Italian Food

[runner15km]

How's the Italian food in the MDR ? Will it satisfied this Italian guy. :p

[Pia1913]

How's the Italian food in the MDR ? Will it satisfied this Italian guy. :p

 

questa ragazza italiana dice che è ok

 

Then again, I'm not a foodie. ;)

[paul929207]

I love it

[I object 2]

I order spaghetti and meatballs from the kids menu several times during our cruise. Love it, ... but then, I'm just a kid at heart. ;)

[lovevacadays]

I'm not Italian but I really like their Italian food. Each evening there is a pasta dish listed on the left side of the menu. My favorite is the Bowtie Pasta with Veal. I wish they had it every night!

[PescadoAmarillo]

Penne arrabiata topped with chicken strips

Spaghetti puttanesca

 

Yummmmmm....need to go check my countdown clock.

[Adventures ahead]

The fettuccine alfredo is on the 'always available' menu and is a big hit with diners. The full serving comes in a cheese bowl - looked awesome but I've only ordered it as an appetizer size. I've always enjoyed the veal too. I'm not Italian but maybe there will be something on the menu to impress you.

 

Here's the menu from 'Italian Night' on a Baltic cruise about four years ago. The menu has probably changed, but this is what was offered then.

 

Appetizers:

Herb and Sea Salt Marinated Seafood Antipasto, Lemon Mayonnaise - Shrimp, Squid and Black Mussels

Dry-Cured San Daniele Ham with Sweet Cantaloupe Melon

Eggplant Parmigiana with Basil-Tomato Sauce

 

Soups and Salad

Pasta e Fagioli Red Bean Soup Dusted with Parsley Parmesan

Rustic Vegetable Minestrone - Pesto Crouton

Nippy Peach Soup with Sparkling Prosecco

Mixed Greens and Baby Spinach with Crisp Bason Bits - Pecorino Cheese and Pine Nuts

 

Main Courses

Sauteed Saltimbocca of Turbot with Parma Ham and Sage - Tomato Sauce, Linguine and Basil Oil

Gamberi alla Fra Diavolo - Flambeed Scampi in Hot & Fiery Marinara Sauce, Pearl Rice

Classic Veal Scaloppine in Marsala Sauce - Green Beans, Grilled Cherry Tomatoes, Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Brasato di Manzo al Barolo

Beef Pot Roast Braised in Barolo Wine - with Trimmings and Cornmeal Cakes

Baked Zucchini with Cheese and Onion Stuffing - White Bean Ragout

 

Home-Style Cuisine

Pan-Fried Breaded Chicken Cutlets, Mushrooms and Fontina Melt - Spinach Saute, Oven-Roast Potatoes

 

Desserts

Cassata alla Siciliana - Ice Cream Trilogy with Candied Fruits

Tiramisu - Espresso, Zabaglione Cream and Bittersweet Cocoa

Frutta e Frutti di Bosco Gratinati - Fruit and Berries in Sabayon Gratin, Pistachio Biscotti

Sugar-Free Mochaccino Semifreddo - Orange Stew

Gelatos - ollo Zabaglione or al Torroncino

Sorbetto al Limoncello di Sorrento!!!

 

No one goes to bed hungry!:)

[runner15km]

thanks everyone, I think I found a new home.:)

[geocruiser]

We also had past with tuna sauce one on Princess. It was great. Pretty close to what I make.

[rdsqrl]

I'm not Italian but I really like their Italian food. Each evening there is a pasta dish listed on the left side of the menu. My favorite is the Bowtie Pasta with Veal. I wish they had it every night!

Oh, I do love that dish!!!! I could eat that, the Goat Cheese Souffle, and the Eggplant Parmigiana at every meal.

[Astro Flyer]

I'm not Italian but I really like their Italian food. Each evening there is a pasta dish listed on the left side of the menu. My favorite is the Bowtie Pasta with Veal. I wish they had it every night!

 

Nearly every night I get an appetizer size portion of the nightly pasta & that's one of my favorites. While the pasta may not be as good as the fresh pasta on the Italian cruise line Sitmar which merged with Princess in 1989, it's still quite tasty to this second-generation Italian who loves to mangia. :)

 

Just don't make the mistake of having the Princess version of cannoli. :eek: It was shaped like a cornucopia & had the texture of a puff pastry...YUK! :( It was so far away from the crunchy tube of pastry filled with ricotta and chocolate flakes as you can imagine...it was terrible! :(

 

I think they have a different name for eggplant parmigiana but whatever they call that appetizer it's one of my favorites.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[quincytoo]

Oh, I do love that dish!!!! I could eat that, the Goat Cheese Souffle, and the Eggplant Parmigiana at every meal.

