Pinnacle Grill experience declining?

[POA1]

On 10/28/2018 at 11:55 AM, frankc98376 said:

We are big rib steak fans.  Twice servers advised us to do the Porterhouse as the rib steaks didn't look good. We are medium and medium well people- server several years ago suggested we request them charred on the outside.  We have never looked back 🙂

I realize that this is a couple weeks old @frankc98376, but DW and I are a medium rare people. (She, being from Omaha, is a beef loving girl.)  Do you think that the char thing can be done on any doneness?  I told her about your post and she was intrigued, because she does like her some crispiness.

 

Thanks!

[frankc98376]

23 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I realize that this is a couple weeks old @frankc98376, but DW and I are a medium rare people. (She, being from Omaha, is a beef loving girl.)  Do you think that the char thing can be done on any doneness?  I told her about your post and she was intrigued, because she does like her some crispiness.

 

Thanks!

According to our favorite server- yes!  He said to ask them to char only the outside,  Evidently they put it on a very hot char grill. That and some garlic butter and Bernaise and I'm a happy camper

[POA1]

1 minute ago, frankc98376 said:

According to our favorite server- yes!  He said to ask them to char only the outside,  Evidently they put it on a very hot char grill. That and some garlic butter and Bernaise and I'm a happy camper

Thanks, Frank!  You were my hero before, but now that I know you like Bernaise, you're like a super-hero.

[OlsSalt]

The sun-dried tomato sauce helps to perk up a dull piece of meat too. Wish they would offer chimmichurri sauce - they did for a while but have not seen it now for several years.

[aa7yy]

First time that I dined in the PG the Almost Baked Alaska made it worthwhile.

Last two times, the Almost Baked Alaska seems to be the victim of cost cutting. Lot of Angel Food cake, some ice cream and a lot of meringue. Not the same, but I guess nothing ever is.

Now no longer a reason to return.

I did think the beef was great.

Speaking of down dressing,,,,  Gala night on the Oo  was about a 20% participation.

 

 

 

[DaveOKC]

1 minute ago, aa7yy said:

First time that I dined in the PG the Almost Baked Alaska made it worthwhile.

Last two times, the Almost Baked Alaska seems to be the victim of cost cutting. Lot of Angel Food cake, some ice cream and a lot of meringue. Not the same, but I guess nothing ever is.

Now no longer a reason to return.

I did think the beef was great.

Speaking of down dressing,,,,  Gala night on the Oo  was about a 20% participation.

 

 

Funny - we had a great Baked Alaska three weeks ago on the Zuiderdam..  However, we have had ones like you describe in the recent past and stopped ordering them (until last month).  It seems that like many things on HAL, the experience varies by ship.  They really do need to get their act together and provide a more consistent program onboard.

 

 

[frankc98376]

4 hours ago, POA1 said:

Thanks, Frank!  You were my hero before, but now that I know you like Bernaise, you're like a super-hero.

Wow- we both married into Nebraska families.  My in-law family is from Superior

[*Miss G*]

Not much of a Baked Alaska person but the raspberry cheesecake is to die for.  Seriously.

[frankc98376]

15 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Not much of a Baked Alaska person but the raspberry cheesecake is to die for.  Seriously.

Lemon Brulee is my weakness

 

[*Miss G*]

2 minutes ago, frankc98376 said:

Lemon Brulee is my weakness

 

 

My mouth is watering.  

[rkacruiser]

I have enjoyed the Pinnacle Souffle for desert.  My most recent experience of the desert on the Zaandam last Winter was quite disappointing.  I chalked it up, as I have done with other not-so-great dining experiences on HAL ships, as one Executive Chef is better than another.

 

 

[dfish]

2 hours ago, frankc98376 said:

Lemon Brulee is my weakness

 

That one is good.   I don't eat dessert often, but I make an exception for this one.

[sambamama]

I've never had a bad meal in the Pinnacle Grill on any of the ships I have eaten there, and only once had bad service. That was on the Volendam on an Alaska cruise-I left a comment card, and my 2 friends and I were given dinner for free a few nights later where both the food and service were good. I've been in love with the lamb chops for a long time-I order them 90% of the time. I just finished a cruise on the Oosterdam and had 3 wonderful meals at the Pinnacle with great service and super food. I had crab legs, lamb chops, and the NY strip. I had the fresh berries with sabayon sauce all three nights-once the way it comes, and twice just berries only with the sauce. I never saw anyone dressed inappropriately during this cruise. I am a 4 star, so I get half off. I would eat there at least once without a discount. I found the food in the MDR on this cruise the best on HAL in a long time, but the Pinnacle food and service was on a higher level. 

[POA1]

3 hours ago, frankc98376 said:

Wow- we both married into Nebraska families.  My in-law family is from Superior

 

Excellent! I told her about the hard sear and she was all a-twitter. Thanks for the tip. 

[POA1]

3 hours ago, frankc98376 said:

Wow- we both married into Nebraska families.  My in-law family is from Superior

Huskerchick's people are from Leigh. (Population 405.) Loren must hail from "big city folk." 

