Items you would like on MDR menu

[Reds4life]

I just got off Seaside and noticed a few items that seem to be very common on other cruise lines and not on MSC. I thought maybe a thread for suggestions in the rare case that MSC staff read CC. My two are Cheesecake and Lobster. I REALLY missed those two on this cruise!

[Beamafar]

We had cheesecake twice on Meraviglia (in YC).

 

They used to serve pigeon and wild boar;  I'd like to see them re-instated (though not frogs legs, which they also used to offer as an amuse bouche) - again, all in YC.

 

Perhaps we'll begin to see more Celebrity type offerings, now that that MSC has a new VP of food & beverages - Jacques Van Staden, who worked with X previously.

 

 “Jacques is well-known for his innovative and creative dining concepts and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to the MSC Cruises family as we strive to continue to elevate our culinary offerings across our fleet” said Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises Chief Executive Officer.   Van Staden served as vice president of food and beverage and master chef for Celebrity Cruises. 

[thetaro]

There was cheesecake in MDR and rock lobster for an upcharge. For someone who's from NYC, I didn't care about cheesecake and lobster. 

 

I wish there are more variety of salad and soup. It's usually just the same soup from the buffet. Meat in MDR is mostly cheap cut and slow-cooked. I would rather have a wider variety of foreign cuisines.  The kids' menu is basically a junk-food menu. 

 

The MDR menu is a disguised buffet that is plated and served. It's designed to save cost and time. You can put on a beautiful dress or a tux, but it's not fine dining if it's not cooked to order.

 

Food is delicious, but it's just boring by day 5. The menu is basically

Same salad + buffet soup + seared/grilled/baked fish + slow-cooked (beef/chicken/duck/lamb/pork)  + pasta/risotto

 

For the price of the cruise, I am not really complaining, but I think the chef can be more creative with the menu. 

[NYHartChapp]

Escargot.

[HLR]

13 hours ago, thetaro said:

Food is delicious, but it's just boring by day 5. The menu is basically

Same salad + buffet soup + seared/grilled/baked fish + slow-cooked (beef/chicken/duck/lamb/pork)  + pasta/risotto

 

 

Hi Thetaro!

 

Can you give some examples of what you mean by "Slow Cooked" meats? Were they good though?

Do you mean dishes like pork or lamb shank? Osso Buco? Short ribs?

 

Howard

[thetaro]

19 minutes ago, HLR said:

Hi Thetaro!

 

Can you give some examples of what you mean by "Slow Cooked" meats? Were they good though?

Do you mean dishes like pork or lamb shank? Osso Buco? Short ribs?

 

Howard

 

They are good, but it gets boring for having similar stuff every day. Basically all kinds of meat that you slow cook/pressure cook to make it tender. It's the best way to use a cheap cut of meat. It's easy to prep and almost impossible to overcook. Perfect for MDR when you need to serve so many meals at the same time.

[Beamafar]

Escargot are usually on the menu on 'Elegant' night. They also offer Osso Buco quite regularly (on Med cruises, anyway). We've had lamb shank, too:



This pork dish, (roast suckling piglet with myrtle) though nothing to look at, was one of the most delicious dishes I've had in the MDR



and, of course, on 'Mediterranean' night, there's always couscous with chicken and lamb



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[HLR]

Those all look soooo good! You've made me very happy in anticipation of the Meraviglia's first US sailing October 8th to Canada....on which they will probably totally change the menus for Americans [that's me] so we don't complain about things!

 

Howard

[Beamafar]

I'm really hoping that they do tweak the menus for US sailings on Meraviglia, too, Howard (we're on for 23 nights from Oct 18th, so we embark the day you disembark).  I loved most of the offerings on Armonia out of Miami in January.  I posted the menus and photos of the food on the following thread:

 

2631573-notes-from-armonia-miami-havana-jan-2019

 

Bea

 

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Beamafar

[little britain]

[ready2cruzagain]

8 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Escargot are usually on the menu on 'Elegant' night. They also offer Osso Buco quite regularly (on Med cruises, anyway). We've had lamb shank, too:



This pork dish, (roast suckling piglet with myrtle) though nothing to look at, was one of the most delicious dishes I've had in the MDR



and, of course, on 'Mediterranean' night, there's always couscous with chicken and lamb



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

The suckling piglet is awesome! One of my favorite.  They had it on the Divina in the Caribbean this past Dec. Loved it!

