Stuffing Our Faces in Austin, Texas

I've shared before the fact that barbecue is one of the types of foods that makes my mouth water, and my love of Tex-Mex/Mexican is legendary. That's what made our recent weekend trip to Austin, Texas pretty special: the city does both of these really well (it also does cocktails well, which I wrote about last week). Over the course of a few days, we samples some pretty amazing barbecue and Mexican restaurants and also discovered a wonderful morning food Austin is known for: the breakfast taco.

Stubb's brisket sandwich

Texas and Texas Barbecue Capital

Austin is the capital of Texas, but it is also the capital of Texas-style barbecue. After all, it's home the country's most famous barbecue restaurant, Franklin. As much as I'd have loved to try Franklin, I wasn't willing to give up half a day of a short vacation to stand in line or it. Nonetheless, we still found excellent barbecue in the city.

Hungry after the long flight on our first night, we set out for Stubb's, the casual barbecue joint and music venue that was a short walk from our hotel. You might recognize the name for their national brand of barbecue sauces and rubs. We settled down for a delicious plate of sliced brisket served on Texas sliced bread. This brisket was a real winner--tender, moist and meaty. It was smoky, but not overly so. We also enjoy the coleslaw, which showed admirable restraint with its creamy dressing, as well as the creamy potato salad.

The beans you get with Texas-style barbecue may be unfamiliar to those expecting the sweet Southern-style baked beans. Although I've seen recipes for Texas-style beans with honey, brown sugar or molasses, when I've ordered them in restaurants they are not typically sweet, at least not as sweet as the Southern-style baked beans. That said, they are really good and nicely complement a helping of smoky meat.

Stubb's was hosting a band the night we went in, but thankfully we were able to get a table quickly and had prompt, friendly service (I appreciated that Stubb's has actual table service). Basically, within an hour of landing in Austin we had barbecue, live music and even saw a fight (of sorts, as a group of guys sitting near us got a little rowdy). How perfect is that?

Lamberts angus short rib

On another night, we headed to a different kind of barbecue restaurant, Lamberts. This is a little more upscale than your typical barbecue restaurant, and their menu features grilled items in addition to its oak-smoked barbecue dishes. The restaurant is located in the historic Schneider Brothers building in the Second Street shopping district.

While the grilled dishes were tempting, we stuck with barbecue, enjoying the black angus brisket with brown sugar, coffee rub and pickled escabeche (jalapeño). Although I'd say we preferred the Stubb's brisket, the black angus short rib was out-of-sight good. The tender, flavorful rib was garnished with a spicy cilantro and scallion slaw plus a fennel and caper relish. Our other sides were also good, particularly the Brussels sprouts with bacon and brown butter.

The service at Lamberts could use a little attention. They were very efficient, perhaps too much so, and not as friendly as the servers we encountered elsewhere. I was also disappointed with how our food was served, which made it difficult to share. When ordering, I asked the server if it made sense for us to choose a couple of barbecue entrees and sides to share, which she said was a good plan. Yet, our food arrived as individually plated entrees rather than family style, which made dividing the plates to share a bit of a hassle. Sharing is such a trend in restaurant-eating now, that it is surprising to find a restaurant that doesn't make it easy.

That said, the food at Lamberts was quite good, and it's one of the few options for barbecue where you can get a reservation. They also made a quite decent Old Fashioned with demerara sugar, bitters and a thankfully simple garnish of orange peel.

Before I move on from barbecue, I want to give a shout-out to Iron Works BBQ. Chris and I did not go here, but I visited it a couple years ago during a business trip to Austin, and it was fantastic. It doesn't look like much: the interior is a bit ramshackle, with tables covered in those cheap red-and-white plaid vinyl tablecloths. But that's part of the charm, accentuating the down-home vibe of the really excellent barbecue. I sat on the back porch overlooking Waller Creek and enjoyed an amazing sampler of sliced brisket, beef ribs and sausage.

La Condesa cochinita pibil tacos

Mexican That's Not-Kidding-Around Spicy

You know how some restaurants will warn you a dish is spicy, but when you eat it, it's really not that spicy at all? At La Condesa, they aren't kidding around with the chiles. Their cochinita pibil tacos, made with achiote-braised pork shoulder and pickled habanero, set my mouth on fire. But man, were those tacos good. The heat was moderated with black beans, pickled red onion and cabbage. It was one of several delicious things we tried at this downtown Austin modern Mexican restaurant.

We also enjoyed the mole dominguero, a tender seared chicken breast served with a delicious mole sauce and grilled green beans. Guacamole is, of course, a great way to start the meal. We customized ours with roasted pumpkin seeds and queso fresco. It didn't hurt that they served the avocado dip with very good corn chips--always a plus.

