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.

8-2-Eat: Smoke Without Fire

8-2-Eat is my food-focused list series. A perfect Friday distraction. Today, I feature 8 smoky ingredients that are ideal for adding smoky flavors to dishes when actual methods of smoking foods--such as with a grill or smoker--are beyond a cook's reach (like me, since I live in a high-rise apartment).

1. Smoked paprika. This one is a favorite among many cooks, as you can sprinkle it to just about anything to lend a spicy-sweet note of smoke. It's perfect for chicken, fish, salads, mac & cheese. Try it in Smoky Waldorf Salad, Broiled Vegetable Skewers and sprinkled on roasted chickpeas in Crispy Kale and Roasted Chickpea Salad.

2. Hickory-smoked sea salt. I just discovered the joy of hickory-smoked sea salt last summer, when I found the ingredient for sale at  It's the finishing touch for Triple Smoky Apple-Blue Cheese Crostini (pictured at right). It also rims the glass of the Smoked Sage Margarita.

3. Smoked cheese. Just about any cheese can be smoked, but I commonly see smoked cheddar, gouda, mozzarella and blue cheeses available at grocery stores. They are wonderful eaten as is, such as in Crostini with Smoked Blue Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Rosemary or melted into sauces, such as in Smoky Mac & Cheese and Smoky Tuna-Noodle Casserole.

4. Smoked Nuts. I love adding smoked almonds to salads and sides. Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon-Maple Glaze and Smoked Almonds (pictured at right) is addictively good. I've even tried salsa with smoked cashews.

5. Bacon. I could go on and on about bacon, which I've decided is basically a "magical" ingredient, adding meaty, salty, smoky flavors to just about anything you want--even dessert and drinks. How about some Smoky Bacon Mac & Cheese (pictured at top)? Three-Peas Farro Risotto with Bacon? Snap Pea and Bacon Salad with Ricotta and Roasted Chickpeas? Bacon Marmalade? (now we're talking.)

6. Liquid smoke. This is smoke in an almost pure form, condensed from the liquid and solid particles that make up smoke. I use liquid hickory smoke to make dishes like Smoke-Brined Oven BBQ Chicken (pictured at right), Smoky Maple Brined Roasted Turkey and Smoky-Sweet Braised Dandelion Greens.

7. Mezcal. This Mexican spirit, a relative of tequila, is made from roasted agave, giving it a marked smokiness that I love in cocktails. Try it in the Margarita on Fire, Smoky Pear Margarita and the Smoked Palomino.

8. Laphroaig Scotch. This flavorful Scotch is even smokier than Mezcal, so rather than use it as a main ingredient, I like to "float" a little bit on top of a drink to give it a smoky aroma. Try it in the American Sniper (inspired by the recent film), the Smoky Vanilla Bowery (pictured at right) or The Pam, a summery bourbon and sparkling wine cocktail inspired by the beloved Dallas TV show character.

Restaurant: Tupelo Honey Cafe (Arlington, VA)

I was recently invited to a bloggers' tasting dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe, the Arlington, Virginia outpost of the small Southern chain that originated in Asheville, North Carolina. Hence I don't consider this a typical "review," but perhaps more of a "preview," as I'd really like to go back and experience the rather delicious food under typical circumstances.

Increasingly, I'm really digging Southern cooking. I'll go on and on about how much I like Southern restaurants like Macon Bistro & Larder and barbecue places like Fat Pete's. There's so much to enjoy with Southern cooking, but it's often a challenge to fit in everything you might want in a meal, given that the portions tend to be big and filling. Tupelo Honey Cafe addresses that issue by offering its contemporary Southern cuisine as small plates, allowing for the creation of a unique meal that can include quite a few tastes, especially if you visit in a group.

I'll get to those great small plates in a moment, but first a word on the cocktails. They're pretty fantastic. I started with a Honey & Chamomile G&T. As many of you know, classic gin & tonic is one of my favorite cocktails, and I was nervous that honey would make the drink too sweet, but it's perfect. It has that distinctive American gin flavor that isn't to everyone's liking (they use Virginia-made Commonwealth gin), but I found to be perfectly summery and refreshing in this drink. I also tried to "Ode to Eleanor Roosevelt," a white sangria exclusive to the Arlington, Virginia location made with white brandy, triple sec, sparkling wine, elderflower tonic syrup, citrus and thyme. I feel like sangria get get overplayed, but I enjoyed this drink. The thyme, in particular, gave the tart drink a nice herbal edge.

Now to the food. It's petty great. Although rooted in Southern cooking, it is isn't a slave to it. Mexican, Asian and Italian influences also graced the varied list of small plates, of which there are about 15, plus salads, soups and sandwiches. There are also "supper plate" entrees, but the small plates show such creativity, that it would be a difficult decision to order one of those instead of a collection of the smaller tastes.

Top: fried avocado. Bottom: fried green tomatoes.

