Foods Not to Eat at the Buffet

[rakchevy]

Forget talking about bacon and butter

[flyingv4me]

Never, I repeat, never get a burger from the buffet. Over-cooked hockey pucks that have been sitting in the same pan of grease for who knows how long. Nasty.

 

I've gotten so that I grab a napkin to use to pick up the tongs/spoon/whatever when at the buffet. Too many times have I seen someone lick their fingers then grab them.

 

RE: Eggs. I always get the omelette station to scramble or fry them for me. Fresh and tasty!

[pseudoware]

 

I've gotten so that I grab a napkin to use to pick up the tongs/spoon/whatever when at the buffet. Too many times have I seen someone lick their fingers then grab them.

 

RE: Eggs. I always get the omelette station to scramble or fry them for me. Fresh and tasty!

 

Lol, yeah, I disinfect again after putting my plate on the table and losing the tray.

 

The omelette station is my 1st stop at breakfast, no matter how long the wait.

 

This is obvious, but I avoid any food that I catch a pax reaching for w/their bare hands. Sadly, this happens all too frequently. Are we at the point where the cruise lines need to spell this out, in multiple languages?

 

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[wassup4565]

I like the scrambled eggs, but that's because I like my scrambled eggs creamy, not cooked to death until they are hard little egg chunks. And on only one cruise did I think they were made from powdered eggs - but the food generally on that cruise was very disappointing. How bad? I lost weight, that's how bad.

 

I find the buffet pasta and pasta sauces disappointing, something like you'd get at the food court in a mall. Agree with the comments about the cakes - tasteless sponge with over-sweet cute icing. The fish is hit-or-miss. Sometimes it's very good, and other times, tasteless, swimming in undistinguished sauce. The french fries are surprisingly good.

 

I love the salad bar, with all the interesting things to sprinkle over the leaves. And the station where the guy carves off whatever roast beast is on the menu that day.

[crystalspin]

HAL has (or at least had) a sauteed pasta station at lunch in the Lido. You could get them to double up on the veggies and hold the pasta to a minimum for a lower carb selection! The pasta itself was cooked nicely, not too soft. They also have an ethnic station that changes from day to day.

 

In the evening I agree with wassup just above me -- the carvery is where to go, although the side-dishes are hit-or-miss (and visual is not ALWAYS good to tell which should be missed! but, you can always leave it on your plate).

[ldubs]

Any dessert that isn't cookies or ice cream. Unless you like air-cake; in which case, take any dessert you like the looks of as they all taste the same... like air.

 

Holy cow, you described them perfectly -- "air cakes". Feedback on the desserts is consistently negative and they have been that way for a long time. I wonder why the cooks haven't addressed this.

[perditax]

Holy cow, you described them perfectly -- "air cakes". Feedback on the desserts is consistently negative and they have been that way for a long time. I wonder why the cooks haven't addressed this.

 

This was the first thing I noticed when I first started investigating cruises, about two years ago now (I've been on 7 since then). My theory then (before I ever tasted a cruise ship buffet dessert) and now remains the same: They make a lot of the desserts tasteless because they know that if there's one thing people will eat and eat if it's available in unlimited quantities, it's sweets. Can you imagine if they had all-you-can-eat, warm brownies? (For one thing, there would be smushed brownies *everywhere*.)

 

I'm sure those airy/gelatin-y desserts also cut costs, in and of themselves.

 

And of course, after you've had a few disappointing buffet desserts, you're more likely to go pay $4 for a stale cupcake (looking at you, NCL) or 'gelato'.

 

That said--I've had some good desserts on NCL buffet line, including slices of chocolate torte that were good and tasted like chocolate, and a I'm a huge fan of their hot desserts (bread puddings and such) with caramel and scooped ice cream, on the days it's there. (Some days it's rice pudding instead.)

 

(I think I've officially raved about the bread pudding enough that it'll be the next thing to disappear from NCL. RIP Flamingo Grill.)

 

I can't remember any buffet desserts from X, Princess or DCL, so apparently they fell into the 'tasteless' category.

