No more surcharge for Porterhouse at Cagney's Steakhouse?

[9tee2Sea]

I have given up going to Cagney's.  Im not a gourmet cook, but I make better steaks at home on the grill.  So if I want a good steak, I will have it at home.  When I go out to eat ( rarely), I order things I do not make, or that create a big mess in the kitchen. 

[Nolesfan]

Just back from Prima NYC to Galveston 12/1 cruise and the Porterhouse was no longer on the menu at Cagney’s.   The menu showed Ribeye, NY Strip & Filet in the grilled classic section, Porterhouse had been removed.
 

The only dining plan upcharge was $25 for surf and turf. 

[kwokpot]

On 12/15/2023 at 8:35 PM, ColdCruise said:

The best steaks on Viva (Nov) were (in descending order of deliciousness)

1) Onda fillet

2) Paladar fillet

3) Le Bistro fillet

4) Cagney breakfast steaks

 

just ok - strip steak at Cagney’s

not good - ribeye from Cagney’s

  These last 2 not steakhouses quality

   We typically order MR, the steaks were pink but dry. I think it’s the finishing oven they use after they almost sear them on the grill. The executive chef came out and explained how they cook them. On the grill then into the oven. My observation - The steaks did not have a good char, therefore the oven dried them out. No where in the discussion did he mention using the salamander I could see from our table. If they had gotten a proper sear in the salamander….

I was just on the Viva (Dec 6-13) and my ribeye from Cagney's was excellent. Cooked to MR, seasoned perfectly and with a great char. The sides were just OK, the creamed spinach was watery. Crab cake was excellent, the shrimp in the shrimp cocktail was jumbo but needed to be firmer. The OMG Cheesecake and chocolate layer cake were excellent. Filet from Onda was EXCELLENT. Cooked MR, and again excellent seasoning and char. Onda was hands down the best meal on the ship and probably one of the best if not THE BEST restaurant meal we ever had on a cruiseship out of 107 cruises. 

[snoozcroozr]

Came back from Getaway a few days back and there was no surcharge on the porterhouse.  Even though we ordered the porterhouse / ribeye the first couple of times there, the third time, we both ordered the ribeyes.  It seems almost as large as the porterhouse and nothing on the porterhouse rivals the generous sized rib-cap.

 

We did see steak supplement in the MDR for Cagney steaks/sides at a much lower price than what's offered in Cagney.  Maybe we will order that next time instead of get a few less specialty dining nights.  We might not get the crab cakes or lobster bisque, but maybe the standard fare apps and desserts will suffice for those days.

 

I think those a-la-carte prices in places like Cagney are just to show how expensive it would be to dine there, so people would get the dining package.  If people want to just try the steak and don't want to pay for either, they can just get them at the MDR.

[RocketMan275]

On 12/16/2023 at 8:14 AM, Sailing12Away said:

LeBistro now has an upcharge for the filet.... so you might need to rethink that. It used to be my favorite, but I can't justify paying an upcharge when I can get it for free at either Cagneys or the Haven restaurant. 

Various post claim you can skip the upcharge on the filet at Le Bistro by deleting the foie gras.  

Second point, the filets are Cagney's and the Haven don't have foie gras so they're not the same filet.

[cruiser2015]

On 12/21/2023 at 11:38 AM, RocketMan275 said:

Various post claim you can skip the upcharge on the filet at Le Bistro by deleting the foie gras.  

Second point, the filets are Cagney's and the Haven don't have foie gras so they're not the same filet.

On point #2:

Why does having a topping or not mean that they use a different steak?

[PATRLR]

On 12/17/2023 at 5:52 PM, Nolesfan said:

Just back from Prima NYC to Galveston 12/1 cruise and the Porterhouse was no longer on the menu at Cagney’s.   The menu showed Ribeye, NY Strip & Filet in the grilled classic section, Porterhouse had been removed.

I just got off Viva (12/15 cruise) and it was on the menu.

Edited December 23, 2023 by PATRLR

[PATRLR]

 

 

On 12/16/2023 at 12:17 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

I've ordered ribeyes the last two times at Cagney's, and won't do it next time.  Unfortunately, I doubt that any steak from Cagney's is any good anymore.  They are certainly better than the NY strip I ordered in the MDR (mostly as a goof/test), but hardly worthy of the "specialty dining" label. 

Just got off the Viva and agree on all points. That piece of shoe leather in the MDR they call NY Strip is a joke and it amazes me when people claim it to be a good steak or that they really liked it (I assume anyone making that claim is simply impressed with the over-salted gravy they drown it in).

 

Cagney's steak has sunk to the level of an Outback Steakhouse, but at least at Outback the steak is properly prepared, just low quality.  It's possible that Cagney's is also using low quality but they claim it's CAB and unless they are totaling ripping off the CAB name, it should be decent quality.  (And yes, I get that CAB is 100% marketing, but, generally they do have somewhat better quality beef, IME).

I believe ColdCruise is onto the problem here.   The ribeyes we had on Viva matched this description, correct temp but dry.

On 12/15/2023 at 8:35 PM, ColdCruise said:

 

   We typically order MR, the steaks were pink but dry. I think it’s the finishing oven they use after they almost sear them on the grill. The executive chef came out and explained how they cook them. On the grill then into the oven. My observation - The steaks did not have a good char, therefore the oven dried them out. No where in the discussion did he mention using the salamander I could see from our table. If they had gotten a proper sear in the salamander….

[RocketMan275]

5 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

On point #2:

Why does having a topping or not mean that they use a different steak?

If one compares the standard filet at le bistro which includes the foie gras with the steak from Cagney's which does not, then one is not comparing the same thing.

[cruiser2015]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

If one compares the standard filet at le bistro which includes the foie gras with the steak from Cagney's which does not, then one is not comparing the same thing.

Okay.

But I'm just talking about the beef.

[RocketMan275]

Just now, cruiser2015 said:

Okay.

But I'm just talking about the beef.

And, I was talking about comparing a filet without foie gras with a filet with foie gras.  Personally, I think the foie gras ruins the steak.

[cruiser2015]

Just now, RocketMan275 said:

And, I was talking about comparing a filet without foie gras with a filet with foie gras.  Personally, I think the foie gras ruins the steak.

No argument there.   😝

[Sailing12Away]

Ok, but again - you're saying it's the foie gras that causes the upcharge, and I'm saying that wasn't my experience at all. I have zero interest in eating foie gras, told them I didn't want it, and still got an upcharge for the filet at Le Bistro.

[ColdCruise]

58 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Ok, but again - you're saying it's the foie gras that causes the upcharge, and I'm saying that wasn't my experience at all. I have zero interest in eating foie gras, told them I didn't want it, and still got an upcharge for the filet at Le Bistro.

Exactly 

 

I read others posting that they asked to remove the foie gras  and they did not have the surcharge. I asked for the filet to be prepared without the foie gras but was still surcharged. I probably should have asked before hand but I think it (surcharge or not) is something that will be at the server’s discretion. It was still delicious but Onda’s was better — and no foie gras or surcharge 😄