My favorite dish of the night was the fried avocado. I love avocado and I've never seen it fried before. I didn't even know it was possible, but Tupelo Honey Cafe's fried version gives the green fruit a crunch exterior and a velvety warm interior. Served with fresh tomato salsa and sour cream, it's a definite must in my book. Also offering a nice crunch are the fried green tomatoes, which are served atop tangy goat cheese grits and red pepper coulis.

Meatloaf tacos.

The tacos were another highlight, especially the meatloaf tacos with Brussels sprouts slaw and smoked jalapeño sauce. The meat has a wonderful barbecue flavor and I loved the jalapeño kick. Although the slaw made the taco a bit overstuffed, it was tasty accompaniment. The curried fried chicken tacos with apple salsa and cherry pepper aioli were also good but not as memorable as the other taco.

Mac & cheese with shrimp.

Love mac & cheese? Who doesn't, but I can be very picky about it. I love to make mac & cheese, and I'm often disappointed by restaurant versions, but Tupelo Honey Cafe's was one of the better attempts I've had while dining out, with good cheese flavor, fresh basil and shrimp, which was a nice touch. Less satisfying were the herbed lamb meatballs, which were fine but rather plain and therefore not as interesting as the other dishes. A nice surprise was the seared spiced yellowfin tuna, which had a little heat from cajun spice and was served with edamame, another creative sidekick.

NC country ham wontons.

Creativity reached its peak with the NC country ham wontons. Yes, wontons! The Chinese appetizer, which Tupelo Honey Cafe makes with spot-on crispy texture, arrives stuffed with a ham-and-cheese (or perhaps cheese-and-ham, as the former dominates) filling.

Salt roasted beets with goat cheese, pistachio and pesto.

If you need to add some vegetables into this mix to feel a little virtuous, go ahead and try the salt roasted beets. They are served in that classic combination of beets with goat cheese and nuts (pistachios, in this case), but get an herbal lift from pesto. There's also an even more virtuous quinoa salad with fresh blueberries, arugula, feta and lemon.

We finished our dinner with the cafe's homemade biscuits served with jam, which, although usually a side, made for a great dessert. The restaurant's dessert selection is actually rather limited to brown butter pecan pie and banana pudding. But if you want a real dessert after eating all this amazing food, you have more resolve (or perhaps just a much larger stomach) than I.

Unless we're traveling, Chris and I rarely cross DC's borders for food, especially that southern border. However, I would definitely make the trip for Tupelo Honey Cafe, another wonderful entry in the bourgeoning space of creative Southern cooking.

Tupelo Honey Cafe, 1616 N. Troy Street, Arlington, Virginia (near Court House Metro station). 703-253-8140. 

Fettuccine with Fresh Tomatoes, Zucchini and Sausage

If you shop farmers markets, you know that the most exciting time of the market-year has arrived. Summer is when farmers markets get into full-swing, flush with beautiful summer produce--greens, zucchini (of all colors), tomatoes, peppers, herbs and much, much more.

A simple pasta sauce is a wonderful way to savor these summer vegetables. For this dish, I've used tomatoes, zucchini, red bell pepper, onion and fresh oregano and basil, along with chicken sausage, for a satisfying fettuccine dish. It comes together quickly, making a great mid-week meal.

Fettuccine with Fresh Tomatoes, Zucchini and Sausage

1 lb. dried fettuccine noodles
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. mild Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 zucchini, cut into coins
1 red bell pepper, diced
Seasoned salt, to taste
Generous pinch of red chili pepper flakes
3-4 large tomatoes, diced
6 oz. can tomato paste
3/4 cup dry white wine (Columbia Crest H3 chardonnay)
Dash of ground nutmeg
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. fresh chopped oregano
1/4 cup fresh copped basil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, at table

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package direction for al dente. Drain pasta and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned and cooked through, breaking up with a wooden spoon. When finished, transfer to a cutting board and chop the sausage a bit smaller. Set aside.

3. Add the onion, garlic, zucchini and red pepper to the skillet. Season with seasoned salt and a pinch of red chili pepper flakes. Sauté until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, white wine, nutmeg and water, and increase heat to medium-high to bring the mixture to a rigorous bubble. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in the fresh oregano and basil and freshly ground black pepper, then add the pasta and toss with the sauce to coat evenly.

4. Serve pasta in shallow bowls with grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table.

Ancho Chile Chicken and Slaw Tacos (Silent Interlude)

In 1984, the Marvel G.I. Joe comic put out issue #21, titled "Silent Interlude." Unlike other all other G.I. Joe comics (or most other comics in general), the issue featured no words, just pictures. This is my attempt to create a "Silent Interlude"-style recipe, adapted from Cooking Light's recipe for Ancho Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream. I'll be taking a break from the blog for about a week, so I thought this "silent" approach appropriate until I return.