Epic Epicurean Epistle

[halos]

Can I just say "Wow!". You had me at your title..now I have to go back and read the whole epistle! :D

 

(Especially since my next cruise is aboard the Epic!)

 

I agree....WOW!!!!

[housepeepers]

We had a galley tour on our first cruise on the Epic, which stemmed from our roll call meet and greet. It is truly amazing what goes on behind the scenes,. So much hustle and bustle, the bread bakery area is fantastic as is the actual dessert area with all the choclate garnishes being made.

[oliveoilrunning]

Wow, great review, and very helpful!!

[Jolimont]

Great review, thank you, I look forward to the pictures!

[thebooler]

Hopefully get to see the pictures before Friday.

 

I leave on Saturday for Barcelona and my Epic cruise!

[weltek]

Wow! Thank you for doing this. I'm glad you had fun. I agree that some re-weighting of the scores should be done, but that's something you can't get more than a few people to agree on, I'm sure! My opinion:

 

Table setting. Maximum score 5. [TAKE THIS OUT-NOT ENOUGH VARIANCE TO MATTER]

Seating comfort. Maximum score 5.

Ambience. Maximum score 5.

Presentation. Maximum score 5.

Taste. Maximum score 20. [bUMP UP TO 40]

Texture. Maximum score 10.

Smell. Maximum score 10. [TAKE OUT...A ROTTEN SMELL WILL KILL THE TASTE, SO IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER IN THE GRAND SCHME OF THINGS]

Food temperature. Maximum score 5.

Service. Maximum score 10.

Cleanliness. Maximum score 5.

Quality. Maximum score 10.

Drinks. Maximum score 5.

Overall impression. Maximum score 5. [TAKE OUT AND JUST USE QUALITATIVE COMMENTS]

It would be pretty cool if you took more cruises on other lines and began to have a robust data set!

[jdvmd]

This is a thesis! I am going to point this thread out to anyone who wants to know about the food on the Epic. Thanks for an outstanding effort!

[kugamuga]

Hi there.... great review but I have a question. I am from Philly and my girl friend is from Staten Island NY and we are accustomed to eating great Italian food. We ate at the La Cucina on board the Pearl and we were very disappointed.

I had pasta fagioli. I do not know what they served me but it was not the pasta fagioli that I am used to eating. Do you know if the food at the Epic La Cacunia is any better than the Pearl's. The Pearl had a top Chef that was from Jamaca and that may have had an effect on the quality of the Italian food served.

[quercus alba]

Hi there.... great review but I have a question. I am from Philly and my girl friend is from Staten Island NY and we are accustomed to eating great Italian food. We ate at the La Cucina on board the Pearl and we were very disappointed.

I had pasta fagioli. I do not know what they served me but it was not the pasta fagioli that I am used to eating. Do you know if the food at the Epic La Cacunia is any better than the Pearl's. The Pearl had a top Chef that was from Jamaca and that may have had an effect on the quality of the Italian food served.

 

I think that anyone who is a true aficianado of a particular cuisine may be disappointed by that cuisine somewhere else. My wife & I eat out a lot, and I'd probably agree that La Cucina is not up to the level of the best italian restaurants I've eaten in, but it's definitely a step up from Olive Garden, if you get my drift. I wouldn't be surprised if it is disappointing relative to your favorite italian restaurants on the east coast.

 

I liked finding indian food on the buffet--but it wasn't at the level of our local favorite place. None of this stops me from enjoying the cruise, and feeling that the food is really darned good on NCL.

Edited June 23, 2012 by quercus alba

[coffeecat]

Excellent review! I have not been on the Epic but many other NCL ships and agree that Le Bistro is simply fantastic. Thank you for your detailed and insightful review!

[happy cruzin]

Amazing amount of work, and amazingly documented results! What fun that must have been :)

 

May I include a link to this post in my signature? Wait...I already did ;)

 

Agreed!

[happy cruzin]

Anyone else feel that they just read a post by Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory? :D

 

Good review. Thanks.

 

Now that's funny. Since there were 4 of them, I suppose the other 3 were Leonard, Howard, and Raj.

 

Looking forward to trying the Epic food in August.

 

Ha!

Now...I don't care who you are - THAT is funny!! ;) :D

[kugamuga]

I think that anyone who is a true aficianado of a particular cuisine may be disappointed by that cuisine somewhere else. My wife & I eat out a lot, and I'd probably agree that La Cucina is not up to the level of the best italian restaurants I've eaten in, but it's definitely a step up from Olive Garden, if you get my drift. I wouldn't be surprised if it is disappointing relative to your favorite italian restaurants on the east coast.

 

I liked finding indian food on the buffet--but it wasn't at the level of our local favorite place. None of this stops me from enjoying the cruise, and feeling that the food is really darned good on NCL.

