What special dinners do you ask the maitre'd to cook?

[martyz]

On our last time the maitre'd offered to cook veal cutlet parm and garlic bread for my mom. It was the best! Have you ever ordered something special from the maitre'd????

[LARGIN]

The Maitre D' very rarely cooks anything any more.. Too busy managing the dining rooms..

[kayteeyvr]

maitre d'

nouna dining-room attendant who is in charge of the waiters and the seating of customers [syn: captain]

[johnmik1]

On our last time the maitre'd offered to cook veal cutlet parm and garlic bread for my mom. It was the best! Have you ever ordered something special from the maitre'd????

 

We were on Sea Princess in Sept. and I mentioned that I had not seen Veal Osso Bucco on the menu and I was presented with it the following evening,.

[floridarob]

I don't think they meant he cooked it personally but they requested it be made.

I have been on a few 30 day cruises and the menu gets boring, so I usually ask my head waiter about something good and go from there.

 

I will on shorter cruises ask to see the next days menu and if nothing sounds appetizing then request something special... I call it the "Hollywood Menu" ... people in Hollywood don't order off menus, they tell you what they feel like eating and get it made!

 

Needless to say my tablemates always will say "I didn't see that on the menu"

[Andee]

The only thing I've ever requested is to have something from the appetizer section of the menu served as my main course. Sometimes no entrees appeal to me, but I find two appetizers I like.

[britsbest]

Just take 2 appetisers (or is that a "z") and still eat off the menu!!!!!

[Pencruise]

Have requested a really good curry and have always managed to get it, usually one or two days notice though. Also requested melon and proscuitto as an appetizer again no problem.

[geoherb]

Our last couple of cruises, we've been at tables with people who had to order the night before because of their special diets. So, we get to see the next night's menu as well. We've had creme brulee when it wasn't on the menu by asking the night before. I know I don't need the calories, but it is so good.

[Colo Cruiser]

Haggas. ;)

[Coral]

I don't request anything from him (as I know they are very busy).

 

If they present something, I consider myself very fortunate and thank him (verbally and with tips) for his generosity.

[Druke I]

On occasion, I have asked the Table Captain to prepare a pasta dish.

 

In "the god old days" tableside preparation was very common - much less so today.

 

On the megaships, the maitre 'd is sometimes rarely seen; delegating many of the mundane tasks to Table Captains.

[kruisey]

Princess now makes most mornings the plain French Toast.

They used to always have the Special crisp kind covered in Cornflake bits.

A group of us requested this special French Toast for breakfast.....next morning they obliged us.:)

[johnmik1]

Princess now makes most mornings the plain French Toast.

They used to always have the Special crisp kind covered in Cornflake bits.

A group of us requested this special French Toast for breakfast.....next morning they obliged us.:)

 

The crisp french toast is called JB's french toast for James Beard.They used to serve it on the last day of the cruise.

[chasetf]

On our last time the maitre'd offered to cook veal cutlet parm and garlic bread for my mom. It was the best! Have you ever ordered something special from the maitre'd????

Nothing for us. We have never asked.... happy with the normal menu.

[cruisinbuddy]

So then, why do they have Chefs? Personally I couldn't see us asking him to cook for us, he's busy enough managing a dining room. Actually he probably got one of the Chefs to cook it for him and he'd keep the extra tip at the end of the cruise, and not share with the Chef.

[newmexicoNita]

Everyone has to do what they think is best, but I can't imagine asking for something special unless it was quite simple. I wouldn't walk into a land restaurant and ask the chef to make me something differnt than what was listed. I may ask to have a veggie substituted for another like I did on NCL in Oct. I asked for asparagus a couple of nights or I may ask to have a sause held but wouldn't ask for an entree that wasn't listed.

 

Nita

[kruisey]

i remember when princess used the Hilton Hawaiian Village for pre cruise and going to their famous Bali restaurant requesting their famous Rack of Lamb with Macadamia Nuts, which I had read a glowing report about in a magazine.Was told the menu had changed ...i gave a big sigh.;) :D Oh what a pity I had been reading how yummy it was.They made it specially for me and it was very yummy:D

[keener]

This past October i asked our waiter on the CB where were the curry dishes for the Caribbean night as i find that these dishes among others better represent the Caribbean!

