The new TK menus across all Seabourn restaurants

[Emperor Norton]

IIRC a Napa burger is a burger he doesn't actually sell in Napa ;)

[Nigella]

IIRC a Napa burger is a burger he doesn't actually sell in Napa ;)

 

In that case I'd better make sure I have one on the ship. If they're available in December, that is.

[pdx13]

Thank you, even though I was very much hoping it would have some California influence. ;)

I'm going to be visiting the Palo Alto area for business in early spring next year, it will be my first visit to Northern California. I'll definitely make some time to visit Napa. More for the wine than the burgers and the slaw! The French Laundry is on my must do list for the trip.

 

Make your reservation soon; it is a tough ticket. They are currently doing extensive remodel of their kitchen so they have built a temporary facility in cargo containers. Not sure what the expected completion date is, but I hear that the operation seems to be running smoothly.

[Nigella]

Make your reservation soon; it is a tough ticket. They are currently doing extensive remodel of their kitchen so they have built a temporary facility in cargo containers. Not sure what the expected completion date is, but I hear that the operation seems to be running smoothly.

 

Thank you for the advice. It's a must-do for me, a restaurant I've been wanting to visit for at least 15 years.

I've tried a couple of times to book online but my date is too far ahead for the system, so I'll ask my business contact over there to give them a call instead.

Would love to see the kitchen in the containers!

[Emperor Norton]

Make your reservation soon; it is a tough ticket. They are currently doing extensive remodel of their kitchen so they have built a temporary facility in cargo containers. Not sure what the expected completion date is, but I hear that the operation seems to be running smoothly.

 

The "fun" part of making a reservation there is you need to call exactly two months in advance.:eek:

[Tillylovesseabourn]

The "fun" part of making a reservation there is you need to call exactly two months in advance.:eek:

 

I always find it works much better to use a concierge service for these kind of restaurants.

[wripro]

And if you fail to get a reservation they sometimes allow walk in tables, especially at lunch. It's definitely worth a try.

[Emperor Norton]

And if you fail to get a reservation they sometimes allow walk in tables, especially at lunch. It's definitely worth a try.

 

If you go the walk in route Id suggest reservations at someplace close (eg: Bouchon or Bistro Jeanty) in case they can't accommodate you.

[tv24]

And my two cents worth...reserve at Buchon, where we have had several terrific meals. Avoid Bistro Jeanty...the locals avoid it. Our meal there was a disaster, in many ways. And there are lots of other fantastic options in and near Yountville.

[Emperor Norton]

And my two cents worth...reserve at Buchon, where we have had several terrific meals. Avoid Bistro Jeanty...the locals avoid it. Our meal there was a disaster, in many ways. And there are lots of other fantastic options in and near Yountville.

 

Sorry to hear things at Jeanty have gone down so much. I guess I missed the local notice to avoid it however. ;o

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N915A using Tapatalk

[tv24]

I think Jeanty continues to chug along courtesy of its reputation from a very long time ago. Our experience there (and it was 10 years ago!!!) was actually quite tragic/comic since so many things went wrong, with no apologies from the staff and management. The Yountville food scene is quite competitive with new excellent places opening all the time. I do recommend Bouchon quite highly, though, and have returned many times. The high level of cooking competitiveness in the Napa & Sonoma areas make me very excited for the introduction of Thomas Keller menus to Seabourn. Hope they do it right. It will take a certain skill on board to make it work. You can't just introduce a group of menu cards and hope for the best.

[Jassy]

A Napa burger is probably nothing more than a regular burger which costs more because it's called a Napa burger (not on the ship, course.)

Thank you, even though I was very much hoping it would have some California influence. ;)

I'm going to be visiting the Palo Alto area for business in early spring next year, it will be my first visit to Northern California. I'll definitely make some time to visit Napa. More for the wine than the burgers and the slaw! The French Laundry is on my must do list for the trip.

 

After doing a search, this is the best I could come up with re a TK burger: http://www.savoryhunter.com/2010/06/thomas-keller-does-hamburgers.html

 

Perhaps this is the elusive "Napa burger". :)

 

The article in the link as well as a couple of others in my search mention that TK wants to open a burger restaurant. However, the most recent mention is from 2010 and so far there is no TK burger joint.

 

I must admit, that the photos and description of the burger in the link did not greatly excite me. Hopefully, the one served on SB will be delicious.