[tbmrt]

Scrambled "eggs"...definitely not eggs

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Totally agree

[Gold Mine Gal]

Do not eat the Napoleon pastries that show up very rarely on Carnival buffets. Leave them for me!! [emoji23]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[iancal]

We avoid the buffet. When we do go, we try to avoid any foods that are available to passenger handling even if there are serving utensils.

 

We were in the Lido several years ago. Saw an older gentleman pawing his way through the cookies. Not certain why. Then saw a lady pawing her way through the cut fruit. In both cases serving utensils were right beside the tray but neither used them Saw the same with pre-made sandwiches and with dinner rolls. Really turned us off the buffet. The adults were far worse than the children and usually it was seniors like ourselves.

[Tatka]

iancal, I haven't been on Oceania, but read that they don't even put plates for passengers to pick. Everything that passenger wants is given by buffet worker. Every time on new plate so plates are not even passed to worker and back to avoid contamination.

[chengkp75]

ROFL, you are clueless. Food standards are very strict even more so on ships with the possible spread of norovirus. All food are labeled, dated and discarded. If they got caught doing as your accusing them the inspectors would shut them down or receive hefty fines or both.

 

Expiration dates must be checked before each cruise. I can tell you that chance of left over eggs even making it to the expiration date is slim to none, all stock are used based on the dates they came on board or expiration.

 

Any eggs that has been previous deshelled have a very short life hours not days.

 

Navybankerteacher is quite correct. As you say, food safety standards are very high on ships, so the USPH requires the use of "pasteurized egg product" (which are whole eggs that have been removed from their shells at the plant, pasteurized, and then stabilizers are added to keep the whites and yolks from separating) for anything where the egg can be eaten uncooked or undercooked, like Ceasar dressing, Hollandaise sauce, etc. Because they go through so many eggs in a day, to reduce storage space and handling, they don't use fresh eggs for scrambled products, they use the "pasteurized egg product". Unlike the ones you get in the grocery store in a carton, these come in 1 or 2 gallon plastic jugs. And since the product is pasteurized, it typically has a one year expiration date, so he's right about them leaving the shell months ago.

 

No, they don't use powdered eggs, I don't even think the US Army does that anymore. What many folks think is the giveaway for powdered eggs is the water present in the scrambled egg pan on the steam table. This is actually caused when cooking even shell eggs at too high a temperature and then letting them sit.

 

To the next point, about dating beer, if you've ever tasted "skunky" beer, you'd know why dating is important.

 

Next, regarding "left overs". Once a food has left "temperature control" (either a refrigerator or an oven or enclosed warming box), even if it is on a refrigerated buffet line or steam table, it is now on "time control" and must be discarded within 4 hours. It cannot be returned to "temperature control" once it is on "time control" since "time control" means they cannot guarantee the temperature it is being held at (no thermometers in the food on the steam table).

 

The only way you can have something cooked a previous day is if it went directly from the oven or warming box to a blast chiller designed to cool food (even thick roasts) to an internal temperature of 34*F (from the minimum 140*F it is cooked/held at) within 4 hours (properly documented and temperature logged every 30 minutes) and then placed back in a walk-in box. Once something has gone on a steam table, whether it is the buffet line, or the "plating" station in the galley, it gets tossed within 4 hours.

[Greselda2251]

Whenever I order eggs benedict from the MDR, I always order the sauce on the side. It may take a little longer to receive them, but you know that they are cooked fresh!

[whogo]

There are lots of things I like on the buffet, lots of things I'd rather not have, but the only thing I absolutely won't take is the charred tasting ultra-pasteurized milk. You have to wonder about a carton of milk that you pick up in August 2017 that has a use by date of April 2018.

[kitty9]

Breyers is selling a form of ice cream called non-dairy dessert. The carton still says Ice Cream, but if you look at the small print, it says Non-dairy frozen dessert. Food companies do this kind of thing all the time. Turkey bacon, turkey sausage, veggie Hamburgers and everything else. We might not agree with the designations, but that's the way of the commercial world.

