New Pinnacle Menu

[GeriatricNurse]

We just returned home from the Amsterdam Xmas/New Year sailing from San Francisco through the Panama Canal. We ate MANY times at the Pinnacle Grill, trying various of the new additions and trying to explore the menu a bit. We usually choose to eat at the Pinnacle most nights for the more intimate setting and service.

 

Firstly, the Double R Ranch meat is TERRIBLE!! Maybe the brand is served at other restaurants and has been reported as good at those locations but I suspect they may be buying a higher quality of cuts. The quality of meat being served on HAL is truly a major downgrade in quality from the Sterling beef. Most of the cuts we tried, (except for the filet) were inedible. We ended up ordering the Filet less cooked than normal as it tended to dry out on the edges as it cooked more. It did also seem to have a strange livery type flavor but at least it could be cut with a knife and was edible.

 

There was still a veal chop being offered on the menu but I am not sure if it will only remain on the menu until the remaining stock is used up. My husband ordered that one night and enjoyed it....probably betting that didn't come from Double R Ranch!!!

 

My son ordered his usual favorite meal in the entire world....Pinnacle Grill bone-in rib eye. He almost cried......it was honestly inedible, fatty, chewy, sinewy. Cant begin to describe just how bad. We thought we had maybe gotten an unlucky bad piece but on the following night watched one of the singer's dine with his family and was unable to even cut through it. He eventually spoke to the PG manager and had it taken away. We had the same problem with the porterhouse.....chewy, dry!! so little of that giant steak was even able to be cut through let alone eaten.

 

Given that a lot of items on the menu have been removed, it is even more sad to see the quality of the meat reduced to such low levels! I guess my mother was right when she said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". All those free PG meals being given away have resulted in them serving food which is no better than in the dining room, perhaps even not worse. On a longer cruise like this (18 nights) it was tough to find any variation.

 

The "Special" has most certainly been removed from the specialty restaurant. The new soup is nothing like the old coconut soup, though it sounds a bit similar in name. It was like a plain tomato soup with long vermicelli noodles which were difficult to eat without splashing your clothing!! They added extra spice to our soup at our request as it was very bland and tasteless and that made it better but no where near as good as the old one.

 

Shrimp cocktails were still as good as before, large yummy shrimps as usual. They still offered the crème brulee and both vanilla and choc soufflés. Though for 2 nights in a row they were unable to bring out a vanilla soufflé which was any higher than 1/2 way up the soufflé dish. The choc ones came out fine and they then confessed that they were having problems with the oven and couldn't get the vanilla ones to rise. Apparently the choc ones are flourless...who knows!! We just stuck to the choc and stopped ordering the vanilla.

 

As for the crab legs, we bit the bullet and paid the additional $20 to give them a try. Now, there was a large plate of crab legs but they weren't really the giant red beauties I had imagined. They were smaller but lots of them. Vegas buffet style. Certainly not worth the $20 upcharge. I would have rather stuck to the previous lobster offering with no upcharge. The Cioppino was very fishy. My husband sent it back and ordered something else. Which if you knew him you would realize was a real shocker. I don't think in 25 years I have ever seen him send anything back!!

 

I know lots of people aren't fond of brussell sprouts but I am a LOVER of them!!! unfortunately, they are serving "frozen" brussell sprouts which are very heavy and waterlogged. They are served with bacon/pancetta but that is clearly just added as garnish after cooking. They were actually horrible and I didn't eat them. Tried them another night too but they were just plain bad. I just don't think that they should be serving frozen vegetables in there!!

 

Now, not to be a Debbie Downer, as we really did have a great cruise and met so many wonderful people, But..... bottom line is that they have upped the surcharge for Pinnacle to $29 along with lowering the quality of the food and limiting the selection!!! It was really sad to see, as we have always enjoyed the Pinnacle Grill so much. I will be curious to see where this all goes.... as right now it only seems to be going in one direction!!!

