New Pinnacle Menu -- In Depth

Pinnacle New Menu

The Beginning:

French Onion Soup King Louis XV - beef broth with aged Cognac & caramelized onions, baked with gruyere cheese

Lobster Bisque - crème fraiche & aged Sherry

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail - brandy horseradish cocktail sauce

Vine Ripened Beefsteak Tomato Salad - sliced purple onion, balsamic vinaigrette or blue cheese dressing Baby

Baby Arugula Salad - tossed with sliced red onion, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms & a warm bacon dressing -- topped with smoked bacon & chopped egg

Caesar Salad - crisp romaine tossed with our very own Caesar dressing, grated Parmesan cheese, garlic croutons & anchovies -- prepared tableside

Dungeness Crab Cakes - spiral shaved cucumber & sweet chili-mustard sauce

Pinnacle Ocean Platter - carpaccio of lightly smoked salmon, accompanied with hot smoked salmon, sea scallops & wasabi cream

The Grill:

The Pinnacle Grill features hand selected Sterling Silver Premium Beef, unsurpassed in tenderness & taste. Our own Holland America Culinary Collection seasoned rubs add intriguing dimensions of flavor & our own 1600 degree grill helps seal in the juices.

Filet Mignon

New York Strip Steak

Porterhouse Steak

Bone-In Rib Eye Steak

ALL steaks are served with a choice of our own hand-crafted sauces: sun-dried tomato ~~ classic béarnaise ~~ horseradish-mustard ~~ Master Chef’s green peppercorn-classic hollandaise-maitre d’ and garlic butter

Colorado Lamp Chops - spiced apple chutney & fresh mint sauce

Grilled Veal Chop - marinated overnight in a savory blend of Rosemary, garlic & pepper vinegar with scallions

Chicken Breast - oven baked chicken breast stuffed with spinach & garlic herb cheese & served with lemon garlic beurre blanc sauce

Filet Steak Diane - the time honored classic: pan-seared medallions of beef tenderloin served with a light cream sauce enriched with mushrooms, shallots & Cognac

Filet Mignon Burger - a half-pound of freshly ground 100% beef, fine herbs & truffle infused cooked to your liking, served with fried onion rings and tomatoes

Sea Food:

Broiled King Salmon - troll-caught (for sustainability) in Alaskan waters, quick seared & broiled, served with your choice of lemon garlic herb splash or sesame-soy kalbi

Broiled or Poached Lobster Tail on a bed of wilted spinach & arugula with mustard seed & “mangochurri” pesto sauce or melted butter

Cedar Planked Black Cod with Shrimp Scampi - roasted garlic & cilantro butter

The Intrigue:

Land and Sea - Master Chef Rudi Sodamin‘s interpretation of Surf & Turf: filet mignon & jumbo prawns on whipped potatoes with garlic rosemary beurre blanc

Lobster Macaroni and Cheese - Chef‘s favorite: a delicate, gratineed combination of mascarpone-enriched pasta & creamy lobster broth with chunks of lobster

Roasted Vegetable Tower - with onion confit & tomato coulis

Side Dishes:

Creamed Spinach

Sautéed Button Mushrooms

Sautéed Onions

Asparagus

Scalloped

Whipped

Jumbo Baked Idaho

Shoestring Potatoes

Basmati Rice

The Finale:

Not-So-Classic Baked Alaska - Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream flamed with Bing Cherries Jubilee

Warm Grand Marnier Chocolate Volcano Cake - the ultimate chocolate experience

Velvet Soufflé – Chocolate or Vanilla - served with Grand Marnier sauce (must notify server at beginning of meal if you want this dessert)

Creamy Homemade Raspberry Cheesecake - served with fresh berries

Chocolate And Raisin Bread Pudding - with whiskey sauce

Pinnacle Crème Brule - flavors of coffee, chocolate & vanilla

Fresh Seasonal Fruits and Berries - with a Sabayon sauce

Premium Ice Cream or Sorbets

Assortment of International Cheeses.

Can't wait to try some of those items....

Krazy Kruizers thanks for the update on the Pinnacle's new menu. To me it seem much the same just expanded with some new dishes. Doesn't that Lobster Macaroni and Cheese sound wonderful, and I love Souffle.

Even before the new Pinnacle menu came out, the souffle was offered at least one evening on each cruise a special item -- we got to try it and fell in love with it.

The chocolate one is really good.