Well before you knew it the Maitre D' was over asking me what i would like and they made it for the next evening. It was a huge platter that i couldn't finish, but alas most of the waiter staff confessed that they enjoyed the leftovers!!:) They even wondered if i might order it again. Hint! Yum yum

[rdsqrl]

On a cruise on the old Island Princess, I moaned gently to my tablemates about the dearth of chocolate desserts (I believe this must have been pre-Love Boat Dream), and the next night, our table was presented with a beautiful devil's food layer cake iced in chocolate and fantastically decorated with chocolate shavings and swirls. One of my best cruise memories and I'm just sorry I didn't have my camera with me at dinner. . .

[coiran]

Ask Tony!!

[pris993]

I don't think they meant he cooked it personally but they requested it be made.

I have been on a few 30 day cruises and the menu gets boring, so I usually ask my head waiter about something good and go from there.

 

I will on shorter cruises ask to see the next days menu and if nothing sounds appetizing then request something special... I call it the "Hollywood Menu" ... people in Hollywood don't order off menus, they tell you what they feel like eating and get it made!

 

Needless to say my tablemates always will say "I didn't see that on the menu"

 

We special order most nights. We check the menu for the following day to see if there is anything we want. If not - we special order. We usually find out what fish is available and request to have it prepared without any sauces, simply pan fried in olive oil. We don't eat butter and creamy sauces or shell fish. We sometimes ask for a very good steak or veal chop in lieu of the menu. We give a good tip for the service received. :) Like the idea of the Hollywood menu, have not heard that term before. My husband is from Europe, he expects to be able to order what he wants. We do the same at home, when we eat out.

[Elationismyship]

Wow, I didn't know you could just ask for whatever you want versus ordering off the menu. I can't imagine this is very time effective for them though. Is this standard practice . . . . . I don't think I would ever request something like this (unless I had some very specific dining restrictions) but I can't imagine that this would be standard practice . . . . . seems a little Diva'ish . . . Not judging just never heard of this before.

[floridarob]

wouldn't say it's Diva'ish.... I used to manage hotels and I think of a cruise much like a banquet or wedding... LARGE quantities prepared hours beforehand and plated. Now if you want to consider it more like a restaurant and a dining experience, I suggest you try ordering "off" the menu.

 

The cruise lines are better prepared for this say than a land based operation in western Europe or the US... why? labor (inexpensive) and PLENTY of it, not a luxury we have here.

 

As I said before, if I get bored on a long cruise with the menu or something just doesn't strike me... I order a day ahead as not to be throw confusion into the Kitchen. They get MANY, MANY requests on a nightly basis... they have a secretary type up all the special orders and the kitchen staff are prepared ahead of time to make it... not all orders can be done... they have to have the items onboard. But this can be done with soup, salad, appetizer, entree, dessert, salad dressing.

 

It may be as simple as the night they have prosciutto and melon as an app I ask the night ahead for roasted peppers, just a simple addition and I love prosciutto with peppers, don't you?

 

How many time have you ordered shrimp cocktail for an appetizer and you get these 5 saggy shrimps? I asked for the large prawns ahead of time and thats what a real shrimp cocktail app should be like.

 

There are a lot of things that ARE available just for the asking... I hate concentrated OJ for example... when ordering my juice in the morning, I simply add the word FRESH to it and thats what you get, Fresh OJ... Big difference in my book.

 

So I was looking forward to what other people have ordered, I have never had the french toast listed but it sounds good and will try it.

 

Any other suggestions?

[melissad65]

We just got back from a cruise and we often got special things and ordered different things. Not every night but occasionally. We were accommodated every time. My father in law likes sliced tomatoes so they brought them for him every night. One night also they made shrimp pasta as he did not like anything on the menu. Several nights they brought us special appetizers and surprised us.

 

It was very nice and I did not feel like a diva.