Monday, May 31, 2010

White Castle

Jonathan had never been to a White Castle, and I haven't been in at least 15 years, so we drove up to New Brunswick one Sunday afternoon for a late lunch there. They sell the little burgers (sometimes referred to as "sliders"). They also have them in a chicken variety (and also fish, apparently), and the normal stuff like french fries, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks.

Hamburger: nothing special. Cheeseburger: I thought it tasted a lot like McDonald's, honestly. Plus the bun was a little soggy, and I kinda hate that. Chicken: get it without the cheese. French Fries: undercooked. Mozzarella Sticks: a hair below average.

JB can say he's been, and I now recall that I don't like White Castle.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

West End Grill

On Tuesday, I had lunch in St. Lucie West with my friend Tori, and my sister at the West End Grill. None of us had been there before, but we'd totally recommend this little place. Their lunch specials are very reasonable, plus they have cards for buying 5 lunches and getting 1 free! I had the caribbean chicken salad wrap (it was the special of the day), which was fabulous. The flavor was great, although I couldn't quite place the sauce. Kyla went with a chicken caesar wrap, and Tori went with the turkey club sandwich. It's of interest to note that none of the sandwiches had cheese on them, which was interesting. They both found their entrees to be tasty as well. They had the fries as a side (they came with Tori's, Kyla had to pay extra for some reason), and I chose the chips. The chips are homemade and perfectly handcrafted... GET THEM! :)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Food all Day on Sensation

We got up around 9am and were at breakfast by 9:30. Jonathan & Ebad went with the eggs benedict while Bryan and I went with the bagels and lox. That really is my very favorite breakfast on the cruise ships, since it's served with tomato and onion (and capers but I don't add those), and there's just enough cream cheese and salmon for the bagel's surface area.

After a morning that included miniature golf, among other things, we met up for lunch at 1pm. Ebad, Jonathan, and I wanted to try out the Mongolian Grill. The lines had been long all cruise, and we ended up waiting about half an hour. We were able to choose each ingredient, then specify the meats and sauces. It took a few minutes for the chef to actually stir-fry everything together, but in the end it was good. All of the ingredients were delicious, and I wish I had gotten the squid on mine in addition to the chicken. The szechuan was unbelievably hot, though. I went through a couple of rolls and an entire frozen drink as I ate 3/4 of mine. Ebad (who grew up eating very spicy foods) was sweating bullets eating his, and ended up heading inside for a shower as soon as lunch was done. Jonathan's wasn't as hot, despite choosing the same sauce... we think it's because he went with glass noodles instead of udon noodles (his noodles picked up the flavor in a great way!).

We played Bingo and went in the pools during the afternoon, and later met up for sushi, where we had different varieties than we had on the first night. However, none of them were fantastic - the salmon nigiri was probably the best.

Then, it was on to our final dinner. Jonathan and I had onion soup. I liked it, he didn't care for it (mind you, that's probably the soup we're pickiest about). Bryan went with the mushroom soup, and he thought it was very good. They had cheese plates while I went with the tomatoes and mozzarella... the only appetizer I wouldn't get again (not that it's bad, just rather plain in comparison to the others). The guys went with yet another steak-ish entree, and I had my favorite favorite favorite - penne mariscos. It's penne with a tomato-based sauce, with scallops, shrimp, and calamari rings. It's SO GOOD, I absolutely love it whenever it's offered. This time in particular, the calamari was perfect. It filled me up to the point where I didn't order dessert, LoL. Bryan got the poached pear and raved about it.

Around 1am we decide to get some pizza and then order some sandwiches from room service. Tasty. 

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A Little Food on the Island

The boys booked us on a historical tour of the island that began at 1pm. We had just under an hour to grab a quick bite, and Jonathan and I thought we had a great places in mind, from when we were in Nassau in May 2008. However, for whatever reason, about half of the places were closed, if not more. This left long lines and we cut it really short. We ordered fried conch, baked turkey wings, rice, and plantains, and ate as we walked back to the pier. The conch was among the worst I've ever had (and when conch is good, I'm in love), and the rice wasn't very tasty. The plantains were average, which is what I expect from a street vendor. The turkey, however, was fantastic. Actually, perhaps phenomenal. I'd get it again in a heartbeat, and I kinda only eat turkey like three times a year (not counting sliced deli meat, of course!).

Monday, May 24, 2010

Breakfast & Dinner on the Sensation

There are several breakfast options onboard, but we kinda prefer the main dining room (this is our fourth Carnival cruise), which is seated as-you-arrive for breakfast, as opposed to assigned seating. Also, the menu is the same every morning, so you can try different things. We were seated shortly after 8:30am.