 

Thank you very much for your review of your dining 'experince' in the PG, (which I will now avoid, along with the MDR) & continue to eat all my meals in the LIDO, (where I have NEVER had any issues related to the quality/quantity of the food)! :);)

[Aruba]

We just returned home from the Amsterdam Xmas/New Year sailing from San Francisco through the Panama Canal. We ate MANY times at the Pinnacle Grill, trying various of the new additions and trying to explore the menu a bit. We usually choose to eat at the Pinnacle most nights for the more intimate setting and service.

 

Firstly, the Double R Ranch meat is TERRIBLE!! Maybe the brand is served at other restaurants and has been reported as good at those locations but I suspect they may be buying a higher quality of cuts. The quality of meat being served on HAL is truly a major downgrade in quality from the Sterling beef. Most of the cuts we tried, (except for the filet) were inedible. We ended up ordering the Filet less cooked than normal as it tended to dry out on the edges as it cooked more. It did also seem to have a strange livery type flavor but at least it could be cut with a knife and was edible.

.....

Given that a lot of items on the menu have been removed, it is even more sad to see the quality of the meat reduced to such low levels! I guess my mother was right when she said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". All those free PG meals being given away have resulted in them serving food which is no better than in the dining room, perhaps even not worse. On a longer cruise like this (18 nights) it was tough to find any variation.

.....

Now, not to be a Debbie Downer, as we really did have a great cruise and met so many wonderful people, But..... bottom line is that they have upped the surcharge for Pinnacle to $29 along with lowering the quality of the food and limiting the selection!!! It was really sad to see, as we have always enjoyed the Pinnacle Grill so much. I will be curious to see where this all goes.... as right now it only seems to be going in one direction!!!

As someone who dines virtually every evening in Pinnacle Grill, I am disappointed and disturbed by the apparent downgrading of PG. A specialty restaurant without the "special" is an oxymoron. Thanks for your review.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thinking that we might be cancelling some of our upcoming reservations in the PG on our upcoming cruise:(

 

We are also reconsidering what we are going to do since we have already booked all 21 days for the Pinnacle.

[Typhoon1]

We are also reconsidering what we are going to do since we have already booked all 21 days for the Pinnacle.

 

I would check it out first. See if the review is accurate, then make a decision on the remaining days.

[nana51]

The pinnacle has also had really good reviews. Remember food is subjective.

[frankc98376]

The pinnacle has also had really good reviews. Remember food is subjective.

 

I fully agree.

We have pre- booked for most of our cruise. If we aren't happy with what we get we will move to the Canaletto- if not happy there I guess it's MDR and have the Concierge credit the rest of the nights back to our account. More to spend ashore :)

I've had Double R beef many, many times and always loved it. It is grass fed beef as opposed to grain fed which gives it a different flavor- much healthier though. Lots of Omega 3 in grass fed.

Edited January 7, 2014 by frankc98376

[Krazy Kruizers]

I would check it out first. See if the review is accurate, then make a decision on the remaining days.

 

 

Don't worry -- we will be checking out before we decide how many days we may cancel there.

[sherilyn70]

I think based on the current reviews I'm seeing this resolves my question of to try or not try PG on our first HAL cruise. I have always enjoyed eating in the MDR and trying new foods on all of my other cruises so I was torn on if we miss a night or not... I think I'd rather try out all of the regular food first and pass on the PG. I'm spoiled when it comes to meat, we disliked Chops on RCI and I'm afraid I'll end up with a similar experience with PG now. I buy my meat fresh from the butcher and cut to order (a whole tenderloin cut into 1 1/2" NY Strips is so much cheaper and better quality when purchased that way) and we tend to only eat in the higher end steak houses when dining.

[sail7seas]

I think based on the current reviews I'm seeing this resolves my question of to try or not try PG on our first HAL cruise. I have always enjoyed eating in the MDR and trying new foods on all of my other cruises so I was torn on if we miss a night or not... I think I'd rather try out all of the regular food first and pass on the PG. I'm spoiled when it comes to meat, we disliked Chops on RCI and I'm afraid I'll end up with a similar experience with PG now. I buy my meat fresh from the butcher and cut to order (a whole tenderloin cut into 1 1/2" NY Strips is so much cheaper and better quality when purchased that way) and we tend to only eat in the higher end steak houses when dining.

