Fine Cut Steakhouse

[CruiseRQA]

Sailing on Beyond the first week in February.    Eden was fully booked from the time I made our reservation and it looked like Fine Cut Steakhouse had limited availability as well and so I went ahead and made a reservation at the Steakhouse.

 

I am an aficionado of steak restaurants.   Never met a Ruth's Chris or Flemings that I didn't enjoy.    Perusing the menu at Fine Cut shows they are offering a prime ribeye and prime NY Strip but a "certified" black angus tomahawk.    My question is do you think they are really serving prime ribeyes and strips?    I recognize that the term "certified" is a bit nebulous but "prime" should be clearly defined.  

 

I think "prime" makes a big difference in a steak.   Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a steak at Texas Roadhouse but it ain't prime.  

 

If I knew the steak at Fine Cut was really "prime" I would order one, if not I might go for the lamb chops or Dover Sole.  

Edited January 4, 2023 by CruiseRQA

[NutsAboutGolf]

Perhaps you’re confusing “prime” with “Wagyu”?  Prime isn’t all that expensive, costco and Sam’s club sell it about $20/lb  Costco now even has American wagyu which is better than prime but not as good as Australian or Japanese wagyu.  The certified part is to certify a angus breed.

 

Steaks won’t be as good as Ruth Chris but are overall really good and would be the best steak you can get on the ship

[George C]

I was disappointed at quality of the food in prime cut on beyond a month ago, but it was outstanding on edge last year.

[NutsAboutGolf]

10 minutes ago, George C said:

I was disappointed at quality of the food in prime cut on beyond a month ago, but it was outstanding on edge last year.

in all fairness, I only had it on the edge in July 2021.  There does seem to be a steady decline in the food quality

[RedIguana]

3 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Perhaps you’re confusing “prime” with “Wagyu”?  Prime isn’t all that expensive, costco and Sam’s club sell it about $20/lb  Costco now even has American wagyu which is better than prime but not as good as Australian or Japanese wagyu.  The certified part is to certify a angus breed.

He is not confusing "prime" with wagyu. The USDA has a beef grading scale, with the three that are typically sold in retail operations being select, choice, and prime. Mid and high end steakhouses in the US typically serve prime. He is questioning if the steakhouse actually used USDA prime beef.

[NutsAboutGolf]

23 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

He is not confusing "prime" with wagyu. The USDA has a beef grading scale, with the three that are typically sold in retail operations being select, choice, and prime. Mid and high end steakhouses in the US typically serve prime. He is questioning if the steakhouse actually used USDA prime beef.

 

"Prime" is very common at steakhouses and is rarely mislabeled with the exception being "prime rib".  Wagyu is far more uncommon and is often mislabeled; at Craft Social they call their sliders "Wagyu-style" which is accurately labeled

[RedIguana]

4 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

at Craft Social they call their sliders "Wagyu-style" which is accurately labeled

Anything labeled "wagyu-style" is misleading, and just a made-up marketing term.  Wagyu is a term specifically referring to one of 4 breeds of Japanese cattle. It is either wagyu or not wagyu, there is no "style". 

[AstoriaPreppy]

When we sailed Edge in the summer of 2019, they were actually doing dry-aged steaks in Prime Cut, which were spectacular. Not sure if those still exist, but this was by far the best steakhouse experience I've ever had on any cruise ship, rivaling the best venues in NY or Vegas. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

4 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Anything labeled "wagyu-style" is misleading, and just a made-up marketing term.  Wagyu is a term specifically referring to one of 4 breeds of Japanese cattle. It is either wagyu or not wagyu, there is no "style". 

 

100% agree it's misleading but at least they're not flat out lying by calling it Wagyu (without the -style) which was a common practice a decade ago

[neverlaysup]

6 hours ago, CruiseRQA said:

Sailing on Beyond the first week in February.    Eden was fully booked from the time I made our reservation and it looked like Fine Cut Steakhouse had limited availability as well and so I went ahead and made a reservation at the Steakhouse.

 

I am an aficionado of steak restaurants.   Never met a Ruth's Chris or Flemings that I didn't enjoy.    Perusing the menu at Fine Cut shows they are offering a prime ribeye and prime NY Strip but a "certified" black angus tomahawk.    My question is do you think they are really serving prime ribeyes and strips?    I recognize that the term "certified" is a bit nebulous but "prime" should be clearly defined.  

 

I think "prime" makes a big difference in a steak.   Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a steak at Texas Roadhouse but it ain't prime.  

 

If I knew the steak at Fine Cut was really "prime" I would order one, if not I might go for the lamb chops or Dover Sole.  

Two issues with Prime Cut for me. First, it's in the center Atrium and above the Martini Bar.....VERY LOUD at showtime!! Second, there was zero seasoning on my steak. There was no amount of salt and pepper that was gonna save it once it was dropped in front of me.

[volk904]

On my last cruise in November the fine cut steakhouse showed booked up for months before the cruise. When we boarded i went and asked if they had any openings. They had many openings each night.  Just go early when you board. They will be pushing the dinner packages. I think they keep many open because they are pushing the multi night deals. 

[CruiseRQA]

17 hours ago, RedIguana said:

He is not confusing "prime" with wagyu. The USDA has a beef grading scale, with the three that are typically sold in retail operations being select, choice, and prime. Mid and high end steakhouses in the US typically serve prime. He is questioning if the steakhouse actually used USDA prime beef.

Yes, exactly.

