New Pinnacle Menu

Someone posted recently that a new Pinnacle menu will be out in the next few weeks- we were told on board earlier this year that new menus were in the works.

Post indicated that tableside prep was going away. Other than that has anyone heard what other changes will be on the new menus? I shot an email to our PCC to see if she has any info. We book our dinners well in advance (and eat in the Pinnacle a lot) and would really like to see the menus before committing to many dinners.

Someone posted recently that a new Pinnacle menu will be out in the next few weeks- we were told on board earlier this year that new menus were in the works.

Post indicated that tableside prep was going away. Other than that has anyone heard what other changes will be on the new menus? I shot an email to our PCC to see if she has any info. We book our dinners well in advance (and eat in the Pinnacle a lot) and would really like to see the menus before committing to many dinners.

My PG waiter tonight on the Zuiderdam said the changes were minor but would add caviar.

My PG waiter tonight on the Zuiderdam said the changes were minor but would add caviar.

Yum, that is good news. Wonder what brand/type?

My PG waiter tonight on the Zuiderdam said the changes were minor but would add caviar.

I trust it won't be salmon caviar. I call that stuff fish eggs along with the green flying fish caviar. :eek: Hope it is the real deal black caviar.

I trust it won't be salmon caviar. I call that stuff fish eggs along with the green flying fish caviar. :eek: Hope it is the real deal black caviar.

I imagine it will be an appetizer of small amounts of several kinds of caviar, but we'll see. Just a guess.

I imagine it will be an appetizer of small amounts of several kinds of caviar, but we'll see. Just a guess.

I agree.

I remember when that was offered in MDR on every cruise. There was a small amount of three kinds of caviar with toast points, chopped onion and probably chopped hard boiled egg, as I recall.

Post indicated that tableside prep was going away. Other than that has anyone heard what other changes will be on the new menus?

Let's hope the old, familiar onion soup will make a triumphant return. :D

Let's hope the old, familiar onion soup will make a triumphant return. :D

Here, here,,,,,,,,

And I'd be happy to see the Northwest Clam Chowder back on the Pinnacle menu.

Crystal brags they serve caviar every night if this is what the passenger wants. But it was a lousy brand (mushy, sticky, over-processed, one-note taste), so one night was more than enough. Hope HAL offers something better than just the novelty of having "caviar".

Let's hope the old, familiar onion soup will make a triumphant return. :D

Agree. They did such a great job with their old, familiar onion soup - spectacular. That is a real loss of a classic.

Here, here,,,,,,,,

 

And I'd be happy to see the Northwest Clam Chowder back on the Pinnacle menu.

 

We would also like to see the Northwest Clam Chowder brought back.

Someone posted recently that a new Pinnacle menu will be out in the next few weeks- we were told on board earlier this year that new menus were in the works.

Post indicated that tableside prep was going away. Other than that has anyone heard what other changes will be on the new menus? I shot an email to our PCC to see if she has any info. We book our dinners well in advance (and eat in the Pinnacle a lot) and would really like to see the menus before committing to many dinners.

We also eat a lot in the Pinnacle when we cruise and there we are also interested in seeing the new menu.

In fact, on our last cruise we never ate once in the dining room for dinner. We just went back and forth between the Pinnacle and the Tamarind.

One thing we will miss is having the Caesar salad made tableside.

Having it made tableside I was able to tell the waiter how much dressing I wanted, etc. Also DH could get his anchovies whole on top of the salad.

We are not fans of the Caesar salad made for the Lido or the dining room as it is made in large batches and sits around and gets wilted. And you can bet that since it won't be made table side, the Pinnacle will also make a large batch for each evening.

Same thing with the Arugula Salad.

One thing we will miss is having the Caesar salad made tableside.

 

Having it made tableside I was able to tell the waiter how much dressing I wanted, etc. Also DH could get his anchovies whole on top of the salad.

 

We are not fans of the Caesar salad made for the Lido or the dining room as it is made in large batches and sits around and gets wilted. And you can bet that since it won't be made table side, the Pinnacle will also make a large batch for each evening.

 

Same thing with the Arugula Salad.

That was something we thought was amiss on our recent visit to the Pinnacle. We ordered Caesar salad and it was supposed to be made tableside but was not. It was made somewhere else and delivered to our table. We were a little puzzled :confused: over this. Has this happened to anyone else.....or was it just us?? Maybe they have started to not make salads tableside anymore? We were just on the Eurodam Nov 17 week.

That was something we thought was amiss on our recent visit to the Pinnacle. We ordered Caesar salad and it was supposed to be made tableside but was not. It was made somewhere else and delivered to our table. We were a little puzzled :confused: over this. Has this happened to anyone else.....or was it just us?? Maybe they have started to not make salads tableside anymore? We were just on the Eurodam Nov 17 week.

That was the week that all table side preparations were stopped on nearly all the ships.

Just a new decision.