 

 

:confused: Maybe I'm confused but cutting a whole tenderloin into steaks gives you filet mignon, not NY strips. No?

 

I'm very sorry to read this negative review above about an unpleasant meal in Pinnacle. I know food is subjective and also know every restaurant can mess up from time to time. Hopefully this is not the new reality of Pinnacle. It would be sad as we've had many a lovely evening in all the Pinnacles.

Edited January 7, 2014 by sail7seas

[Krazy Kruizers]

I think based on the current reviews I'm seeing this resolves my question of to try or not try PG on our first HAL cruise. I have always enjoyed eating in the MDR and trying new foods on all of my other cruises so I was torn on if we miss a night or not... I think I'd rather try out all of the regular food first and pass on the PG. I'm spoiled when it comes to meat, we disliked Chops on RCI and I'm afraid I'll end up with a similar experience with PG now. I buy my meat fresh from the butcher and cut to order (a whole tenderloin cut into 1 1/2" NY Strips is so much cheaper and better quality when purchased that way) and we tend to only eat in the higher end steak houses when dining.

 

 

In our area, when you by and have the butcher cut a tenderloin -- you get filet mignon steaks. There are no bones in our tenderloins here -- NY Strips have bones in them here.

[sail7seas]

In our area, when you by and have the butcher cut a tenderloin -- you get filet mignon steaks. There are no bones in our tenderloins here -- NY Strips have bones in them here.

 

 

I don't think NY strips have bones. Aren't they bonelss steaks?

There are sirloin steaks with bones, for sure, but again, I could be wrong but think NY strips are boneless steaks.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

You are right --NY Strip steaks have the bone removed. It is cheaper than the regular tenderloins that are cut for filet mignon.

[cruisin'girl]

I'm certainly not a butcher, but from my experience both filet mignons and strip steaks are boneless. Never have seen a strip with a bone; rib eyes both with or without a bone, but not strip steaks, at least where I live.

 

Filet mignon steaks are cut from the tenderloin which is a specific horizontal strip of meat along each side. I looked at the whole darn cow on Wikipedia and strip steaks are not from the tenderloin portion. Amazing what you learn on CC.

[sail7seas]

And while we're at it, :)

A porterhouse has tenderloin on one side of the bone and sirloin on the other. :)

 

[cruisin'girl]

Then there are the grocery stores who give cutesy names to some of the cheap cuts instead of letting you know what they are. Ran into 'Country Girl' and 'Country Boy' steaks at a meat counter one time. Still don't know what those were all about and don't want to.

[sherilyn70]

The short loin and tenderloin are where the Porterhouse and T-Bone are from. It contains both the filet and the strip steak. If it is deboned it is often sold as the filet or the strip separately from my experience. I'm not a fan of the filet mignon since it has little flavor so I only by the strip side. To clarify the two loins are often used to describe both... but the shortloin would probably be the more accurate term. It just depends on what your region calls the cut.

 

I just looked up the strip steak and learned the difference between NY and Kansas strips are that the Kansas strip keeps the bone on, the NY does not.

 

Edited January 7, 2014 by sherilyn70

[sail7seas]

Here is the Wikipedia definition of filet mignon.

It is from the tenderloin.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filet_mignon

 

[GeorgesGal]

And while we're at it, :)

A porterhouse has tenderloin on one side of the bone and sirloin on the other. :)

 

 

Not quite correct. Yes, the tenderloin on one side of the bone, but it is the strip steak on the opposite side.

 

And our supermarkets and butchers down here sell the NY Strip both bone in and boneless.

[sherilyn70]

Here is the Wikipedia definition of filet mignon.