Dessert was also quite good. We ordered the dulce de leche, a pudding cake with saffron and cream cheese ice cream the menu said included "sweet corn." Since fresh sweet corn was just ending its season, I was expecting fresh corn to appear in the dessert, but it turned out that sweet corn was caramel popcorn. I'm seeing popcorn more and more in desserts and I'm loving it. Such a simple way to add another interesting dimension to a dish.

Another thing La Condesa is serious about are their margaritas. La Clásica is a wonderful choice, made with El Jimador silver, Patrón Citrónge, lime and agave kicked up with a cactus and lemongrass-infused salt rim. The smoky and tart Día de Los Muertos, made with mezcal, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc and lemon was another winner. We ate a lot of good meals in Austin, but our dinner at La Condesa was possibly my favorite of the trip.

Guero's Taco Bar fish tacos

The other really good Mexican meal we had in Austin was at Guero's Taco Bar. We were wandering in and out of the shops on South Congress Street on a very hot day (it was in the mid-to-high 90s each day), and I was really ready for a good lunch by the time we hit midday. Chris sprang from the brisket tacos with braised meat that so tender and glazed with a spicy-sweet sauce. They were quite possibly the best tacos of the trip. I had the fish tacos with marinated and grilled white fish, shredded cabbage, corn and chipotle-tequila mayonnaise, which were also very good.

Also of note at Guero's were the rice and beans. A lot of Mexican restaurants serve them as sides but don't put much thought into them. At Guero's, both were very good. Although the margaritas were just average, the tacos here were outstanding and the service, despite how busy the place was, was friendly and attentive too.

24 Diner French toast platter

Breakfast Tacos: an Austin Specialty

Starting the day off with a good breakfast is critical while on vacation. We loved the food at 24 Diner so much, we went there twice. This 24-hour diner, location in the North Lamar shopping district near the flagship Whole Foods market, has a casual cool interior that's both retro and modern. It also boasts a menu as inviting as its decor.

24 Diner sweet potato hash

During our first trip, we both had hash plates, hot dishes with potatoes, onions, cheese and meet. The 24 hash is a classic rendition with bacon and sausage and a bit of heat from jalapeños. The sweet potato hash was also quite good, served with roasted poblano peppers, sausage and jack cheese.

On day two, we sprang for sweeter breakfast treats. The Belgian waffle was very good and came topped with a heaping mound of brown sugar butter (along with maple syrup on the side). The waffle itself was made from yeast-risen dough and vanilla, giving it a taste almost like French toast. Speaking of which, they do that well there too. The French toast platter came with giant-sized pieces of toast and an apple compote topping plus lots of butter.

The friendly staff at 24 Diner always kept our coffee cups coming. Were we Austin natives, this would be the kind of place I imagine we'd frequent often.

Taco Joint breakfast tacos

The other great breakfast find in Austin was breakfast tacos. Breakfast burritos are everywhere, but tacos? That's an Austin specialty, and it's a wonderful idea. Our favorite breakfast tacos were from Taco Joint, a no-frills kind of place just north of the University of Texas campus.

The menu offers a few suggestions for tacos but allows for plenty of customization too. They also provide a nice bar of additional sauces and garnishes. The steak and egg with smokey gouda cheese really hit the spot, especially with a little chipotle cream salsa on top. I also loved the sausage and egg with tomatillo salsa and the potato, onion and cheese taco. We ordered all of these with corn tortillas, which they smartly double for better taco integrity. All of them were delicious--hot and flavorful. Keep your eyes out for a recipe later this week inspired by our breakfast at Taco Joint.

Our other foray into breakfast tacos was at Taco Shack, a small local chain with a similar offering. The Texan was a delicious blend of scrambled eggs piled with slices of beef fajitas. The El Niño was a spicier offering of beans, chorizo, cheese and jalapeño. We had these tacos with flour tortillas and a little green salsa and both were delicious.

I think it's safe to say we had our fill of a lot of favorite foods in Austin. I know the city is known for a lot of creative cooking in other genres too, such as Qui, the restaurant from Top Chef winner Paul Qui. I suppose we'll just have to go back. Starting with more of those breakfast tacos.

24 Diner Belgian waffle

24 Diner, 600 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas. (512) 472-5400.

Guero's Taco Bar, 1412 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas. (512) 447-7688.

Iron Works BBQ, 100 Red River Street (at Water Avenue/East First Street), Austin, Texas, (512) 478-4855.

La Condesa, 400A West 2nd Street (on the corner of Guadalupe Street), Austin, Texas, (512) 499-0300. Reservations: Open Table.

Lamberts, 401 West Second Street (on the corner of Guadalupe Street, opposite of La Condesa), Austin, Texas, (512) 494-1500. Reservations: Open Table.