 

I generally don't like breakfasts on cruise ships in buffets. The scrambled eggs don't look appetizing, many times the rolls and Danish are hard and the coffee on many ships is awful.

[$hip$hape]

There are lots of things I like on the buffet, lots of things I'd rather not have, but the only thing I absolutely won't take is the charred tasting ultra-pasteurized milk.

You have to wonder about a carton of milk that you pick up in August 2017 that has a use by date of April 2018.

The milk is safe.

What I wonder is, why is there an expiration date on sour cream?;p

[Pierlesscruisers]

There are lots of things I like on the buffet, lots of things I'd rather not have, but the only thing I absolutely won't take is the charred tasting ultra-pasteurized milk. You have to wonder about a carton of milk that you pick up in August 2017 that has a use by date of April 2018.

 

They've used ultra-pasteurized milk in Germany for years with no apparent problems. I used to drink it there when we were stationed there in the 80's. It did have a bit of a different taste as I remember unless it was chilled really well but then it just tasted like milk. Sure tasted a heck of a lot better than the dried milk that was 20 years or so before that for sure! :p

 

Tom

[Geezer Cruiser]

King crab is too much work.

 

For desserts, I generally stick with ice cream.

[Tatka]

Depending on the line.

I remember buffets on Princess from 2006 till 2008... Kings crab legs were already split in halves. ;)

[Haoie]

Personally, if it's a banal food like burgers or fries or pizza, I'll pass. I can get that at home. Let me try something new and exciting!

[chengkp75]

They've used ultra-pasteurized milk in Germany for years with no apparent problems. I used to drink it there when we were stationed there in the 80's. It did have a bit of a different taste as I remember unless it was chilled really well but then it just tasted like milk. Sure tasted a heck of a lot better than the dried milk that was 20 years or so before that for sure! :p

 

Tom

 

Merchant ships use this milk all the time, since we typically only take food stores every 60 days or so. As you say, when chilled, most of the UHT milk doesn't taste much different than regular, especially the 2% or skim.

[CanadaDeb]

Not really, unless it's something I wouldn't normally eat. Like corned beef. Hate that stuff.

 

Usually, I find the food at the buffet to be just fine. Maybe not "special". For "special" there are other options. For "gosh, I'm hungry, let's go find something to eat", the buffet fits the bill.

 

Ditto

[SRF]

Always amazes me, eggs benedict is my definition made with Ham. The others may have various names, Eggs Royale, Eggs Florataine etc.

 

Actually it should be made with back bacon, ie Canadian bacon. But it seems that ham or even streaky bacon is acceptable.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict

 

Eggs Benedict is a traditional American brunch or breakfast dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin each of which is topped with Canadian bacon, ham or sometimes bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce.

[SRF]

I was referring to the greater availability of IPAs, summer ales etc. in US now.

 

 

Lite = tasteless IMHO.

 

I guess 'peak of freshness dating' would be pertinent for any beers that are still live.

 

American lagers are a legitimate beer style. Just because you do not appreciate them, does not mean they are not good beer.

 

And where they shine is after a hot day outside working, they are GREAT.

[SRF]

I do NOT anything I know I don't like. Brussels sprouts are in this class.

 

I do try new things (a small portion to try it out), which is why I LIKE buffets.

 

I do NOT take anything that looks off or dodgy.

 

I like vegemite/Marmite, I was introduced to it in Australia. I eat it on toast, you butter the toast first, then a thin layer of the product.

 

I also have found the desserts to be OK, but as mentioned, some are not as good as they look.

 

I did find that Mexican night on the RCCL cruise I was on, was not very good. Not even Taco Bell level. Which I thought strange with all the Mexican staff on board. I am sure they serve better stuff in the staff cafeteria.

 

WRT scrambled eggs, I prefer then soft, so if they are hard, no matter what the source, I will pass. But soft scrambled, I am fine with the packaged eggs.

Edited August 16, 2017 by SRF