It is from the tenderloin.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filet_mignon

That is correct, the shortloin contains both as does the sirloin area. You can see that in the chart that I posted. What it's called by your butcher though can vary based on region and where you live. I've already acknolwedged that what we buy is technically the shortloin. One of my favorite cuts of steak to cook at home is the "flat iron" steak which does not appear on a butchers chart. In the end what matters is that you know what part of the cow you're eating and that the price for your region is fair (we pay 3.99/pound when we buy the whole loin).

[sail7seas]

sherilyn70

 

<snip>

 

I buy my meat fresh from the butcher and cut to order (a whole tenderloin cut into 1 1/2" NY Strips is so much cheaper and better quality when purchased that way) and we tend to only eat in the higher end steak houses when dining.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NY strip steaks are not cut from a tenderloin.

 

Doesn't matter. You clearly want to discuss cuts of meat that aren't even offered in Pinnacle.

Most of us were trying to discuss steaks offered in Pinnacle and that includes, filet mignons, NY strips, rib eyes.......

 

Edited January 7, 2014 by sail7seas

[sherilyn70]

NY strip steaks are not cut from a tenderloin.

 

Doesn't matter. You clearly want to discuss cuts of meat that aren't even offered in Pinnacle.

Most of us were trying to discuss steaks offered in Pinnacle and that includes, filet mignons, NY strips, rib eyes.......

Why are you refusing to acknowledge that twice now I've said it's technically called the shortloin? And yes, we were discussing cuts in the PG... the NY strip.

 

Here are the snips you left out.

but the shortloin would probably be the more accurate term. It just depends on what your region calls the cut.

I've already acknolwedged that what we buy is technically the shortloin.

Edited January 7, 2014 by sherilyn70

[pris993]

Thank you very much for your review of your dining 'experince' in the PG, (which I will now avoid, along with the MDR) & continue to eat all my meals in the LIDO, (where I have NEVER had any issues related to the quality/quantity of the food)! :);)

 

I thought we are the only ones who do this when we don't find food or service what we like in the MDR. Generally we have been okay with the MDR on HAL but we special order every night off menu.

 

Had planned to try the PG, have eaten there before a couple of times, but guess we will pass on our 14 TA on the New Amsterdam.

 

HAL is not the only line were food quality has sufferred. We eat in the Lido on a Ruby Princess 7 Day cruise a few years ago, did the same on NCL Jade on a 11 day Eastern Mediterranean (assumed we might on NCL), Celebrity Equinox, Mediterranean cruise we did the same after 5 less than satisfactory nights in the MDR, on an 11 day curise . When food and service are not good, we have found the Lido is a good option, we usually do a late lunch and ship dinner. We don't miss the MDR at all in such situations.

 

We do enjoy breakfast in our cabin on most cruises including HAL.

[frankc98376]

We look forward to reading reviews from others for Pinnacle and Canaletto. Ultimately the review that will matter will be ours on May 6 after dinner. If we're not pleased I'm confident we will find some fellow CC'ers we could join in the MDR :)

[bumperoo]

Our cruise will only be seven nights, but my plan is to try every venue once in the first few nights and then repeat what we liked on the remaining nights. I will be happy to enjoy a meal that I didn't have to shop for, prepare and cook and then do the dishes. I won't have to listen to complaints from my kids and I can have an uninterrupted meal with the love of my life -- no phone calls or kids asking me to do something for them. I'll go to the Pinnacle and Canaletto, and Lido and MDR and just be happy that I was able to have saved enough for our dream vacation. If one of the meals becomes the best thing I ever ate, that will be my icing on the cake.

[sail7seas]

Our cruise will only be seven nights, but my plan is to try every venue once in the first few nights and then repeat what we liked on the remaining nights. I will be happy to enjoy a meal that I didn't have to shop for, prepare and cook and then do the dishes. I won't have to listen to complaints from my kids and I can have an uninterrupted meal with the love of my life -- no phone calls or kids asking me to do something for them. I'll go to the Pinnacle and Canaletto, and Lido and MDR and just be happy that I was able to have saved enough for our dream vacation. If one of the meals becomes the best thing I ever ate, that will be my icing on the cake.

 

 

With a great attitude like that, you are sure to have a great time.

Enjoy!!! :)