Luminae Burger

[NutsAboutGolf]

53 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

 

Dry aged burgers are absolutely amazing yet it does make me uncomfortable paying a premium to turn a dry aged steak into a burger (I dry age my own steaks at home, BTW).  $7/lbs for American Wagyu is the most I'm willing to pay.

 

[PTC DAWG]

This thread is making me hungry. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, keesar said:

 

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.  

 

 

 

It's highly recommend to utilize a cast iron pan/griddle right on the grill, if you don't have one and want an affordable option look not further than Freight Harbor Tool

 

[canderson]

24 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

It's highly recommend to utilize a cast iron pan/griddle right on the grill, if you don't have one and want an affordable option look not further than Freight Harbor Tool

 

 

FWIW:  Any time you see a Harbor Freight item with a price ending with a "7", it's a closeout and availability may be very limited.  In this case, it's even spelled out.  No new stock of this item is being shipped to stores, and most stores have only a small handful of these still in stock, but they don't move very fast.

 

These pans are reasonably heavy.  Seasoning strongly recommended.  Can't beat the price.

 

 

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

OK - made it onboard (Reflection) JUST IN TIME to get into Luminae today and ordered the burger. I've had one before, but it's been several years.

 

I enjoyed it (well, half of it - PRIME RIB tonight, brought over from the MDR). Yes, the bun was a little big for my taste, though it was proportionate to the meat IMO. I have a fairly large bite/opening, and can handle it, but would prefer if the whole burger was about 2/3 the height. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

OK - made it onboard (Reflection) JUST IN TIME to get into Luminae today and ordered the burger. I've had one before, but it's been several years.

 

I enjoyed it (well, half of it - PRIME RIB tonight, brought over from the MDR). Yes, the bun was a little big for my taste, though it was proportionate to the meat IMO. I have a fairly large bite/opening, and can handle it, but would prefer if the whole burger was about 2/3 the height. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom

Thanks for sharing!  On a scale of 1 to 10 with a 10 being the best, what would you rank it, guessing a 5?

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

6 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Thanks for sharing!  On a scale of 1 to 10 with a 10 being the best, what would you rank it, guessing a 5?

 

I'd give it a solid 6 - as it was above average. If a 1 is a microwave burger from the freezer and a ten is a couple I've enjoyed in Vegas 

[Woody14]

this thread is making me want to book a suite just so I can get in to Luminae for a burger.    But alas I have to settle for the mast grill.

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I'd give it a solid 6 - as it was above average. If a 1 is a microwave burger from the freezer and a ten is a couple I've enjoyed in Vegas 

So do you rate it 6 because of the bun height?  If it had a smaller bun would you rate it higher?  Just curious.  

[LGW59]

14 hours ago, Woody14 said:

this thread is making me want to book a suite just so I can get in to Luminae for a burger.    But alas I have to settle for the mast grill.

Not a thing at all wrong with a Mast Grill burger!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

19 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

So do you rate it 6 because of the bun height?  If it had a smaller bun would you rate it higher?  Just curious.  

A smaller bun would probably see my rating go to 7.5. Then switching the thin slice of American cheese for a thick sharp cheddar would easily rate an 8.

 

Lunch today - Porch Burger 🍔

[NutsAboutGolf]

17 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

A smaller bun would probably see my rating go to 7.5. Then switching the thin slice of American cheese for a thick sharp cheddar would easily rate an 8.

 

Lunch today - Porch Burger 🍔

 

Thanks for trying it, very curious to hear how the Porch Burger compares to the Luminae burger

[MikeMary4449]

On 2/25/2022 at 10:10 PM, WonderMan3 said:

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). 

FYI, when the Luminae Burger was first offered, there was onion mixed into the meat mixture.  A few years later they took the onion out of the meat and added a bacon-onion jam topping instead.  As someone who is allergic to onion this was a "win" for me as I can order what I feel is a very tasty burger without the bacon-onion jam.  It was GREAT in December, 2021 on the Connie and can't wait to order it again in March and April on the Reflection!

Mary

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, MikeMary4449 said:

FYI, when the Luminae Burger was first offered, there was onion mixed into the meat mixture.  A few years later they took the onion out of the meat and added a bacon-onion jam topping instead.  As someone who is allergic to onion this was a "win" for me as I can order what I feel is a very tasty burger without the bacon-onion jam.  It was GREAT in December, 2021 on the Connie and can't wait to order it again in March and April on the Reflection!

Mary

I often add a package of dry onion soup mix when I make burgers, so good! 

[DaKahuna]

I like adding spicy brown mustard and A-1 Steak Sauce to my burgers.  

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

FWIW - I ate the burger as it came, w/out condiments. Creations like this (and the other specialty burgers onboard) are best consumed as intended.

 

Since the Lawn Club Grill has more burger offerings than we do sea days (2), I'll probably order two each time - for scientific research purposes only.  🙂

 

Tom

 

[keesar]

I still remember my loaded Mast Grill Burger with an Alaskan White Ale  on the Solstice in Alaska.  

[crusinthrough]

The Luminae burger is okay but nothing special.  The Mast burger is just as good.  Guy's burger beats both hands down.  Carnival scored on this one.  Guy's being complimentary is another score. 

 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

On 2/25/2022 at 3:50 PM, 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.

 

 

We get a brisket, short rib and I think sirloin from our butcher in made to order patties.

[PTC DAWG]

3 hours ago, crusinthrough said:

The Luminae burger is okay but nothing special.  The Mast burger is just as good.  Guy's burger beats both hands down.  Carnival scored on this one.  Guy's being complimentary is another score. 

 

Yeah, but you’re on Carnival.. 🙂

[NutsAboutGolf]

9 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

We get a brisket, short rib and I think sirloin from our butcher in made to order patties.

 

That's one of the best blends, it can just be very expensive and even more so if one is incorporating dry aged.  My mindset is if I need to pay more than $7/lb for burger patties, I might as well get a steak.

[LGW59]

3 hours ago, crusinthrough said:

The Luminae burger is okay but nothing special.  The Mast burger is just as good.  Guy's burger beats both hands down.  Carnival scored on this one.  Guy's being complimentary is another score. 

 

But it's Carnival!  I'd never sail them again even if the had Ruth's Chris or DelMonico's and it was free every night of the cruise.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

35 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

That's one of the best blends, it can just be very expensive and even more so if one is incorporating dry aged.  My mindset is if I need to pay more than $7/lb for burger patties, I might as well get a steak.

Yes but have you priced steak lately? $26 a lb for fillets here.

[NutsAboutGolf]

9 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Yes but have you priced steak lately? $26 a lb for fillets here.

 

At warehouse clubs (they ship), the whole filet tenderloin is $13/lb for choice or $24/lb for prime.  American Wagyu ribeyes (my favorite) are $25/lb.  If there's a really special occasion, I usually get Jake's Creek Australian Wagyu, Ribeye was $55/lb last month

[keesar]

50 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Yes but have you priced steak lately? $26 a lb for fillets here.

Running between $14 and $16 a pound here.  I cooked one up this week and it was delicious.  Rubbed  in olive oil with ground pepper and salt.  A little butter added  while cooking on the gas grill.  A key is to bring it close to room temperature before putting it on then grill.