That was something we thought was amiss on our recent visit to the Pinnacle. We ordered Caesar salad and it was supposed to be made tableside but was not. It was made somewhere else and delivered to our table. We were a little puzzled :confused: over this. Has this happened to anyone else.....or was it just us?? Maybe they have started to not make salads tableside anymore? We were just on the Eurodam Nov 17 week.

Yes, it happened to me a couple of years ago but can't recall which ship. Waiter said it was too hard to get cart close to our table. That was a load of crap. Later we had tableside service for a meat dish. I personally won't miss tableside service as it was much ado about nothing.

Crystal brags they serve caviar every night if this is what the passenger wants. But it was a lousy brand (mushy, sticky, over-processed, one-note taste), so one night was more than enough. Hope HAL offers something better than just the novelty of having "caviar".

Since Crystal fares are 50% more you can pretty much bet the most "economic grade" below that on crystal will be served on Holland

Since Crystal fares are 50% more you can pretty much bet the most "economic grade" below that on crystal will be served on Holland

Not sure about this. Sometimes things get chosen just for what they cost, with little regard for quality, value or taste. Let's hope those making the decisions for HAL know the difference. But I agree, I suspect the HAL decision will be more the novelty of the offering, rather than the quality inside the tin.

I admit I got spoiled. I traveled in Russia in the 1970's when they sold the real deal unpasturized caviar snacks for pennies spread on buttered bread everywhere I went. I "got" what caviar was all about after that experience, and realized once it leaves its country of origin in a sealed tin, all bets are off.

I could have sworn I posted here last night - must not have hit the "submit" button. Anyways, my opinion is that caviar is pretentious and yukky, and no more than fish eggs on toast. It used to be commonly served at functions where I lived in the UK years ago and I avoided it every time.:(

I could have sworn I posted here last night - must not have hit the "submit" button. Anyways, my opinion is that caviar is pretentious and yukky, and no more than fish eggs on toast. It used to be commonly served at functions where I lived in the UK years ago and I avoided it every time.:(

I don't mind caviar but I sure hate escargot! I do love the Caesar salad made tableside. It's way better than the MDR stuff.

Like many things, when there is a need China steps into the void and meets it. Even finding substitutes for Russian caviar these days (aka Shassetra) Let's see what HAL puts in their Pinnacle larder:

From the net: Schrenki is just starting to swim into the consciousness of the global caviar-lover. Yes, we caviarheads starting hearing about the Chinese Kaluga caviar twenty years ago, and we thought that was it for China, caviar-wise (the inherent rhyme in Kaluga made it easy to remember?)

But the species Acipenseriformes in the Amur River Basin has, actually, two sub-categories: Kaluga AND Schrencki. Every time I’ve tasted them together in the last two years…I’ve liked the Kaluga…and LOVED the Schrenki…which has a rich, sticky, eggy depth in its often green-yellow eggs (again, not unlike Osetra).

You can find Schrencki from numerous purveyors right now, and I haven’t tasted them all…but I can personally recommend the wonderful, Caspian-like Chinese Schrencki from Petrossian. Intriguingly, at Petrossian they have created a new marketing name for Schrencki; last year they called it “Schrencki,” but this year they have shifted to “Shassetra.” Ah well…roes by any other name would smell as sweet!

I don't mind caviar but I sure hate escargot! I do love the Caesar salad made tableside. It's way better than the MDR stuff.

Agree. And Caesar salad should always be freshly made anyway.

I could have sworn I posted here last night - must not have hit the "submit" button. Anyways, my opinion is that caviar is pretentious and yukky, and no more than fish eggs on toast. It used to be commonly served at functions where I lived in the UK years ago and I avoided it every time.:(

I don't mind caviar but I sure hate escargot! I do love the Caesar salad made tableside. It's way better than the MDR stuff.

Love caviar (the decent stuff) and escargots both.

Totally agree about the Caesar salad in the PG - it is very good. We liked it tableside as we could state our preferences - hopefully, it will still be made to order just not at the table. One of the things we LOVE about the PG :D

Crystal brags they serve caviar every night if this is what the passenger wants. But it was a lousy brand (mushy, sticky, over-processed, one-note taste), so one night was more than enough. Hope HAL offers something better than just the novelty of having "caviar".

Seabourn serves caviar whenever and wherever you wish. In fact one afternoon the bar waiter was serving 8 of us drinks outdoors at a table overlooking the pool and he brought a huge bowl with all the trimmings just because he thought we'd like it with our drinks. Can't tell you what kind it was, but it was delicious all agreed, even those who were very educated as to the preferred varieties of caviar.

Seabourn serves caviar whenever and wherever you wish. In fact one afternoon the bar waiter was serving 8 of us drinks outdoors at a table overlooking the pool and he brought a huge bowl with all the trimmings just because he thought we'd like it with our drinks. Can't tell you what kind it was, but it was delicious all agreed, even those who were very educated as to the preferred varieties of caviar.

Amazing what a $500 a day cruise line offers compared to a $100 a day cruise line. Sounds lovely. :cool: Happily, I shall report about this new Pinnacle offering in just a few more days.