 

OMG YUM I could also eat those every meal

[OCruisers]

There are some pasta dishes Princess made fleet wide after the purchase of Sitmar. YUM! :)

LuLu

[Astro Flyer]

There are some pasta dishes Princess made fleet wide after the purchase of Sitmar. YUM! :)

 

LuLu

 

Yes...YUM!

 

On a Princess cruise I told my tablemates about the freshly made Sitmar pasta & our waiter said that was a rumor. I questioned him & discovered that Jose from Portugal was a Sitmar assistant waiter decades ago & he was just messing with me because he confirmed that it was freshly made pasta. ;)

Edited July 18, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

In general their Italian food selections & prep are pretty good with only a few complaints here & there.

 

The fettuccine alfredo is on the 'always available' menu and is a big hit with diners. The full serving comes in a cheese bowl - looked awesome but I've only ordered it as an appetizer size.

 

A few years ago they've changed the recipe for their fettuccine Alfredo & it's been terrible since then. I used to look forward to having it on vacation as eating it all the time at home isn't the best for my cholesterol problem. Their substitute for a sauce isn't what it used to be. Maybe their looking out for my health. ;)

 

Just don't make the mistake of having the Princess version of cannoli. :eek: It was shaped like a cornucopia & had the texture of a puff pastry...YUK! :( It was so far away from the crunchy tube of pastry filled with ricotta and chocolate flakes as you can imagine...it was terrible! :(

 

 

I've got to agree with that one. Pretty lame excuse for a cannoli filling and I've tried them on different ships always expecting them to improve. ;)

[Pia1913]

 

 

I think they have a different name for eggplant parmigiana but whatever they call that appetizer it's one of my favorites.

 

Cugino, they call it eggplant parmigiana (;)) and I love it too. :)

[stoneharborlady]

Cugino, they call it eggplant parmigiana (;)) and I love it too. :)

 

 

I wish they would do a veal parmigiana, love that.

 

Karen

[geoherb]

My favorite is the ravioli on the embarkation day lunch menu. It's terrific. I also enjoy the shrimp fra diavolo. It's one of the dishes that they seem to feature in the cooking demo--at least several of the ones I've been to.

[msmoger]

You might also want to try Sabatini's, one of the extra fee specialty restaurants. We really love it and go at least once every cruise. BTW, we're from Northern NJ and know a thing or two about good Italian food. ;)

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/food_dining/specialty_restaurants/sabatinis/

[Ethel5]

Cugino, they call it eggplant parmigiana (;)) and I love it too. :)

 

The eggplant parm is my favorite appetizer and I would always order it the next night as an entree. Two years ago on the Grand, I had it as an appetizer and it was awful. The head waiter said they changed the mozzarella. I was so disappointed.:(

[capriccio]

You might also want to try Sabatini's, one of the extra fee specialty restaurants. We really love it and go at least once every cruise. BTW, we're from Northern NJ and know a thing or two about good Italian food. ;)

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/food_dining/specialty_restaurants/sabatinis/

 

We lived in Italy for 5 years (and husband is first generation Italian-American) and go to Sabatinis at least once every cruise. We love the pasta specials.

 

On the Royal in December we had a short rib and tomato sauce that was spectacular. When we mentioned it to the Sabatinis wait staff on the Ruby in February they offered to make it for us on another night even though it wasn't on the menu. We thoroughly enjoyed it and then the waiter brought out a big dish of that day's pasta (unasked for) special with a seafood sauce. We felt like we had died and gone to pasta heaven :p. The veal chop (my favorite) is pretty awesome too.

[FritzG]

Yes...YUM!

 

On a Princess cruise I told my tablemates about the freshly made Sitmar pasta & our waiter said that was a rumor. I questioned him & discovered that Jose from Portugal was a Sitmar assistant waiter decades ago & he was just messing with me because he confirmed that it was freshly made pasta. ;)

 

I love it when I meet former Sitmar staff members! They are now few and far between due to retirements so it's a treat when I recognize one of them.

My first cruise was on Sitmar, and it created my lifelong love of cruising.

[OCruisers]

I love it when I meet former Sitmar staff members! They are now few and far between due to retirements so it's a treat when I recognize one of them.

My first cruise was on Sitmar, and it created my lifelong love of cruising.

 

No, not many left. We saw a waiter we recognized from Sitmar. He started calling us "his Sitmar people" and would come over and speak even when we weren't at his table. Told us he was retiring so it would be his last contract.

LuLu

[partybarbie]

One of my favorites is the spaghetti carbonara. If there's a particular pasta or Italian dish that you would like to have prepared, it doesn't hurt to ask one of the Head Waiters if they can make it for you. On our wedding anniversary, we once had a dish from the old Sitmar days that was a fettuccine with smoked salmon and red caviar. Oh so yummy!:D

[hightownCO]

I'm another fan of the speghetti and meatballs from the kids menu. There's nothing 'kid-ish' about it. Just good food and it's a huge serving too. Way too much.