[boze9999]

Everyone always wants to go beef (especially the Nebraska cruisers following this thread!) As someone who dines in the Pinnacle Lounge all the time, I will add for your consideration - Pork Chop ( incredibly the best!), Halibut (hard to get in most restaurants and amazingly awesome!), Lamb Chops (I'm not a huge lamb lover and these are amazing!!), crab legs (tasty and open and read to eat!), Shrimp Cocktail (to die for!).....enjoy your meal....order an hors d'oeuvres, a salad/soup, your entree and a desert.....plan ahead for a slow paced dinner and you won't go away disappointed!

[frankc98376]

7 minutes ago, boze9999 said:

Everyone always wants to go beef (especially the Nebraska cruisers following this thread!) As someone who dines in the Pinnacle Lounge all the time, I will add for your consideration - Pork Chop ( incredibly the best!), Halibut (hard to get in most restaurants and amazingly awesome!), Lamb Chops (I'm not a huge lamb lover and these are amazing!!), crab legs (tasty and open and read to eat!), Shrimp Cocktail (to die for!).....enjoy your meal....order an hors d'oeuvres, a salad/soup, your entree and a desert.....plan ahead for a slow paced dinner and you won't go away disappointed!

I have enjoyed all of the above 

[KirkNC]

We just spent 96 days on the Prinsendam and I felt like the food in Pinnacle was not as good as we have experienced in the past.  We had a really hard time getting steaks cooked correctly, sometimes over cooked, sometimes almost raw.  We sent some back.  The steaks also did not seem as flavorful as in the past.  The shrimp cocktail were too large and were slightly rubbery and stringy.  We are five star so we had twelve free dinners there given our four separate bookings so we had lots of opportunities for dinner.  It turned out for whatever reason, lunches seemed better.  The MDR was operating on a two week schedule so we saw loooooots of repeated dinners there.

 

i know, first world problems....

[mrtrthompson]

On 11/13/2018 at 12:29 PM, frankc98376 said:

According to our favorite server- yes!  He said to ask them to char only the outside,  Evidently they put it on a very hot char grill. That and some garlic butter and Bernaise and I'm a happy camper

I wonder if the ships use the Sous Vide system.  (water cooking) Charing on the outside would be pretty easy to do and get the steak doneness you desire.

[rkacruiser]

Responding to some recent comments:

 

Sometimes when the huge shrimp are served in the Shrimp Cocktail, they are flavorless and rubbery.  Pork Chop recommendation:  absolutely!  What I feared would be dry and tough was moist and very flavorfull!  Crab Cakes:  so good!  As the Lamb Chops have been.

 

Another entree worthy of mention is their Seafood Stew.  

[AV8rix]

On 11/13/2018 at 1:45 PM, *Miss G* said:

Not much of a Baked Alaska person but the raspberry cheesecake is to die for.  Seriously.

 

On 11/13/2018 at 2:01 PM, frankc98376 said:

Lemon Brulee is my weakness

 

 

On 11/13/2018 at 2:38 PM, rkacruiser said:

I have enjoyed the Pinnacle Souffle for desert.  My most recent experience of the desert on the Zaandam last Winter was quite disappointing.  I chalked it up, as I have done with other not-so-great dining experiences on HAL ships, as one Executive Chef is better than another.

 

 

Well, as I've posted before....the strawberry pavlova is my absolute favorite!!  But it's only on the lunch menu.  My strategy at dinner, however, is to politely ask if the chef would consider making me one.  At least 75% of the time it works.  When it doesn't I alter my strategy.  I'll get all tearful and whiney and whimper, "Well, they always do it for me on Amsterdam, Maasdam, Zaandam (whichever ships I'm not currently aboard)".  And that always works .

 

Still aggravated about the microwaved (or possibly just undercooked) "baked" potatoes in the PG, as some others have also remarked upon.  And I blew my chance to possibly do something about it on Eurodam nearly two months ago.  Just before muster at Seattle departure I found myself standing beside CHEF RUDI!!  Yeah, he was aboard for two days of meetings, would disembark in Vancouver -- short segment of Circle Hawaii route.  Still find it hard to believe that NO ONE else recognized him so I had him all to myself as we waited for muster.  So thrilled to be chatting with him about local stuff (my neighbor is a friend of his brother) that I forgot all about broaching the subject of the potatoes.  Sorry about that.

[rkacruiser]

Av8rix,

 

You are not alone in missing opportunities in "speaking power" to some people who could make a difference in our experiences.

 

[POA1]

Bring back the old Triple Crème Brûlée in the "river" dish. The one with vanilla, chocolate and coffee. I'm not always a blowtorch puddin' guy, but that was a great dessert.

 

Bring it back. Please. No one needs to get hurt.

 

Edited November 15, 2018 by POA1

[*Miss G*]

You know you’ve run out of problems when your shrimp cocktail are too large.

[*Miss G*]

Just now, *Miss G* said:

You know you’ve run out of problems when your shrimp cocktail are too large.

 

Okay, this is weird.  I thought I had posted the above this morning, but when I went to respond to Av8trix about the potatoes (they were perfect in September btw) my earlier post came up and the notation said it had been restored.  So confused.