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What land base restaurants woukd you compare the MDR to


Jareds_mommytoo
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2 minutes ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

I always describe the MDR food as banquet food.

 

I love your Keg restaurants, far superior to any cruise line MDR.

 

We have a Keg branch near Tucson but not as good as ones in Montreal or Vancouver.

You must go to some pretty fancy banquets.  The ones I go to at conferences are usually a salad, baked chicken breast, over roasted potatoes, peas & carrots, and cheesecake or pie for dessert.  Pretty uninspired.

 

Roz

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Oh Boy,

I think you will get mixed bag of responses.  I have been to both Cheesecake Factory and The Keg, (Lived in Vancouver my whole life).  For me, in my opinion,  I think the MDR is very nice ambiance it is better than both Cheescake Factory and The Keg.  I am trying to liken it to something here, all I can think of right now is a fine hotel dining room but decorated much more, some main dining room ceilings have Chihuly Glass “sculptures”.  Very nice ambiance but not too stuffy.  I think for a family, great treat for mom and dad, and kids get to eat more formally without feeling out of place.

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2 minutes ago, Lido deck main said:

Oh Boy,

I think you will get mixed bag of responses.  I have been to both Cheesecake Factory and The Keg, (Lived in Vancouver my whole life).  For me, in my opinion,  I think the MDR is very nice ambiance it is better than both Cheescake Factory and The Keg.  I am trying to liken it to something here, all I can think of right now is a fine hotel dining room but decorated much more, some main dining room ceilings have Chihuly Glass “sculptures”.  Very nice ambiance but not too stuffy.  I think for a family, great treat for mom and dad, and kids get to eat more formally without feeling out of place.

I was more trying to describe the food, not the space though  

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16 minutes ago, Jareds_mommytoo said:

I was more trying to describe the food, not the space though  

 

What land-based restaurants crank out on average 2000 meals, three times a day from a confined-space galley food prep setting, using ingredients shipped in from remote locations, after passing management's inspection requirements for food safety, and delivered onboard  after remote transits only every few weeks?

Edited by OlsSalt
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I consider the ambience and food in the main dining room on any mass market line to be nothing more than you get in a banquet. Typical 1 -2 star banquet food. Nothing special about it at all. You can't do anything special when you are serving 2000 meals in 3 hours, and quality always suffers.

Edited by zqvol
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4 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

What land-based restaurants crank out on average 2000 meals, three times a day from a confined-space galley food prep setting, using ingredients shipped in from remote locations, after passing management's inspection requirements for food safety, and delivered onboard  after remote transits only every few weeks?

And that describes the food how? someone ask what the food quality was like and i was  trying to give a reference 

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45 minutes ago, Roz said:

You must go to some pretty fancy banquets.  The ones I go to at conferences are usually a salad, baked chicken breast, over roasted potatoes, peas & carrots, and cheesecake or pie for dessert.  Pretty uninspired.

 

Roz

I think the difference is between conferences, which are hardly banquets, and places like a wedding reception banquet hall.  That is also what I consider the cruise ship cuisine to be close to.  I think the MDR food is somewhat above a "chain restaurant" and a banquet hall.  The reason the food quality is not superior is for the reasons stated above, the sheer number of covers that the galley prepares each and every night.  I wouldn't put any of the specialty restaurants on ships as equal to any fine dining experience on land.  I've worked cruise ships and cruised as a pax, but my experience may be tinged by the quality of restaurants in my home town of Portland.

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28 minutes ago, Jareds_mommytoo said:

And that describes the food how? someone ask what the food quality was like and i was  trying to give a reference 

 

You need to compare apples to apples. We don't dine in mass market chains who operate under the same conditions as HAL ships, so how can anyone compare?

 

 Agree, with comments being close to hotel banquet food however,  as that more closely approximates the ship board setting of many of similar menu items coming out all at once, in a limited time setting - I'd put HAL dining in the Hyatt or Four Seasons hotel banquet range. 