[tv24]

I honestly think that "Napa Burger" is just a pretentious name for a hamburger made with very good quality beef. There are no cattle ranches in the Napa Valley. The real estate is just too darn valuable to use a grazing land. If there are any cows there, they are dairy cows. Thomas Keller may have named this burger to capture the snob appeal of the Napa Valley. And there is endless snob appeal in the Napa Valley.

[Winner]

After doing a search, this is the best I could come up with re a TK burger: http://www.savoryhunter.com/2010/06/thomas-keller-does-hamburgers.html

 

I must admit, that the photos and description of the burger in the link did not greatly excite me. Hopefully, the one served on SB will be delicious.

 

Have you ever had a Seabourn hamburger (with fabulous french-fries, too) that was NOT delicious? I haven't!

[Nigella]

Thank you for further information about the mysterious Napa Burger!

 

As an aside, we're staying in Beverly Hills after our Odyssey cruise, will book dinner at Bouchon. Thanks for all the input about Keller on this thread, I didn't know he had a place there too.

[marazul]

I honestly think that "Napa Burger" is just a pretentious name for a hamburger made with very good quality beef. . . . Thomas Keller may have named this burger to capture the snob appeal of the Napa Valley. And there is endless snob appeal in the Napa Valley.

 

Totally agree. Burgers are in fashion right now (the new kale?). The code word is expensive and some fancy ingredients to justify the price. Anything from chevre to foie gras and truffles.

[wripro]

I honestly think that "Napa Burger" is just a pretentious name for a hamburger made with very good quality beef. There are no cattle ranches in the Napa Valley. The real estate is just too darn valuable to use a grazing land. If there are any cows there, they are dairy cows. Thomas Keller may have named this burger to capture the snob appeal of the Napa Valley. And there is endless snob appeal in the Napa Valley.

 

Even Thomas Keller doesn't have his own cows in Napa. He gets his butter for the French Laundry from three cows he keeps in Vermont.

[Kevnzworld]

I exited the Odyssey today. Here are a few of my thoughts on the TK menus to date.

Ad Hoc will eventually have 7-8 menus, to date there are two while they work on execution. The reviews have mostly been positive. The downside is that there is only one menu item per evening.

I'm not a fan of what I've eaten and seen of The Restaurant additional TK menus. I ordered duck once , I was underwhelmed. An unsliced duck breast with blueberry sauce and a few vegies.

The Napa burger is essentially a regular but better quality patty with a special sauce. Ehhh. It's ok.

There's a little too much gourmet fanfare and puffery, not as much flavor and taste. My opinion only.

[tv24]

Thanks Kevin. Your comments are interesting and useful. We'll see how this evolves. It does indeed seem to be a work in progress.

[jenidallas]

I'm glad they are doing a soft test before rolling this out.

 

Hopefully corporate is taking notes and tweaking as they go!

 

As excited as I am by something different, I don't want poorly executed overwrought dishes or anything that makes dining feel anything but easy.

[Emperor Norton]

One of the issues that I heard from the cruise was that some of the dishes had a wee bit of spice to them and that some passengers were irate that something was served spicier than looking at a black peppercorn. The following times the dishes were served they were either spice free or reduced to a very, very low level. Which is pity as most of the food served onboard is rather tame.

[Nigella]

I exited the Odyssey today. Here are a few of my thoughts on the TK menus to date.

Ad Hoc will eventually have 7-8 menus, to date there are two while they work on execution. The reviews have mostly been positive. The downside is that there is only one menu item per evening.

I'm not a fan of what I've eaten and seen of The Restaurant additional TK menus. I ordered duck once , I was underwhelmed. An unsliced duck breast with blueberry sauce and a few vegies.

The Napa burger is essentially a regular but better quality patty with a special sauce. Ehhh. It's ok.

There's a little too much gourmet fanfare and puffery, not as much flavor and taste. My opinion only.

 

 

Thank you very much for your update, it's been good to read your thoughts about this.

Dining during our Holiday cruise on Odyssey should be interesting, to say the least! I'll try to keep an open mind.

 

Oh also thanks for the napa burger explanation.

[Nigella]

 

One of the issues that I heard from the cruise was that some of the dishes had a wee bit of spice to them and that some passengers were irate that something was served spicier than looking at a black peppercorn.

 

 

:D oh dear.

Agree that spice levels are already generally quite tame, although I had a curry dish onboard one time that nearly blew my head off. Probably because I was expecting tame.

[jenidallas]

That's a pity to hear they are dialing down the spice... a good deal of the Seabourn food is already lacking in that arena.

[tv24]

Pity for us as well, as we like spicy flavorful food of the world. We'll see how the new menus play out.