New Chops Menu going fleet wide

[ikirumata]

So pissed that they got rid of the Goat Cheese Souffle! It was the #1 reason we went to Chops (my wife is vegetarian and loved it!). Am I just not seeing it on the menu? Anyone know where else I can get my Goat Cheese Souffle fix next time I cruise?

 

:mad:

[SherriZ366]

These are delectables from Chops that I photographed on the Enchantment last year. Red Velvet Cake and Mississippi Mud Pie/Cake slices were huge; I'm told that they are significantly smaller on the new menu.

 

 

And not as good -- our friends had the Mississippi Mud pie and is more gelatin based than from scratch. They said that the Red Velvet cake was not as good either but did not give us details. The new cheesecake is very good.

[maxs mom]

Just on Freedom last week and they had the new menu in Chops. We had eaten the previous two weeks in Chops on the Indy with the old menu. We had a wonderful dinner in Chops on Freedom. The changes didn't affect me too much. I always order the same thing.....Chops Salad....Petit Filet.....Mud Pie.

 

There is no more Chops Salad.....instead there is warm goat cheese salad and it was superb!!!! I kept moaning and saying OMG while I was eating it. Just loved it! My filet was perfect.....no problems there. BUT.....the Mud Pie has been ruined!!!! They used to outsource the mud pie for $14 a pie, but they are trying to make it in house now. It is nothing more than chocolate jello pudding. We ate it the first week.....sent it back the second week....and didn't even bother with the third week.

 

We did try the new cheesecake....which was pretty good....and the red velvet cake.....not near as good as before.

 

Another disappointment......no onion rings.

 

But overall.....I really enjoyed our meal and we will be eating there many more times on the future.

[fairweather]

How can they call themselves Chops and pass themselves off as a steakhouse if there are more entrees that are fish and chicken than red meat? The menu looks a lot like the MDR with the same sort of upcharges we are experiencing there, too. Just raise the price of cabins and keep the menus in all the venues true to what people have come to expect.

 

Why would an American go to Chops for a hamburger and pay $35 for the privilege? I guess this is in keeping with RCI's new Asian marketing emphasis? It might fly on ships in the Orient where beef is a luxury but not in the Caribbean where Carnival gives you free gourmet burgers based on a top chef's recipes...with as many ribs and lamb chops as you can down in one seating.

 

It's like the Royal CEO is saying, "Please try Carnival again since they are now introducing new, better engineered ships which are dependable and exciting...and offer a lot of what Royal used to provide from our kitchens but are now going to be upsale items on my ships."

 

RCI may be upgrading its entertainment with Broadway plays and aqua shows, but they have obviously surrendered when it comes to food. It wasn't until I saw the menus for Quantum that I realized that the white flag had been waved and RCI had handed over its spatulas to Celebrity for safe keeping.

 

It looks like a lot of us might want to start looking elsewhere to see what's available. It's a shame because we were blown away by Allure and it's culinary choices and would have returned to do all the Oasis class ships even though they pretty much are all forced to go only to the same ports because of their size.

 

Well, competition is just growing with some of the European lines test marketing in the US. I look forward to seeing what real gourmet dining can taste like. Bet Celebrity is up to the challenge. RCI not so much?

[kunta67]

Does anyone know if the new menu has made it's way to Allure? We're departing on the 25th. I was planning on using our free specialty dinners from Mlife on Chops.

[BGCruiser85]

We're scheduled to be at Chops on the Oasis on Sunday. I'm really hopeful that the old menu is still in place. If not I may cancel our second scheduled night on Wednesday.

 

 

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[airmanship]

Does anyone know if the new menu has made it's way to Allure? We're departing on the 25th. I was planning on using our free specialty dinners from Mlife on Chops.

 

Now you have peaked my interest. MLife and free specialty dinners? I am RC Diamond and also Mlife. I may need to look into this.....please tell more.

THX

[kunta67]

Now you have peaked my interest. MLife and free specialty dinners? I am RC Diamond and also Mlife. I may need to look into this.....please tell more.

THX

 

I'm M Life gold so you can get some decent benefits with RCI. We always stay at M Life properties in Vegas and charge everything to our room and plus we can earn Hyatt points at the same time. Anyway if you have M Life Platinum or Noir you have some serious benefits with RCI.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithGallery.do?pagename=mgm_partnership&cS=NAVBAR

[Jimbo]

No more Rib Eye? at Chops?

 

Jamie's still has it right? Anywhere else on Quantum ?

 

Jimbo:)

Edited May 17, 2014 by Jimbo

[gordiej]

I always order the same thing.....Chops Salad....Petit Filet.....Mud Pie.

Kind of sounds like a rip-off to pay $35 extra for that.