Edited by OlsSalt
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5 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

You need to compare apples to apples. We don't dine in mass market chains who operate under the same conditions as HAL ships, so how can anyone compare?

So i should tell her a prison or other institution? 😜

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12 minutes ago, Jareds_mommytoo said:

So i should tell her a prison or other institution? 😜

 

If you want. If this is what you think is an appropriate description of HAL dining. Why not throw in student dorm food or senior memory care residential centers too. 

 

Even on Crystal Cruises, they just add more frou frou in their presentations than actually offer individualized "fine dining" that one might expect on land in limited capacity restaurants serving freshly procured ingredients and offering only one setting a day.

 

Not sure where you are going with this. 

Edited by OlsSalt
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10 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

If you want. If this is what you think is an appropriate description of HAL dining. Why not throw in student dorm food or senior memory care residential centers too. 

 

Even on Crystal Cruises, they just add more frou frou in their presentations than actually offer individualized "fine dining" that one might expect on land in limited capacity restaurants serving freshly procured ingredients and offering only one setting a day.

 

Not sure where you are going with this. 

Actually, I was very pleasantly surprised at the cafeteria food at my oldest's college, but then again it was a private college, and run by Benedictine monks who definitely knew how to live well (they also had their own brewery on campus), but I digress.

 

Fine dining, I expect each and every meal to be prepared to order, and in many cases the sides as well.  MDR food does not come close to this kind of expectation, the only thing done to order is to plate up the meal from the steam table.  As you say, the specialty restaurants on main stream lines, as well as many of the upscale lines, still prepare a fixed number of each entree in advance, not really to order.

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32 minutes ago, wales4ever said:

Fawlty towers - google the programme if your not from the UK

Manuel, Manuel...  we had that show in Canada as well, very funny.  Not close to MDR on a cruise line, but still a very funny show aka Flowery Twats, Watery Fowls, etc.

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Pictures are worth a 1000 words sometimes.  These are all room service schlepped from the MDR kitchen.  I would agree with banquet food if it was in New Orleans specially chosen for a wedding.  Hard to put a label on it.  First  two pics Oosterdam dining room.  The others from Rotterdam last month.   For the most part very flavorful. 

 

 

MDR chicken croquette.jpg

MDR Cod with lobster sauce.jpg

carpaccio 21819.jpg

chicken date kebabs 22019.jpg

Crab topped filet.jpg

dinner 22019.jpg

Gala dinner 22119.jpg

rigatoni 21819.jpg

SJ dinner 21619.jpg

Veal roast 22219.jpg

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2 hours ago, Jareds_mommytoo said:

I was trying describe the food quality of the main dining room so someone, i would was thinking like the Cheesecake Factory quality. Not quite the KEG in canada .  

 

I'd say it is the kind of restaurant you'd take your grandparents to, if they were visiting your big city from their smaller home town.  Someplace a bit more than they are accustomed to, but not intimidating.  Food and atmosphere. 

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1 minute ago, ottahand7 said:

Pictures are worth a 1000 words sometimes.  These are all room service schlepped from the MDR kitchen.  I would agree with banquet food if it was in New Orleans specially chosen for a wedding.  Hard to put a label on it.  First  two pics Oosterdam dining room.  The others from Rotterdam last month.   For the most part very flavorful. 

 

 

MDR chicken croquette.jpg

MDR Cod with lobster sauce.jpg

carpaccio 21819.jpg

chicken date kebabs 22019.jpg

Crab topped filet.jpg

dinner 22019.jpg

Gala dinner 22119.jpg

rigatoni 21819.jpg

SJ dinner 21619.jpg

Veal roast 22219.jpg

Thanks for the pictures.  I live life with a glass half full atititude, thankful to be alive, be able to travel, I appreciate efforts of the cruise line, crews always attentive and want to make people happy.  If you think your going to have a great time you will, if you appreciate the efforts ( of course, nothing in life is perfect) you think it is great, if you go in with the attitude the food quality is not up to your usual standard (some people really must live glorified lives) you will never be happy with the food quality.  Great pictures, and yes pictures do speak a thousand words.

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