Stubb's, 801 Red River Street (on the corner of 8th Street), Austin, Texas. (512) 480-8341.

Taco Joint, 2807 San Jacinto Boulevard (two blocks north of Dean Keeton Street), Austin, Texas. (512) 473 8223.

Taco Shack, 402 Brazos Street,  Austin, Texas. (512) 473-0101 (Also at eight other locations.)

Cruising Through Alaska: Food in Port

Downtown Juneau, Alaska

Yesterday, I talked about the food and drinks available on our cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas, during our recent Alaskan cruise. Today, I'm talking about the food we enjoyed at our four ports-of-call as well as Anchorage, Alaska, where we went when our cruise concluded. Although the food on the ship was fine, I enjoyed the food we ate in the ports a lot more. It wasn't fancy, but it was local, fresh and really quite delicious.

Halibut fish & chips, Alava's Fish & Chowder in Ketchikan

Ketchikan: Alava's Fish-n-Chowder

Ketchikan, Alaska is a small coastal town of about 8,000 people known for its fishing. As such, getting good seafood was a priority, and my research pointed to Alava's Fish-n-Chowder as the best among the town's several restaurants offering fish and chips.

Alava's isn't much to look at. This place defines a "hole in the wall," as it is quite literally a small porch with picnic tables and a window where you can order food. That said, I was afraid it was going to be overrun with people, since it's very close to where the cruise ships dock, so we went early. Luckily, it wasn't really that busy early.

Dismiss this "shack" at your peril: Alava's fish & chips are out-of-sight good.

The fried halibut fish and chips we had were fantastic, definitely the best fish and chips I've ever eaten and quite probably my favorite meal of the trip. The restaurant boasts that it doesn't open for breakfast because they are out catching your lunch, and I believe it. The fish was incredibly fresh and delicious, coated with a light crunchy breading and served with zippy tartar sauce and seasoned fries. The clam chowder was also very good, loaded with clams and served with a creamy broth that wasn't as thickened as most chowders.

Food in general can be expensive in Alaska, but Alava's was affordable and the small crew of people that work there were very friendly. Just prior to going to Alava's we spoke to a merchant running a souvenir shop across the street and I asked her if Alava's was a good place. She told me it was the best, in fact, we saw her pick up her lunch while we eating there. Anyplace that's a favorite among locals is a good sign.

Icy Strait Point: Landing Zone Bar & Grill

As Alaskan cruise ports go, Icy Strait Point is probably the least significant. It isn't a real town (although it's a short walk from the little town of Hoonah), but rather a former fish cannery converted into a museum, restaurant and shopping center. Mostly, it exists as a cruise-ship destination, as there are a lot of "excursions" (i.e. planned outings) that you can do from here, including the world's longest zip-line.

Still, it's worth visiting, as we enjoyed walking around the museum, shops and forest trail. A short walk along the beach from the main complex will bring you to the Landing Zone Bar & Grill, a rustic wooden structure with excellent views out onto the water.

Grilled salmon from Landing Zone in Icy Strait Point.

Given the facility's past as a fish cannery, we stuck to seafood, hoping for another good meal, and we weren't disappointed. The grilled salmon was super-good: fresh, cooked just right, lightly seasoned and just a little smoky from the grill. It arrived to our table with a small side salad and garlic bread (who doesn't love garlic bread?).

At Landing Zone, we also got our first of several great tastes of Alaska's local beer. On tap are several selections from the Alaskan Brewing Co. in Juneau. The menu didn't specify whether the "pale ale" we ordered was Alaskan's American pale ale or its IPA, but it was pretty hoppy, so I assume it was the latter. It was also really good: bitter, a bit citrusy and balanced with a little malt. Just like I like my IPA.

As worth visiting: the ice cream counter at Misty Bay Lodge in Hoonah. If you make the walk into town from Icy Strait Point, you deserve a treat, and the they have a small but satisfying selection of flavors available in bowls, cones or waffle cones.

The Rookery Cafe is tucked away on a downtown Juneau side street but worth seeking out.

Juneau: The Rookery Cafe

Juneau was by far the largest of four ports we visited on the cruise. In a way this made it the most difficult to choose a lunch spot: there were many more choices than in the other towns. It seemed the most likely to also offer up "touristy" options, so I worked at finding something more off-the-beaten-path while still within walking distance of the ship.

That's what brought us to The Rookery Cafe. It's hidden down a side street in downtown Juneau without a lot of shops and looks like the kind of place that locals would frequent. Service at lunch is minimal: you have to find your own table and place your order at a counter, but it has a nice atmosphere and the people were friendly.

Dungeness crab salad, The Rookery Cafe in Juneau.