[Beamafar]

Glad to hear that.  I'd love to see it on Meraviglia in Oct.  The meat was incredibly tender;  definitely one of MSC's better MDR offerings and best-flavoured dishes.

[EngIceDave]

I wouldn't mind a simple choice.

Maybe my wife wants the prime rib or whatever, and I'm not that hungry or into that....I don't want to make her miss it, so I go to MDR, but nothing really appeals

 

But a simple personal pizza or even a simple burger and chips (fries) to nibble on

[HLR]

This all looks great! I hope they keep their European style offerings.

 

I don't want to eat things that I can cook anytime myself. Like at breakfast: I Don't Care about an omelet station...I eat eggs for breakfast every day. I want French Toast and Lox and special things! When was the last time you fried a kipper at home? 

 

Osso Bucco and Tagines take time to produce...I don't have the time to make those at home.

 

Howard

[lizinvan]

Same menu every ship. Quality varies ; don’t know how it compares in the Caribe. Better I hope!

[Reds4life]

I have to say the salad offerings on Seaside were very much improved. I'm pretty traditional American in my tastes. I only like salad made of lettuce, lots of grilled meats, shrimp and lobster of every variety. The desserts on Seaside were just not decadent enough and where in the world was the shrimp? 

[HLR]

12 hours ago, Beamafar said:

I'm really hoping that they do tweak the menus for US sailings on Meraviglia, too, Howard (we're on for 23 nights from Oct 18th, so we embark the day you disembark).  I loved most of the offerings on Armonia out of Miami in January.  I posted the menus and photos of the food on the following thread:

 

2631573-notes-from-armonia-miami-havana-jan-2019

  

Bea

 

 

 

Now I am looking at the menus in the Armonia's link here and they look NOTHING like the menus in Europe. Totally like any other mainstream cruise line. Nothing Italian about them?  I looked thru the first 2 pages and there are no Italian specialties....no Italian desserts? 

 

Yet Lizinvan says all the menus are the same on every ship? Please to explain?

 

Howard

[Beamafar]

The menus are dictated by the region the ships are sailing in, so, no, the menus are NOT the same on every ship.

 

MSC certainly offers greater variety on their repositioning cruises, too, as they're usually longer than their regular itineraries and people don't want to see the same menus rotating week to week.

[vtgumby]

9 hours ago, HLR said:

 

Now I am looking at the menus in the Armonia's link here and they look NOTHING like the menus in Europe. Totally like any other mainstream cruise line. Nothing Italian about them?  I looked thru the first 2 pages and there are no Italian specialties....no Italian desserts? 

 

Yet Lizinvan says all the menus are the same on every ship? Please to explain?

 

Howard

Hey Howard...On our Preziosa TA from the Caribbean to Europe there was nada in the Italian department which we also commented on, no fresh pasta (linguine at lunch, not 'fresh') and by far the worse tiramisu I've ever had and my Italian trip weight gains will tell you I know good pasta and tiramisu.

🙂

So readjust that expectation, we went on excitedly thinking awesome Italian food was in store for us but sadly didn't find Italian food on the ship and our experience was bland food, hoping yours is better AND the new chef brings over tasty recipes from Celebrity because food taste (lack of) was the biggest limiting factor for us with MSC but as I've said multiple times, the first time I've left a cruise losing three lbs in three weeks so yay?!

🙂

[lizinvan]

Have not been on the North American/Caribe routes yet but after 4 cruises/3 ships in the Med and Northern Europe 9/10 countries we had the same menu each time.  The Med night serving of Spanikopita was different every time and only acceptable 1/4 even with B2B in same ship. 

There are other examples but this should give you an idea. Size portion and quality varied within each shop never mind ship to ship.