions, and I'm also thinking that is not just from ship to ship but chef-to-chef as well. 

[abbydancer2003]

16 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm a big burger fan and is probably my favorite thing to eat.     I enjoy the Luminae Burger but have to admit it isn't the best I have ever eaten.   I would take a 5 Guys Burger over a Lumnae Burger any day.  The Luminae Burger is cooked fresh to the temperature you request and served hot.    To me it is too large and rarely eat the whole thing.  

 

Having said that I also really enjoy the burgers near the pool.   Always have to have a couple of those. 

I have always found the Luminae burger too think, so I have them make it half size (horizontal cut on the burger so whole burger just half height).  On the Summit this summer, between me, my sister, and my friend, at least one of us would have it every day.  It was great!

 

And 5 guys?  I personally way prefer In-n-Out and at 5 guys I usually get a hot dog.  The fries are good, though as are the peanuts.

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

Just take it to the meat counter in the store and ask them to grind it for you.

 

good suggestion.

[39august]

I also find the Luminae burger as well as bun too thick. I actually prefer the Mast Grill burgers. 

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

There's a couple of secrets to Guys, their burgers they have to adhere to a recipe of certain ingredient quality, bean counters be damned.  While they use a quality blend, they also use butter and Garlic-paste on the buns.

 

The biggest factor with burgers is always going to be the quality of the beef, many pre-packaged hamburger from chain supermarkets are just grounded leftover scraps.  Yet many supermarkets will grind your steak for free if you ask the butcher.  If you can find hamburger that states "chuck", you're already doing better than most.  Even cooking that from frozen would be better than a never frozen patty of ground scraps.  If one is wanting to elevate them even more you get into blends and many "elite" blends include brisket and short rib.  Finally, if you're local Costco or Sams Club has American Wagyu hamburger, it's a bargain at about $7/lbs which can be frozen.  From there, season them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and some Worcestershire sauce, toast and butter the buns and put on which ever toppings you desire and you will have a burger that's consistently better than 95% of the burgers out there.

 

 

OK do you prefer a healthier burger or tastier burger?  The taste of a burger is really dependent on the cut/quality of meat as you say and also highly related to %fat content.  My dw makes burgers at home with very lean (93-95%) ground sirloin from the supermarket.  Maybe healthier no doubt but kind of tasteless IMO.  When I am grilling I choose the 85% ground beef of good quality and they taste so much better.  A lot of the fat burns off in the grilling.  I know many experts recommend 80% for best taste.  We also get 99% lean ground turkey and make burgers.  Very much tasteless unless we add a lot of seasonings.  But healthy.  Not a fan of veggie /meatless burgers.  Sorry @Bo1953.

[Bo1953]

17 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

OK do you prefer a healthier burger or tastier burger?  The taste of a burger is really dependent on the cut/quality of meat as you say and also highly related to %fat content.  My dw makes burgers at home with very lean (93-95%) ground sirloin from the supermarket.  Maybe healthier no doubt but kind of tasteless IMO.  When I am grilling I choose the 85% ground beef of good quality and they taste so much better.  A lot of the fat burns off in the grilling.  I know many experts recommend 80% for best taste.  We also get 99% lean ground turkey and make burgers.  Very much tasteless unless we add a lot of seasonings.  But healthy.  Not a fan of veggie /meatless burgers.  Sorry @Bo1953.

@TeeRickYou have yet to have one of my homemade burgers... (vegan of course) LOL

 

On our next sailing we may have the opportunity to sail in Aqua and they offer the over processed IMO Impossible Burger slime!!! LOL, but that is okay I can only hope that it is not the same for the Pool Grill...

 

My local WFM butcher will grind a .25# of dry aged beef fat into my freshly ground beef which adds lots of flavour as I understand it from the carnivores who have them... LOL, that is an idea to consider.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

[TeeRick]

9 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

@TeeRickYou have yet to have one of my homemade burgers... (vegan of course) LOL

 

On our next sailing we may have the opportunity to sail in Aqua and they offer the over processed IMO Impossible Burger slime!!! LOL, but that is okay I can only hope that it is not the same for the Pool Grill...

 

My local WFM butcher will grind a .25# of dry aged beef fat into my freshly ground beef which adds lots of flavour as I understand it from the carnivores who have them... LOL, that is an idea to consider.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

The Impossible Whopper at BK has 34 grams of fat and 630 calories.  I'll stick to leaner beef burgers!

[keesar]

8 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

@TeeRickYou have yet to have one of my homemade burgers... (vegan of course) LOL

 

On our next sailing we may have the opportunity to sail in Aqua and they offer the over processed IMO Impossible Burger slime!!! LOL, but that is okay I can only hope that it is not the same for the Pool Grill...

 

My local WFM butcher will grind a .25# of dry aged beef fat into my freshly ground beef which adds lots of flavour as I understand it from the carnivores who have them... LOL, that is an idea to consider.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

 

I also had a great tasting burger using 75% "lean" ground beef.  The problem occurred with the flare-ups on the Weber gas grill.  It was delicious. I have tried the 93% lean but not appetizing for me.  

 

The rolls in Luminae are just too much bread.  But they do make lunch look bigger.  

 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

14 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

OK do you prefer a healthier burger or tastier burger?  The taste of a burger is really dependent on the cut/quality of meat as you say and also highly related to %fat content.  My dw makes burgers at home with very lean (93-95%) ground sirloin from the supermarket.  Maybe healthier no doubt but kind of tasteless IMO.  When I am grilling I choose the 85% ground beef of good quality and they taste so much better.  A lot of the fat burns off in the grilling.  I know many experts recommend 80% for best taste.  We also get 99% lean ground turkey and make burgers.  Very much tasteless unless we add a lot of seasonings.  But healthy.  Not a fan of veggie /meatless burgers.  Sorry @Bo1953.

 

Without a doubt I prefer tastier.  You are correct with the fat ratio however it might not even require much attention as most cuts are around that ratio; also many elevated burgers are closer to 70/30 yet you have to ensure this a ground roast and that hopefully didn't use trimming.  A chuck roast and brisket averages 20% fat so you simply just need to grind it; most supermarket chains will do grind a steak/roast for free.  Short rib is closer to 25% so still pretty close 80/20.  A lot of gourmet chefs including the most popular Gordon Ramsay use butter, he generally brushes it onto the patty just before it's done and others mix in the butter into the raw meat prior to forming patties.

 

Speaking of mix ins, if you're willing to experiment try the following as it adds a lot of flavor without adding much calories or fat, ask the DW to mix in a heavy pinch/pour of Worcestershire sauces (adds umami), pepper and garlic powder and just a small pinch of flaky/kosher salt (not too much as Worcestershire adds salt).

 

If anyone wants an amazing burger, I highly recommend a burger from a mid chain steak house.  Ruth Chris, Mortons, Capitol grill, Flemings, etc.  Better than 99.99% of the burgers out there at a descent price considering it's a gourmet burger and can be on special during lunch or happy hour.  If the thought of going to a steakhouse to eat a burger makes one uncomfortable, order it take out on your way home from work or running errand and surprise your spouse/family at home.