The food was also tasty. I chose the dungeness crab salad, an entree-size salad with butter lettuce, pickled shallots, peanuts, mint and a spicy curry dressing. Since I knew we would be getting plenty to eat on the ship for dinner, it was nice to have a lighter but satisfying lunch. The Asian flavors worked really well with the crab, which was generously portioned onto the top of the salad. Props to Rookery's chef Beau Schooler, a semifinalist this year for the James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef.

Downtown Skagway.

Skagway: Skagway Brewing Co.

Skagway is a sleepy little town that doesn't look like it would have much going on if it wasn't for the cruise tourist trade. But it has a fascinating history as an important town in Alaska's Klondike gold rush of 1897. Much of Skagway's downtown has been preserved in late 19th Century style--all the better for luring passengers off their cruise ships and into the town's numerous souvenir stores.

Walk down Broadway far enough and you'll find Skagway Brewing Co., which was actually established during the gold rush in 1897. Although no longer in its original location, the pub has a nice-sized bar and dining room, a fairly typical pub menu heavy on fresh local seafood and a selection of beers made on-site that are only sold in the pub.

Fried halibut sandwich, Skagway Brewing Co.

For lunch, we enjoyed The Alaskan Sandwich, deep-fried halibut on a sesame seed bun with tartar sauce, tomato, onion and lettuce. Side salads aren't usually very notable--it's what you get when you feel like you've had too many fries--but theirs was memorable because the house-made dressing was some of the best blue cheese dressing I've ever had. It was tart and creamy with assertive but not overwhelming blue cheese flavor. We also tried the IPA, the Chilkoot Trail IPA, which was good, although a bit maltier than I like my IPA. Still, I'd definitely recommend trying it, since you won't find it anywhere else.

Anchorage: Glacier Brewhouse

After finishing our cruise in Seward, Alaska, we hopped aboard the Alaska Railroad and took the train to Anchorage. With over 300,000 people, Anchorage is Alaska's largest city by far. In fact, I believe it's the most northern city with a population of over 100,000 people in North America.

We asked several locals where we should have dinner, and Glacier Brewhouse was the answer we heard most. The handsome brewpub, accessed from a small indoor mall, features dramatic wooden vaulted ceilings and a central stone fireplace. The pleasant small of alder wood smoke permeates the dining room, enticing us to order something from the list of wood-grilled items. In addition to grilled items, the menu features pasta, sandwiches, seafood and brick-oven pizza.

Glacier Brewhouse's barbecued baby back ribs and Brewhouse blue salad.

I was tempted to get the Bering sea crab legs, which our server told us was very good but a small portion. With a hungry belly and that smoke in the air, I opted instead for the barbecued baby back ribs, a delicious platter of smoky, tender ribs glazed with the brewhouse's signature whiskey barbecue sauce and served with a mixed vegetable slaw and jalapeño cornbread with maple butter.

What is it with Alaska and excellent blue cheese salads? Glacier Brewhouse also handles the pungent cheese well, mixing dressing and crumbles together in a mixed greens salad with grapes and caramelized pecans.

Of course, we sampled their on-tap IPA, another satisfying local brew with a bitter hoppy kick. The night we stopped in, they offered the standard IPA and a cask-conditioned alternative, which had a creamier texture and is also served a little warmer. Although interesting, I prefer the colder classic version.

Anchorage: Fat Ptarmigans

Wanting another drink after our dinner at Glacier Brewhouse, we wandered into Fat Ptarmigan, a wood-fired pizzeria that opened a couple years ago. The modern, minimalist space would make Fat Ptarmigans fit in in any large city. The pizzas coming out of the kitchen looked and smelled delicious. Had we more day--or larger stomachs--I would have liked to sample them. Instead, we sat at the bar an enjoyed yet another Alaskan IPA, this time the Pleasure Town IPA from Midnight Sun Brewing Company. in Anchorage. Now we have something to look forward to if we find ourselves in Anchorage again.

Alava's Fish-n-Chowder, 420 Water Street, Ketchikan, Alaska (near the tunnel, across the from the cruise-ship docking area). (907) 617-5328.

Landing Zone Bar & Grill, 108 Cannery Road, Hoonah, Alaska (on the western edge of Icy Strait Point near the zip-line finish area). (907) 945-3141.

Misty Bay Lodge, 286 Front Street, Hoonah, Alaska (in the center of Hoonah). (907) 321-5859.

The Rookery Cafe, 111 Seward Street, Juneau, Alaska. (907) 463-3013. Reservations: Yelp.

Skagway Brewing Co., 7th & Broadway, Skagway, Alaska. (907) 983.2739.

Glacier Brewhouse, 737 West 5th Avenue, Ste. 110 (between G and H Streets), Anchorage, Alaska. (907) 274-BREW. Reservations: Open Table.

Fat Ptarmigan, 441 West 5th Avenue (at E Street), Anchorage, Alaska. (907) 777-7710 Reservations: Open Table.