 

It is nothing more than chocolate jello pudding.

Lol - one of my major complaints about HAL was that all their deserts tasted like they were made with jello pudding. That' date=' and the ship (Eurodam) was a little too small for my tastes.

 

We did try the new cheesecake....which was pretty good

I have to say, the cheesecake off the regular "desert classics" menu on a recent Celebrity Constellation cruise was excellent!

[critterchick]

And not as good -- our friends had the Mississippi Mud pie and is more gelatin based than from scratch. They said that the Red Velvet cake was not as good either but did not give us details. The new cheesecake is very good.

 

We ate at Chops on Rhapsody - it was the old menu but our waiter told us that the new menu was going to be implemented on the next cruise (May 16). They already had the 6 and 9 ounce filets - at his urging I ordered the 9 but couldn't finish it, got about to 8 ounces and called it quits. Next time I'll get the petite and order another appetizer, if they still allow that.

 

The desserts have been destroyed. The Mud Pie was a chocolate mousse pie -tasty enough but not worth the points, as they say in Weight Watchers. The Passionberry Duo was nasty - it was a blob of mango Jello pudding topped by strawberry jam (OK, I'm exaggerating, but it was nothing like the original, which was light and refreshing after a big meal). And we saw the Red Velvet cake at another table - it was pink. The waiter said that they were still outsourcing them, but they certainly had changed the recipe. Ironically, somebody onboard told me a few years ago that the outsourced desserts were the main reason that the Chops upcharge was higher than Portofino's. But now the Giovanni's Table desserts are head and shoulders above Chops', so I think that's where I will get my sweets calories in the future.

 

Now, some of the new menu looks interesting - if they can cook the ahi tuna seared rare, I will be happy with that as an option, for example. We eat at Chops in part for the better food (and I imagine that it will still be light years ahead of some of the meals we've had lately) and in part for the more subdued ambiance. So we'll give it a go on Serenade in the fall and see what we think.

 

The good news is that we won't be waddling out of the place stuffed to the gills any more. No need to worry about controlling myself at dessert. I guess that's good news....

Edited May 28, 2014 by critterchick

[knittinggirl]

DH is still grumped about no dungenous crab cake nor onion rings. At least the steak and baked potato are back. We were even more concerned about the poor service in Chops on Navigator, but that may be a ship issue.

Edited May 28, 2014 by knittinggirl

[MaryL31]

Had dinner this past Saturday at Chops on Freedom. DH, DD, and DS had the strip streak...I am not a big steak eater, but had a taste, and it was good. I had the Grilled Branzino...boring and unmemorable. French Onion Soup and Scallops were good as appetizers; DD loved the Goat Cheese Salad. Sounds crazy, but I especially enjoyed the asparagus, as it is normally overcooked in my own kitchen, and these were just perfect! I will say that the coffee was quite good. I had a chocolate cake paired with coconut ice cream; don't remember what they called it but...eh...again, not so memorable.

[cindivan]

Hmmm. Our family was divided before.

 

We will save our money for Ruth Chris from now on I think

 

 

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[jaredgold33]

Has the gelatinous version of Mud Pie appeared on Allure/Oasis yet? Anybody know? Chops's (old version) Mud Pie is one of the best desserts I've had on board, please tell me it's not gone from Oasis class ships!!!

[thejewgernaut]

I agree, any recent Allure reviews would be appreciated, we sail this Sunday.

 

This is the first year we're skipping Chops, unless the mood strikes us last minute -- we dropped it in favor of trying the Chef's Table.

[SherriZ366]

We ate at Chops on Rhapsody - it was the old menu but our waiter told us that the new menu was going to be implemented on the next cruise (May 16). They already had the 6 and 9 ounce filets - at his urging I ordered the 9 but couldn't finish it, got about to 8 ounces and called it quits. Next time I'll get the petite and order another appetizer, if they still allow that.

 

The desserts have been destroyed. The Mud Pie was a chocolate mousse pie -tasty enough but not worth the points, as they say in Weight Watchers. The Passionberry Duo was nasty - it was a blob of mango Jello pudding topped by strawberry jam (OK, I'm exaggerating, but it was nothing like the original, which was light and refreshing after a big meal). And we saw the Red Velvet cake at another table - it was pink. The waiter said that they were still outsourcing them, but they certainly had changed the recipe. Ironically, somebody onboard told me a few years ago that the outsourced desserts were the main reason that the Chops upcharge was higher than Portofino's. But now the Giovanni's Table desserts are head and shoulders above Chops', so I think that's where I will get my sweets calories in the future.

