Food

[floridalover5623]

I'm guessing this anecdote dates from years ago. Now if anyone asked for two tails the waiter would not bring her the second one until she finished the first one.

 

That's no problem. Take 3 bites & it's gone.

Now bring the second one.;)

[yuccaman]

what is Sushi?? Oh yes, raw fish!:D

 

All sushi is flash frozen to rid it of parasites by law, as well!

 

Many commercial fisherman sell fresh catch locally, etc, but if it goes commercial distribution it eventually gets frozen.

[oskidunker]

Sometimes it is good. Sometimes not.

 

 

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[need2cruisesoon]

I'm a big meatloaf fan, can I get it in the MDR or buffet?

[Cruise Raider]

Sometimes it is good. Sometimes not.

 

 

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I am rather surprised to see so many people complain about the lobster onboard. Sure, it isn't like fresh Maine lobster but it is actually pretty good if you ask me. Guess I am not much of a foodie. All that I can say is I always enjoy lobster night and think Princess does it all pretty well.

They serve it on a plate with three jumbo shrimp, which are equally as good IMO. The only reason I even bring something dressy to wear on a cruise is to attend the lobster dinner night. Otherwise, I would just go to the buffet or a specialty restaurant for that night.

[Pam in CA]

Sure, it isn't like fresh Maine lobster but it is actually pretty good if you ask me.

Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts... lobsters don't know or care about state lines. Anything north of Cape Cod is cold water lobster. :) I lived on the ocean for over 35 years and could get fresh caught lobster so for me, the difference is huge. Otherwise, like most, I wouldn't know the difference.

[floridalover5623]

I'm a big meatloaf fan, can I get it in the MDR or buffet?

 

I believe you can get it in both places although I don't recall seeing it on a DR menu. It's the most unappetizing meat loaf I've even seen but it still might taste OK. I might even get the courage to try it some day. ;)

[JimmyVWine]

Anything north of Cape Cod is cold water lobster. :)

What do you call the lobsters pulled from traps off of Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York? ;) I used to run a string of traps in Long Island Sound and they sure looked like cold water lobsters to me. But alas, global warming is crushing our local industry. The waters are warming up and the Long Island Sound ecosystem will soon more closely resemble the Chesapeake Bay. Not good if you fished for lobsters. in the late 1990's there were 200,000 lobster traps off of CT. Now that number is reported to be under 20,000. But I suppose if you change your gear over to Maryland Blue Crab pots, you might do very well in a few years. Get ready to start hearing the phrase "Connecticut Blue Crabs".

 

Moving from this thread drift to the previous thread drift...when it comes to fresh vs. frozen, everyone is right. If you are served a whole lobster in a restaurant, odds are that it was alive half an hour before. But maintaining tanks that will sustain live lobsters is expensive and tedious. Not really worth the return on investment unless your restaurant is heavily into seafood, or can charge $75 for a lobster dinner. If you receive only the lobster tail in a restaurant, (like when you see the words: "add a lobster tail to your order for only $17), the odds heavily favor it having been frozen. Go to any decent supermarket and you can find frozen lobster tails. Sometimes warm water. Sometimes cold water. 80% of lobster tails sold commercially have been frozen. But of course, the closer you get to New England, perhaps your odds will increase that it has not been frozen. But again, for that to happen, you have to be at a restaurant that has tanks. They are hard to maintain, a pain to clean, difficult to keep sterile, and messy as all get-out. But that doesn't mean that your uppity steakhouse doesn't have one. But just as important, the restaurant has to be able to use the non-tail portion of the lobster. If they sell you the tail to go with your Filet Mignon, they have to do something with the claws, knuckles and body cavity meat. Some genius invented "lobster mac-n-cheese" and on occasion you will see "lobster mashed potatoes". If those are on the menu, there is a decent chance that your lobster tail is fresh, and the rest of the lobster meat is being added to the aforementioned dishes. But no one would keep a live lobster on premises only to cook it just for the tail. So if you see no evidence of any other dish on the menu that contains lobster, but you see tails prominently advertised, that should be a clue.

 

As for the rest of the fish served in a restaurant, just use your geography or ask a simple question and you will likely get your answer. "Where is the sea bass (or whatever) from?" If you are in Kansas City and the shrimp are from Thailand, (which is a good bet), you had better pray to the culinary gods that those shrimp were frozen. And if you are in Pittsburgh and the Barramundi is from the waters off of Australia, same thing. Is it possible to have a fresh fish cleaned and iced for a flight from Perth to Pittsburgh? I suppose. But who would do that? If you are in Savannah and the grouper is from the coast of Georgia, it certainly could be fresh. All you need is a commercial fishmonger who sends trucks out to a major fish port at 3:00 a.m. each day to be back by 9:00 a.m. Our local fish market is pretty big, and they send trucks to Boston every single day. A little under 2 hours away. They arrive at 5:00, hang out at the docks buying what looks good, and leave for home at 7:00. By 10:00 a.m., fresh fish is in the counter display. They also send trucks or vans to other fishing docks within 2 hours, such as New London, New Bedford and Norwalk (for oysters). So if you live in an area where fresh fish is a couple hours away, there is no reason to believe that all fish has been frozen. If you live 5 hours from where fish hits the docks, your results are probably different. So the use of the terms "all" and "none" don't really apply in any discussion involving land-based restaurants. But if a cruise ship is heading out for 7 or 10 days, you can pretty much guarantee that everything has been frozen. Much safer and much easier to store. If bad fish is served to a family, a few people get sick. If bad fish is served on a cruise ship, you have a catastrophe on your hands.

Edited September 28, 2016 by JimmyVWine

[newcruzer2]

All seafood is "previously" frozen.....it's a law. They freeze it to kill any parasites in the seafood....unless you catch it yourself, it's been frozen right after it's been caught.

 

That's NOT true, all Local Supermarkets (not mega stores) around here sell FRESH local shrimp, and in the towns with the shrimp boats they have markets that sell it FRESH off the boat during shrimp season. FRESH shrimp ...almost makes up for the hurricanes;)

[GUT2407]

All seafood is "previously" frozen.....it's a law. They freeze it to kill any parasites in the seafood....unless you catch it yourself, it's been frozen right after it's been caught.

 

Well maybe in some parts of the world, typical Americancentric response.

 

I can buy fresh seafood at the markets 365 days of the year.

 

Yes it's put on ice to keep cool as they don't have fridges on all trawlers, but not frozen.

[shredie]

I'm a big meatloaf fan, can I get it in the MDR or buffet?

 

Yes. They tend to serve it on the last night of a longer cruise. I like it.