Dining on the High Seas: Our Royal Caribbean Alaska Cruise Food and Drinks

My husband, my mother and I recently spent an amazing week in Alaska. Neither Chris nor I had been there. It was an incredible experience. You really don't grasp the vastness and natural beauty of the state until you're there. Its lack of "connectedness" with the rest of the country is quite striking. For example, Juneau, the state's capital and second largest city, cannot be reached by car from anywhere else in North America (including the rest of Alaska). That's a weird thing to think about: everything in Juneau comes in by boat or plane. During the trip, we explored a variety of towns, saw an assortment of wildlife and even took a helicopter ride up to and short hike on a glacier.

To get around these various places, we opted for a cruise--also a first for Chris and me. Because I wanted to see as much of Alaska as possible, we chose a one-way cruise that departed from Vancouver, Canada, took us up the Northwest Passage to Alaska, and visited various ports before concluding in Seward, a very small coastal town not far from Anchorage. I'll tell you about our port food later, but first, here's what we ate and drank on the cruise itself.

Having never cruised before I didn't quite know what to expect. From what I'd heard, cruise food is plentiful, which turned out to be true. We certainly were never hungry. In fact, we had to make a conscious effort to not to stuff ourselves at every turn. For the most part, the food is available at no extra charge, so it's tempting and very easy to load up.

Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas cruise ship

Our ship was the Radiance of the Seas, which was built in 2001 (and subsequently renovated) and carries about 2,100 passengers, making it one of the smaller cruise ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, which has ships that carry as many as 5,400 people.

There are two main dining options on the ship: Cascades, the two-level main dining room with table service offering breakfast daily, lunch on cruising days (i.e. days where the ship is not in port) and a daily multi-course dinner. The other option is the Windjammer, a cafeteria-style buffet open for every meal. Dining in either location is included in the price of the cruise. Additionally, the Park Cafe offers lighter fare and snacks throughout the day (it's a great place to snag a cookie) and there's also a hot dog stand. Room service is also available as part of the included cost.

For an additional cost, there are a number of other dinner (and sometimes lunch) options throughout the ship: Izumi (Japanese), Chops Grille (steak and seafood), Samba Grill (Brazilian steakhouse), Giovanni's Table (Italian), Rita's Crab Shack and Chef's Table (a pricy multi-course dinner with wine pairing). There's also Latte-tudes, a coffee shop with espresso drinks and snacks. You can find more information on the Royal Caribbean website (although going through the site again to write this article reminded me of how poorly their website is designed--using it to find specific information is really quite a headache).

Cascades, the ship's two-level main dining room.

Main Dining Room

Dinner at Cascades was a generally enjoyable experience, although more so because of the setting and excellent service than the food, which was usually good but could be hit-and-miss. There are two ways to experience Cascades: get assigned a set dining time and group table (I believe 5:30 and 8 are the two seatings) or choose "My Time Dining" and eat whenever you like. I reserved our times in advance, which I would recommend, as the unreserved line could be rather long at peak times. Dress is usually "smart casual," with a couple of "formal" nights (suit and dress shirt are fine).

Dinner is provided as a three-course meal, with the menu featuring some of the same starters, entrees and desserts each day but also rotating selections. Entrees are fairly old-fashioned: most were dominated by large pieces of meat served with a paltry side of vegetables (like two asparagus spears against a giant steak, for example). There was little apparent effort to source food locally (I recall one night where we were offered Alaskan salmon) or seasonally (autumn-like turkey dinners were common). The local thing was particularly surprising to me. Here we are cruising through territory known for its amazing salmon, halibut and crab, and Cascades is featuring decidedly un-Alaskan fare like lobster and prime rib. All the more reason to grab a really good lunch while in port.

Perfectly medium-rare beef tenderloin.

Food-wise, we got off to a rocky start with the mojo-marinated pork chop, which was overcooked and therefore dry. The giant chop was served atop a broccoli floret and a carrot. The beef tenderloin filet with mushroom sauce was much better--it was flavorful and perfectly medium-rare as I'd asked for it. The plank salmon was also fairly good, although the piece I was served was surprisingly thin. Twice we had turkey: roasted turkey roulade stuffed with apples and sliced roasted turkey, both of which were served with a couple of roasted Brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, cranberry sauce (which was quite tasty) and gravy.

A foray into something a little more international--a breaded Thai-style chicken breast with red curry, edamame (which, I think may have been lima beans) and shiitake mushrooms--was decent but not as different from the standard American fare (the red curry seemed more like gravy than the spicy sauce you usually get in Thai restaurants). All of the aforementioned selections were from the rotating entrees portion of the menu. The daily "classics" entrees just didn't interest me much; they included linguini with red sauce, grilled chicken breast, cod, sirloin steak and beef sliders.