My question remains.   The menu has "prime" ribeye and strip steaks.   Does anyone know or at least care to opine if Fine Cut Steak house is actually serving USDA prime graded ribeyes and strip steaks? 

Edited January 5, 2023 by CruiseRQA

[CruiseRQA]

21 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Perhaps you’re confusing “prime” with “Wagyu”?  Prime isn’t all that expensive, costco and Sam’s club sell it about $20/lb  Costco now even has American wagyu which is better than prime but not as good as Australian or Japanese wagyu.  The certified part is to certify a angus breed.

 

Steaks won’t be as good as Ruth Chris but are overall really good and would be the best steak you can get on the ship

Your $20/lb ribeye from Costco is from February 2022.   I doubt that's the price today.  A weekend trip to Costco is likely in the cards for me.  I will report back the current price. 

[RedIguana]

58 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

Your $20/lb ribeye from Costco is from February 2022.   I doubt that's the price today.  A weekend trip to Costco is likely in the cards for me.  I will report back the current price.

That price is about right. Beef prices have been pretty stable for the last year or so, I.E. 80% higher than pre-pandemic. Prime rib-eye is about $20 a pound at Sam's Club, prime filet about $25. Used to be about $12 and $14 respectively (going from memory here)

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 hours ago, CruiseRQA said:

Your $20/lb ribeye from Costco is from February 2022.   I doubt that's the price today.  A weekend trip to Costco is likely in the cards for me.  I will report back the current price. 

Still about the same price; prime is not uncommon or that expensive 

[CruiseRQA]

The question remains.

 

Do you think USDA prime grade steaks are being served at FineCut Steakhouse as they state on the menu? 

[Nachosdelux]

4 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

The question remains.

 

Do you think USDA prime grade steaks are being served at FineCut Steakhouse as they state on the menu? 

 

yes, they are prime grade beef.  

[danceswithphones]

Dinner plate size serving was wonderful. I didn't ask about its credentials. We ate there twice and loved it. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

It has been answered as "yes" multiple times...Such an unusual question... 🤔 It's like asking "do you think Celebrity uses real onions in their French onion soup?"

Edited January 5, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[Arubamoose]

We were on the Apex last February on an 8 day cruise and we ate in Fine Cuts twice and Eden once.  DH ordered the tomahawk twice.  I ordered it once and another cut once.  

Best steak on a cruise ship.

Ordered a rib eye on the Enchantment in Chops and half of it was inedible - gristle.

 

Hoping that it's still as good for our February B2B on the Edge.  We have a three night on each leg.  With all the chatter about the cutbacks I am worried.

[CruiseRQA]

32 minutes ago, danceswithphones said:

Dinner plate size serving was wonderful. I didn't ask about its credentials. We ate there twice and loved it. 

 Your picture looks like a wonderful piece of prime rib.   Since we are arguing about meat here it is interesting that the name "prime rib" has nothing to do with the USDA grade of "prime".   Glad to hear that you enjoyed Fine Cut enough to go twice.   I'm sure we will enjoy it too.  

[CruiseRQA]

27 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

It has been answered as "yes" multiple times...Such an unusual question... 🤔 It's like asking "do you think Celebrity uses real onions in their French onion soup?"

Actually it has been answered only once:  in post #17.    

 

Not an unusual question at all.   I don't think your analogy holds.   Again there is a big difference in grades of meat and so if you are advertising "prime" and charging for "prime" it had better be prime.  Onions?  Are there different grades?   Don't think so. 

[CruiseRQA]

19 minutes ago, Arubamoose said:

We were on the Apex last February on an 8 day cruise and we ate in Fine Cuts twice and Eden once.  DH ordered the tomahawk twice.  I ordered it once and another cut once.  

Best steak on a cruise ship.

Ordered a rib eye on the Enchantment in Chops and half of it was inedible - gristle.

 

Hoping that it's still as good for our February B2B on the Edge.  We have a three night on each leg.  With all the chatter about the cutbacks I am worried.

 I had "steaks" in MDRs of HAL that were about 1/4 inch thick and tasted like cardboard.   My wife had a "steak" on an AmaWaterWays river cruise this summer that almost was unrecognizable as a steak. 

 

Hence my skepticism about having a steak on a cruise ship. 

 

Glad to hear you found steaks in Fine Cut to be good.   Eden seems to be fully booked for the week we are on Beyond in February.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

Just now, CruiseRQA said:

Actually it has been answered only once:  in post #17.    

 

Not an unusual question at all.   I don't think your analogy holds.   Again there is a big difference in grades of meat and so if you are advertising "prime" and charging for "prime" it had better be prime.  Onions?  Are there different grades?   Don't think so. 

 

It's very unusual, lol...Perhaps the better question wouldn't be to a specific item like beef or soup but rather "Is X false advertising any items on any of their menus?"

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 minute ago, CruiseRQA said:

 I had "steaks" in MDRs of HAL that were about 1/4 inch thick and tasted like cardboard.   My wife had a "steak" on an AmaWaterWays river cruise this summer that almost was unrecognizable as a steak. 

 

Hence my skepticism about having a steak on a cruise ship. 

 

Glad to hear you found steaks in Fine Cut to be good.   Eden seems to be fully booked for the week we are on Beyond in February.  

 

MDR has prime rib (that isn't USDA prime) and beef wellington, they're both "good".  Any other steak like their timeless NY strip, steak and frits or Manhattan Beef ranks from below average-bad.  Obviously things will be different in a paid specialty restaurant