I agree with you about Olive Garden. I used to love it there. I hadn't eaten there for about 15 years when I stopped at one in Rhode Island a few months ago. It was bad, really bad. Asked for veal parm. They no longer serve veal and the chicken parm was pathetic. Ragu makes a better sauce.

 

As for NCL food I also agree the it is very good most of the time. We love Cagney's. And when I found out that the specialty resturants were also all you can eat I didn't mind the extra charge.

[satchiesmom]

What a wonderful, detailed review of your food experiences. All of the work you put into it is greatly appreciated.

[wandrr]

Hi there.... great review but I have a question. I am from Philly and my girl friend is from Staten Island NY and we are accustomed to eating great Italian food. We ate at the La Cucina on board the Pearl and we were very disappointed.

 

I had pasta fagioli. I do not know what they served me but it was not the pasta fagioli that I am used to eating. Do you know if the food at the Epic La Cacunia is any better than the Pearl's. The Pearl had a top Chef that was from Jamaca and that may have had an effect on the quality of the Italian food served.

 

Sorry - never been on the Pearl, nor did we have the pasta fagioli on board, so no comment. As you will read in the review, we also found some things that do not resemble what we know as a particular food item. Example - the mushy peas in O'Sheehan's.

[wandrr]

To all those who have thanked us in posts above, you are very welcome.

 

As we said, this was fun and educational, though definitely hard work. We would do it again, and probably will on some future cruise.

 

To explicitly express your thanks, please continue to post real information as opposed to merely opinion. All of us learn from the others!

 

Sheldon/Leonard/Howard/Raj (take your pick!):cool::D

[halos]

Hi there.... great review but I have a question. I am from Philly and my girl friend is from Staten Island NY and we are accustomed to eating great Italian food. We ate at the La Cucina on board the Pearl and we were very disappointed.

 

I had pasta fagioli. I do not know what they served me but it was not the pasta fagioli that I am used to eating. Do you know if the food at the Epic La Cacunia is any better than the Pearl's. The Pearl had a top Chef that was from Jamaca and that may have had an effect on the quality of the Italian food served.

 

I'm from Philly, so I do understand you. I just think it's totally unrealistic to expect the Italian you get at home on a ship...OR anyplace else for that matter. Heck, the Italian food you are used to is something you won't even get in Italy...Mid Atlantic, USA Italian food is just not something you can get anyplace else.

Edited June 24, 2012 by halos

[kugamuga]

I'm from Philly, so I do understand you. I just think it's totally unrealistic to expect the Italian you get at home on a ship...OR anyplace else for that matter. Heck, the Italian food you are used to is something you won't even get in Italy...Mid Atlantic, USA Italian food is just not something you can get anyplace else.

Yo Halos! I really wasn't expecting Bistro Romano but I was hopping for something better than Butonni. :D

[halos]

Yo Halos! I really wasn't expecting Bistro Romano but I was hopping for something better than Butonni. :D

LOL...I know.

Hey...I live in Maine now and can't even get a decent loaf of Italian bread or hoagie roll around here....or a hoagie for that matter :eek:

Frickin pathetic I tell ya. :p

We are so spoiled :D

Edited June 26, 2012 by halos

[sdmike]

 

To explicitly express your thanks, please continue to post real information as opposed to merely opinion. All of us learn from the others!

 

 

I think opinion is fine, especially for something as personal as food, as long as it's stated as such. :)

[halos]

To explicitly express your thanks, please continue to post real information as opposed to merely opinion. All of us learn from the others!

 

Sheldon/Leonard/Howard/Raj (take your pick!):cool::D

 

:confused: I'm a bit confused.

Your entire thread is based on opinion, is it not? I mean, I appreciate your taking so much time and putting so much effort into this, but food is a matter of taste and this can not be quantified.

And even if it could, when I go to eat it, I may disagree.

Edited June 26, 2012 by halos

[southwestie]

Thank you for that very detailed review of the restaurants, wow, I have printed off the main details for our cruise next February.

 

Thank for taking so much time and trouble, this will save us much time im sure:)

[livia325]

How To Cook Tuna Steak Free Recipes and Ideas for cooking ! :)

[Jackie52]

Your joint effort has entitled you to the designation of OFFICIAL FOOD CRITICS! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. We shall be on the Epic on the TA from Barcelona to Miami this fall and it will be most helpful. We will have the opportunity to eat in the Haven Epic Club. I think that on future cruises you should approach the Head Chef and ask if you can have a few meals in the Haven to see how they compare with the other restaurants. NCL is very aware of cruise critic and I think that they would love to give you a chance to critique the Haven restaurant. Also your group deserves to attend the Chef Dinner for free, after all of your time and effort on evaluating the food.

 

Good luck on all of your future food critiquing! :)

 

Tom and Jackie

[Noodlesoup]

Completely agree with your findings and the order of preference although we didn't eat in some of the places mentioned. Must have had a blast doing that!:D