The starters offered a more interesting array of choices. My favorite starter was the one that came every night: the dinner roll. They are baked fresh on the ship daily and they were really quite good. A server brings a basket around throughout the evening with a wonderful assortment of white, wheat, cheese, sun-dried tomato and poppy seed (my mom's favorite), and pumpkin seed (Chris's and my favorite) rolls.

The starter I had the first night was one of the more interesting choices: a cold watermelon and raspberry soup with chopped pistachios was tasty although a little too sweet. The royal seafood salad, served with lobster, shrimp, jicama and a citrus dressing was fresh and delicious. Green salads tended to be pretty small but satisfying: arugula or lettuce with few other ingredients and dressing.

Chocolate Sensation, a signature dessert of the main dining room.

Desserts were generally good. If you want something simple, you can opt for just ice cream or sherbet, which we did sometimes, since we were so stuffed by the time dessert rolled around. Since we were in Alaska, I had to have the baked Alaska when it was offered. While it's meringue was nicely browned, I was disappointed it was missing its cake layer: it was just vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice creams with a torched meringue on top. The chocolate soufflé with espresso sauce was quite tasty, as was the "chocolate sensation," a thin layer of chocolate sponge cake topped with chocolate mousse and chocolate glaze. The best dessert we had in the main dining room was the honey-walnut tart, a wonderful confection filled with "roasted walnut toffee crumble" and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

On days the ship is cruising at sea and not in port, the main dining room is also open for lunch. Although service in the dining room was generally very good, our one midday meal generated a significant amount of confusion. Upon being seated, we were given a menu of lunch options and told we could also make use of the large salad station in the middle of the room. I decided to order one of the salads off the menu--the fattoush salad--then proceeded to sit and sit with no food arriving. Eventually, my server told me I had to go to the salad bar to get my salad, which he hadn't made clear earlier (nor was it stated on the menu). So I went to the salad station and asked the server there for the fattoush, but he had no idea what I was asking for. Frustrated, I returned empty-handed to my table. Eventually my server got the salad for me, but the whole thing was rather irritating. As for the salad itself, it wasn't particularly memorable.

Giovanni's Table scallop starter.

Giovanni's Table

After a few nights in the main dining room, we were ready to try something else, so we opted for an evening in Giovanni's Table, one of the premium dining choices. As I mentioned, there was an additional cost for this, but I felt like it was worth the money. The small dining room--much smaller than the grand main dining room--was only about half full the night we went, which meant we had excellent personal service.

Insalata caprese kicked the dinner off on a positive note. The traditional Italian salad of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil was beefed up with arugula large (like grape-size) and small capers. Although we hadn't ordered them, our server brought us a few of the seared scallops to try. The tender morsels arrived on scallop shells on a garlicky slick of butter.

It's hard to pass up gnocchi, since Chris and I both love it. It's a dish that's easy to get wrong. Thankfully, Royal Caribbean gets it right. The pillowy gnocchi were not too heavy and sauced with just enough lamb and root vegetable sugo.

Among our entrees, the star was the excellent grilled beef tenderloin, the best beef preparation we had on the ship. It was served with broccolini and fries. I also enjoyed my veal tenderloin stuffed with porcini mushrooms, provolone cheese and ham, and my mom's veal ossobuco was succulent and tender (I also really liked her creamy cheese polenta side). We finished this meal with classic tiramisu, and it didn't disappoint.

Windjammer provided buffet-style dining at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Windjammer

We ate breakfast everyday in Windjammer, the ship's buffet-style dining space that's open for all meals. It's earlier hours made it more convenient for us, since we were up early every day to work out (gotta burn off some of these calories).

The nice thing about Windjammer is its options. There are many choices here, bound to satisfy just about anyone. You can eat a light meal of fresh fruit and whole-grain cereal or splurge with pancakes, french toast and a wide variety of baked goods. You can even almost fashion a traditional English breakfast--a nod to Royal Caribbean's international clientele--with poached eggs, banger sausages, baked beans, toast and broiled tomatoes (you'll have to settle for American-style bacon though). Wanting something satisfying but healthy, we stuck mostly to the omelet bar, where you could a made-to-order omelet from popular toppings (bacon, ham, cheese and a few vegetables). The mass-production of food does have some drawbacks. The scrambled eggs on the hot food bar aren't nearly appealing as the omelets and the toast, made in batches, will probably be cold when you get it. But I still found this a very appealing way to start the day.

The Windjammer buffet lunch offers a surprising number of tasty Indian options.

Windjammer is also a great option for lunch--better, I think than the main dining room. In addition to the expected fare of salad bar, sandwiches, soups, burgers and pizza, I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice assortment of Indian dishes on the lunch buffet that were quite good, including curry chicken and Indian-style rice.