 

Now, some of the new menu looks interesting - if they can cook the ahi tuna seared rare, I will be happy with that as an option, for example. We eat at Chops in part for the better food (and I imagine that it will still be light years ahead of some of the meals we've had lately) and in part for the more subdued ambiance. So we'll give it a go on Serenade in the fall and see what we think.

 

The good news is that we won't be waddling out of the place stuffed to the gills any more. No need to worry about controlling myself at dessert. I guess that's good news....

I think we may just skip dessert but our friends said the cheesecake was good. Hope there are lots of complaints on comment cards.

[SA Traveler]

I think we may just skip dessert but our friends said the cheesecake was good. Hope there are lots of complaints on comment cards.

 

Definitely complained on our comment card. Actually the online survey.

 

 

 

 

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[pscruzinboyz]

We ate at Chops on the Navigator OTS last Friday Night. I thought it was very good as usual.....But missed the Garlic mash potatoes I have had before. Now they have Stuff Tater Tots.....Good, but not great. Finished it up with my Favorite Red Velvet Cake....and that was Yummy! And to top it off......It was all Free, thanks to our On Line TA.....Every Cruise we book with them...and it is always Chops!

 

Mike

[Cheryl H]

Well shoot. We always do Chops twice during our cruise on the formal nights. But with no crab cake and the disappointing version of mud pie, we may skip it. I may just order the Chops steak in the MDR and forget it. What a shame.

 

I suppose I could check out Giovanni's or Samba's on Radiance. We actually preferred Chops over Samba's last time.

 

I don't understand the upheaval about a baked potato either. Those are cheap and we have them all the time at home. But crab cake is harder to re-create at home. I was able to duplicate the mud pie at home. It is fantastic.

 

What a bummer.

[critterchick]

Well shoot. We always do Chops twice during our cruise on the formal nights. But with no crab cake and the disappointing version of mud pie, we may skip it. I may just order the Chops steak in the MDR and forget it. What a shame.

 

I suppose I could check out Giovanni's or Samba's on Radiance. We actually preferred Chops over Samba's last time.

 

I don't understand the upheaval about a baked potato either. Those are cheap and we have them all the time at home. But crab cake is harder to re-create at home. I was able to duplicate the mud pie at home. It is fantastic.

 

What a bummer.

 

Maybe taking away the baked potato was a diversion to distract us from the other changes.:p

[OTownNick]

OK I am going to go on a bit of a rant here. We love RCL for family cruises. Diamond level.

I've also been a chef/food and bev guy, then was a stock broker.

That "new and improved" Chops menu is REALLY flat. Increased up charge for less offerings, totally agreed that two steaks on a steak house menu is too few. Add lamb, or a porter house, or both! Do you think I'm going to pay a 35 buck up charge for a dolled up burger...c'mon guys! Off topic, but somewhat related, RCI is rolling out an "exclusive" cabana offering (on some ships, it may be just a trial)where the suite sun deck was. It's a clam shell (not a cabana, mind you, but a clam shell) with some drinks and other amenities to justify a big up charge (somebody said $200/day!)

I'm thankful the BOHO sale came around, it saved me a big sum on our cruise next year (but the skeptic in me says RCI wants to book the revenues now via cruise deposits). But, I think about all the lost revenue RCI will incur from that, all the cut backs, and additional charges for IMHO less substantial offerings, makes me wonder about the RCI product, and strategy. As each class of ship has been introduced, I've been anxious to try it out, and have loved each new offering. I have no desire to try Quantum. No desire to take a tropical cruise out of the NYC area with iffy weather a lot of sea days.

Putting on the stock broker hat, I am confused.

 

I understand that RCL can not "book" revenue til the sailing dates on each cruise. However this could accelerate the number of advanced bookings and affect their "forecasted" bookings year over year and revenue guidance

[Cheryl H]

I sure wish Radiance would make an exception on the no crab cake......what a shame to be up in Alaska with all that fresh seafood and no crab cake on board. May have to research the best crab cake available in the Alaskan ports. Taking my Chops money and buying seafood ashore.

[OTownNick]

I sure wish Radiance would make an exception on the no crab cake......what a shame to be up in Alaska with all that fresh seafood and no crab cake on board. May have to research the best crab cake available in the Alaskan ports. Taking my Chops money and buying seafood ashore.

 

I found the best salmon ever at a restaurant in Juneau. Sorry I forgot the name, but if you ask someone when you get there where the best seafood is, they will probably direct you to this place

[Cheryl H]

I found the best salmon ever at a restaurant in Juneau. Sorry I forgot the name, but if you ask someone when you get there where the best seafood is, they will probably direct you to this place

 

Great thanks! Wonder if it was the Twisted Fish in the Taku building. We ate there last time and loved their fish and chips. I just don't know if there's crab cake there. But we'll find out. :-)