If so many people hadn't pre-booked the Pinnacle and gotten gift cards from TA's, I was going to try that Lobster Macaroni & Cheese. But we couldn't get a decent reservation time on our second week.

Thanks for posting this KK. I'm so happy that most of our faves are still there (except the oh-so-good Clam Chowder that DH loved :(:(). And there are some wonderful new items that I'm eager to try. Did you notice if the PG lunch menu is revamped as well?

So far the lunch menu has not changed.

I always had the Northwest Clam Chowder soup -- I really miss that as well.:(

Lobster Mac and Cheese??? I've died and gone to heaven!:p

Don't know about the lobster mac & cheese, but the lobster TAILS we had at the Pinnacle were offensive. The absolutely WORST food I've ever had on a cruise ship. Tiny, overcooked, and drenched with some sort of (I suspect)pre-packaged steak seasoning salt. We did not complain as we were quite sure whoever was cooking that night had no idea what to do with lobster.

DH's Steak Diane was magnificent.

Glad to see that Chocolate Volcano cake hasn't disappeared from the desserts.:D

Don't know about the lobster mac & cheese, but the lobster TAILS we had at the Pinnacle were offensive. The absolutely WORST food I've ever had on a cruise ship. Tiny, overcooked, and drenched with some sort of (I suspect)pre-packaged steak seasoning salt. We did not complain as we were quite sure whoever was cooking that night had no idea what to do with lobster.

 

DH's Steak Diane was magnificent.

For us -- the lobster tails in the dining room are the worst -- they leave them under the covers way to long before they are served to you - thus they keep on cooking.

On the Eurodam -- you have a choice of two sauces -- sounds as though you did not specify butter only -- thus no seasonings -- that's the way we ordered them. Ours were perfect -- not over cooked -- brough right to the table. We each got 2 four ounce lobster tails.

Sorry you had a bad experience.

Glad to see that Chocolate Volcano cake hasn't disappeared from the desserts.:D

Me Too!! :D

Lobster Mac and Cheese??? I've died and gone to heaven!:p

Yeah, but my waistline would have gone to h*ll. :)

Blue skies ...

--rita

Pinnacle Grill:

I had made a reservation on-line for the Pinnacle Grill for 5:30 on Monday.

Here are photos of the menu:

http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff286/RickKnows/cruise%202008%20II/?action=view&current=cruise039.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff286/RickKnows/cruise%202008%20II/cruise040.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff286/RickKnows/cruise%202008%20II/cruise041.jpg

When I made the reservation on-line it asked for a date and time. When the gift cards arrived in my room, there was no reservation. It was just an open certificate. I called the grill to confirm the time and they added my name to the reservation sheet. When it came time to leave after dinner, they had no idea that we had already paid. Make sure that you bring your receipts! It wasn’t a problem; just don’t assume that they know because it was pre-paid with a date and time.

For appetizers --I had the Shrimp Cocktail. It was presented in a martini glass. There were four very large prawns. DH had the crab cake. I looked over at his plate; it was obviously real crab with little filler.

For the main course I ordered broiled lobster with asparagus. Two lobster tails were delivered. They were not the best lobster tails that I’ve ever had, but they were very good and they were served with drawn butter. DH orders the Surf and Turf. He had a very large 10oz. fillet for the Turf. The surf was a lonely prawn. Of course it was a large prawn. It did look lonely next to that steak. He said it was the best steak he’s ever had.

For dessert I had the Chocolate Volcano cake and DH had the baked Alaska. I’m not a dessert eater at all. However, I find myself wanting to take another HA cruise for that Chocolate Cake.

In all, the over-the-top service, from the staff made this meal very special. I’d definitely make another 5:30 reservation on the first sea day to have almost the entire staff waiting on us.

you have a choice of two sauces -- sounds as though you did not specify butter only -- thus no seasonings

We had the choice of poached or broiled. No choice re sauces. Overall, because of DH's amazing Steak Diane, (and the fabulous chocolate souffle the waiter did his best to talk us out of ordering, because it would be "made to order, so you'll have to wait a half-hour, are you sure that's what you want, you need to know there will be a wait") we'd go again, but I'd never order the lobster again. And they messed up our reservations, so we didn't get the time we wanted, we got the time THEY wanted. Not the best experience for our first try at the Pinnacle.