A favorite diversion in Windjammer is the self-serve ice cream machines, which dispense vanilla, chocolate or strawberry soft-serve (or combinations) into your cone or bowl. The soft-serve was very satisfying and reminded me of my college dorm cafeteria days where we got pretty proficient at building towering soft-serve ice creams.

Starquest Lounge, located at the top of the ship, was a relaxing space with the best views.

Drinks

Drinks deserve their own section here, as they are treated as a separately category on the ship. Water and water-based drinks (like basic coffee and tea) were available free throughout the ship. Anything else--bottled water, soda, espresso drinks, beer, wine and cocktails--carried an additionally although not unreasonable charge. Glasses of wine and cocktails were $8 to $12, for example. I didn't feel the need to buy bottled water, as the onboard filtered water tasted fine. If you plan to buy a lot of drinks, consider a beverage package, but I felt like a pay-as-you-go approach was more fitting to our style.

There are lots of opportunities to buy alcohol on the ship: upon boarding, the first public space you enter is the Lobby Bar. There is also the Schooner Bar (a piano bar), the Champagne Bar (an atrium lounge with a great view), Pool Bar (next to the outdoor pool), Sky Bar (basically the upper level of the Pool Bar), Solarium Bar (the inside part of the Pool Bar), Quill & Compass (English Pub), Starquest (also known as the Viking Crown Lounge) and the Colony Club, a massive space at the rear of the ship with multiple separate bar spaces, including a billiards area. All of the restaurant areas also serve alcohol. Starquest ended up being our favorite place to cool our heels after dinner. This lounge, which converts to a dance club after our bedtime, was located at the top of the ship and had large windows with a stunning panoramic view of the scenery beyond the ship. It was surprised it was never very busy, as I found it a much more relaxing place than the comparatively popular bars in the lower decks.

The menu of drink options was fairly standard throughout the ship, but there were some variations. The "premium" domestic beer options found on most menus was disappointingly limited to big-names like Budweiser (is that really "premium"?) and imports like Beck's. The only venue I saw with a more extensive beer list was the English pub, where I found an IPA, albeit one that isn't particularly interesting. The wine list was not bad. There were a number of by-the-glass choices in all types of wine categories from American and foreign sources. Given the lack of interesting beers, we mostly stuck with wine while on the ship. The Oberon Napa cabernet sauvignon was our favorite, but I also enjoyed trying a variety of other wines.

The cocktails on the ship were a disappointment. Craft cocktail culture has drastically changed cocktail menus in recent years, but this trend toward fresher, better ingredients and less sugar has apparently skipped over the Royal Caribbean cocktail list. The menu featured drinks dominated by juices, sodas and "mixes," the kind of drinks that were popular maybe 15 years ago but have been replaced in many bars today by better choices. Think margaritas with "margarita mix," so-called "martinis" with all sorts of strange ingredients, and daily specials that struck me as having too many sweet ingredients. There were also head-scratchers like caipirinhas made with rum. After a poorly made Manhattan that arrived on-the-rocks despite my multiple attempts to order it "up," I decided I was done with the ship's cocktail program and stuck to the impossible-to-mess-up gin & tonic.

The food we had on the ship was never bad, there just wasn't much "wow" factor. This drinks, however, were a disappointment, but I suppose that ensured we were better behaved. I concluded this is a function of the customers: cruise-goers need to eat, and not a lot of people are that adventurous when it comes to eating and drinking. If the ship took more risks with its food and drinks, it would risk turning off its captive customers who have no other option for where to eat. Consequently, the real adventure--both for food and drink and the trip in general--wasn't on the ship, it was on the land. Tomorrow: eating and drinking in our Alaska cruise ports.

Rehoboth Beach, Del. Dining Guide (Part 1)

Babyback ribs, Pig + Fish.

[Update: Pig + Fish has closed. Cabo has closed, replaced by Papa Grande's.]

Rehoboth Beach may have grown a lot over the years, but at its core it's still the quaint little beach town of your sunny summer memories, albeit with more hotels and outlet malls on the highway.

The town proper is a perfect mix of shops and restaurants catering equally well to both families and adults, including the significant number of gay and lesbian vacationers that call Rehoboth their "home away from home."

When it comes to food, there's a little of everything too, from the standard boardwalk fare of saltwater taffy, fries and pizza to upscale fine dining, such as Espuma, whose chef, Joe Caputo, was a James Beard Award semifinalist this year in the mid-Atlantic chef category.

Chris and I have been vacationing in Rehoboth Beach almost every summer for 13 years now. Over the years, we've seen quite a bit of change in the restaurant scene. We have our definite favorites, several of which we discovered as new restaurants and got to watch rise to prominence (and a few sadly that didn't make it). Here's our Rehoboth dining guide, one I hope to update periodically.