We had a great experience with the new menu on a recent Oosterdam cruise. Appetizers were the oversized shimp cocktail and crab cakes. Porterhouse and surf & turf for the main course completed with a chocolate souffle and volcano cake for the finale.

The service was superb. It was a first class experience all the way.

I think I've decided on my Pinnacle Grill meal for our March cruise! Prawn coctail & the baby arugula salad, then the Porterhouse with the jumbo Idaho baked, and then the chocolate volcano cake to top it all off. (Now we just have to line up a babysitter for the kids once onboard or get the 3-year old toilet trained so he can go to Club Hal).

It sounds as though they are not honoring reservation times made online. There is a statement in the FAQ on HAL's website that says that you cannot select a special time/date. And FATEKNOWS is telling us that their reservation was not honored.

We made a reservation 3 months ago and are not expecting the restaurant to know about it. We like to eat late, and don't care if we are seated at 9PM or later. Will this make it any easier to get reservations?

It sounds as though they are not honoring reservation times made online. There is a statement in the FAQ on HAL's website that says that you cannot select a special time/date. And FATEKNOWS is telling us that their reservation was not honored.

 

We made a reservation 3 months ago and are not expecting the restaurant to know about it. We like to eat late, and don't care if we are seated at 9PM or later. Will this make it any easier to get reservations?

It’s been reported here that if you reserve the PG on-line or thru Ship Services until Dec 15 you can secure the current $20 pp rate - after that it increases to $25 pp. As I see it, that’s the only benefit to reserving the PG in advance.

We have pre-purchased PG dinners on-line & went thru the reservation process to select dates/time, knowing that specific reservations cannot be guaranteed. Once on-board, we went to the PG to confirm our reservations & learned that the ship had no knowledge of our advance bookings. We had absolutely no guarantee that we’d get a table at all, let alone on our preferred dates/time. On the Prinsendam recently, the PG was very busy & we had to “settle” for an undesirable date/time as it was the only option available. If you're OK with dining before 5:30 pm or after 9:00 pm, your odds increase.

I see no advantage to purchasing in advance if the ship has no record that you’re coming at all. :(:(

Outstanding menu except for one small point. Splenda Dessert for us Diabetics. I know they usually retreive the Sugar Free Dessert from the Diningroom Menu for you but it would be nice if they had one of their own desserts that was sugar free. Always love the Pinnacle and do not really care if it is $20 or $25. It is money well spent.:)

:D Finally I get a Veal Chop ON the menu and do not have to beg for it.....:)

The menu that I posted here and the pictures of the menu that "fateknows" posted definitely shows that you have a choice of the pesto sauce or melted butter -- you just have to read and be specific.

As for the souffle -- having had it on a couple of other HAL ships when it was offered as a special, we knew to order it at the same time we placed our dinner order. That way our waiter would know when we were partway done with our entree and have the cook begin to prepare the suffles -- thus we didn't have to wait an additional half hour.

shows that you have a choice of the pesto sauce or melted butter

You're right - I see that now. Surprising though that whatever was on the lobster tasted like Hy's Seasoning Salt. Also kind of surprising the waiter didn't ask which we wanted, as there was a choice.

we didn't have to wait an additional half hour

We had no problem with the wait. It gave us a chance to chat and finish our wine. The waiter, however, seemed to have a real problem with it. We all thought he was doing his best to talk us out of it. Also, our confirmed reservations were for 8 p.m., and we got moved back to 7:30, after trying to tell us we'd requested 6:30. We were told there was no room at 8:00 p.m. Well, we watched. We were the last table to enter that night. If they'd wanted to shut down early, I'd have preferred honesty to mis-statement.

KK, I'm not saying avoid the Pinnacle, I'm not saying the food was terrible. I'm saying we had a less-than-stellar experience, but we'd go back again. (DH's Steak Diane was fabulous, as I mentioned in another post.) As a matter of fact, we tried to book another dinner after that but they were full for the rest of the cruise. But I'd not order the lobster tails again.

I love the new menu, thanks for posting that :) We have a Pinnacle reservation for my Dad's 86th birthday on our upcoming cruise :D

Jess

I love the new menu, thanks for posting that :) We have a Pinnacle reservation for my Dad's 86th birthday on our upcoming cruise :D

 

Jess

86!!!! That is fantastic -- and what a wonderful way to celebrate -- a cruise!!

Give me my oversize Porterhouse STEAK, scallop potatoes

and cream spinach and I am in Heaven!!!!