Dinner

It's hard for us to discover new dinner spots since we're fiercely loyal to two favorites, and a trip to Rehoboth Beach wouldn't feel right without visiting them both. Dos Locos (208 Rehoboth Avenue) has hit gold with its fresh take on Tex-Mex. Grilled fajitas and frosty lime margaritas are the perfect fare to enjoy as the sun sets after a day on the sand. Everything we've had tastes fresh and never greasy. Every time we go we're reminded that Dos Locos serves better Tex-Mex than anything we get in D.C. Despite the fact that the restaurant has expanded and become very popular (expect to wait if you go at prime dining hours),we always see owners Joe and Darryl working the host stand and bar and they always make us feel welcome.

Our other favorite is Pig + Fish (236 Rehoboth Avenue), which, as it name implies, excels at serving hearty grilled meat and seafood. My personal favorite is the braised barbecue pork shank, a falling-off-the-bone tender smoked pork shank served in a tangy barbecue sauce with sweet potatoes and spinach. Through the years, we've also enjoyed the Tabasco smoked pork tenderloin, babyback ribs (pictured at top) and seared scallops. As a starter, you can't go wrong with the tomato-mozzarella salad, a hearty take on the classic Italian Caprese served with beefsteak tomatoes, a fresh basil honey-mustard vinaigrette and reduced balsamic glaze. Lastly, I must say the service here is always top notch, particularly if we're served by Carissa, whose friendly and efficient service is among the best we've had at any restaurant.

Braised barbecue pork shank, Pig + Fish.

We were pleased by our first trip to newcomer Cabo (210 Second Street), a new project from aforementioned Espuma Chef Jay Caputo that opened this year in the former Porcini House space. It bills itself as "modern Mexican," which seems an apt description for the food. If you like smoke, you're in luck. Walking to the beach in the morning, we could smell the cooks at work and weren't disappointed by the tequila smoked chicken tacos and the suckling pig burrito. The only disappointment was the appetizer. Although the bowl of fresh guacamole was tasty, I didn't appreciate the floppy, undercooked corn tortilla chips. Nevertheless, that should be easy to correct (and I doubt diners would mind if they just bought them, although I do appreciate the effort to go house-made).

Lunch

We usually drive to Rehoboth Beach in the morning and have a tradition of making Grotto Pizza (multiple locations on the boardwalk and Rehoboth Avenue) our first meal. The Baker's Choice is our usual pie, made special by its tangy pickled bell peppers. Nicola Pizza is the other major pizza operation in town, although I haven't eaten there in years, so I can't comment on its quality.

If you want pub fare, your best bet is Dogfish Head Brewing & Eats (320 Rehoboth Avenue). Of course, it's best known for its locally brewed Dogfish craft ales, and on site you can get special ones not available at retail or in other restaurants. But it has good food too like hearty burgers and wood-grilled pizzas. Like Dos Locos, this is another particularly popular spot, so plan accordingly.

Breakfast

Breakfast is traditionally the most challenging meal for us. A longtime favorite, Retro Cafe, closed last year, forcing us to find a new favorite place. This year's best breakfast was from Robin Hood (54 Rehoboth Avenue), a no-frills diner near the beach that serves a basic but well-executed menu (the home fries with my western omelet were really good). Corner Grille (11 S. First Street) also does a decent breakfast.

Hoping for something a little more upscale, this year we tried the restaurant at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel (2 Olive Avenue), but were disappointed. The service was prompt and friendly and the food was fine but not spectacular. The syrup on my pancakes the menu claimed was Vermont maple was clearly maple-flavored corn syrup (perhaps they think Aunt Jemima has moved her operation up north?).

Royal Treat (4 Wilmington Avenue) is the most popular breakfast place and its pancakes are excellent. However, it opens later than other places and you are guaranteed a line, so if you want to hit the beach early (and the beach is so beautiful in the morning when it's not yet crowded), I don't recommend it. Save it for your last day before heading out of town.

Treats

What's a trip to the beach without a few sweet treats? The commercial center of Rehoboth's mile-long boardwalk offers quite a few options. The iconic Dolle's (1 Rehoboth Avenue) is certainly worth a mention. I'm not really a fan of saltwater taffy, but I do love their caramel corn. For ice cream, the first decision is soft-serve or hard. For the former, I recommend Kohr Bros. (multiple locations on the boardwalk) frozen custard, which comes in many flavors supplemented if you wish with a dip in chocolate or sprinkles (or both). For the latter, the aforementioned Royal Treat can't be beat. I had a really divine peanut butter and vanilla cone on our last night.

Sunset over Silver Lake, Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Rehoboth Beach on Dwellable