Bryan when with the bagel & lox, Ebad chose the poached eggs, Jonathan went with the french toast, and I chose a ham and cheese omelet. Ebad thought poached eggs were pretty good, Bryan enjoyed the toasted bagel so much that he ordered it again the following morning, and Jonathan thought the french toast was good. I thought the omelet was about average, honestly. But, to be fair, I usually have a bunch of veggies in my omelet, so maybe I just wasn't accustomed to just ham and cheese. I also had a banana, which was surprisingly served already sliced! There were various side dishes ordered, but I can only personally brag about the hashbrowns, which were wonderful. I found it to me amusing that we each chose a different juice that morning. I chose apple, Bryan went orange, JB went tomato, and Ebad tried grapefruit.
We headed up to the Lido to grab an afternoon snack (hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, chicken tenders), and then we split up.

We got dressed for dinner and headed to the Captain's Party about 7:45pm. We only got one free round since we arrived so late, but we did have front row seats for all of the officer introductions. We were right on-time for dinner, but the dining room was surprisingly swamped (most of the time it's not as crowded on port days). We get the cheese plates brought out, then the soups (I got the pumpkin, which is my favorite of the Carnival soups), then other appetizers. I had ordered the proscuitto ruffles, and for the first time, my order never came. I might have gotten upset, except a) Bryan let me have some of his, b) I wasn't starving, and c) I was really into reading an autobiography by the first American to have completed a contract on a Carnival cruise ship in the dining room. Because of the third in particular, I was able to recognize how much extra weight our head waiter was pulling, and since he was otherwise magnificent, I didn't mention it. I ordered the lobster and shrimp, which came with mashed potatoes and broccoli. A couple of the guys also had this, but then they also had the prime rib with baked potato and onion rings. The lobster was great, and I wish I had ordered a second one from the get-go. The shrimp and mashed potato were also scrumptious, and the guys reported great things about the meat, but not the potato, LoL. My favorite Carnival dessert was served that night, the banana layer cake. That with a side of chocolate ice cream was fabulous.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Food on the Carnival Sensation

We were taking a short cruise with some friends. After embarking, we proceeded to get some lunch. We did the deli and the buffet. The grilled ham and cheese was excellent (always is on a ship!), and the guys liked the reubens, too. Nothing spectacular on the buffet, but nothing was bad, either.

We split up and did our own things for a few hours, then met back up a little after 6pm and had some sushi (which was conveniently located just off the casino, LoL). Nothing spectacular, but the shrimp nigiri was average and the spicy tuna was good... except the spicy was a cajun spicy which was unexpected. The salmon/asparagus/mushroom roll wasn't good. We followed this up by attending the martini tasting. 5 martinis for $15 (decent size, too). I wasn't a big fan of any of them (not a martini person), but I was surprised I didn't like the Nuttini, which sounded great from the ingredients list, LoL! Overall, nobody was head-over-heels for any of them, but they were fun to try.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Milliken's Reef

Jonathan and I were in Florida for a cruise. We stayed in Port Canaveral the night before the trip. We spent a couple hours hanging out at Milliken's Reef, which is a restaurant/bar on the beach. The dance floor is literally the sand, and it's really a neat setup. Their chicken tenders and french fries are pretty good, and the guys enjoyed the chicken sandwiches (the parmigiana and buffalo varieties, respectively). Our server was rather new and had issues ringing up the checks, but that's not the end of the world. It was also Ladies' Night, so I got a couple free drinks which was a fun surprise. The music just kept getting louder and louder, and we were already the farthest table away, so we left.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

More Tim Horton's

So, after finding out about the deliciousness of Tim Horton's when we were in Niagara Falls, we now grab it whenever we get a chance. So, when we were in Manhattan, we stopped to get some caffeine there. I had an iced mocha, Jonathan had an iced cappuccino. Yet again, both were wonderful. Overall, their stuff is SO GOOD.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Lunch in Times Square

We were in NYC for the day again. We headed over to eat lunch at the Times Deli on 44th Street (between Broadway & 6th). I had a grilled chicken wrap with cheese, peppers, and tomatoes. Jonathan has a meatball sub. Both were delicious, and the place was quick and cheap. The upstairs seating (which has a tiny internet cafe as well) wasn't air conditioned, but otherwise it was a great stop.

 

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Indian Falls Log Cabin Restaurant

On the drive home from Niagara Falls, we stopped for lunch at Indian Falls Log Cabin Restaurant. If you happen to be near Corfu, NY, stop there. The view from the patio is nice, overlooking the Indian Falls. The food was overly reasonable. The service could have been a bit quicker, but the deliciousness of the food made up for it. I went with the cabin sandwich, which was chicken and ham with swiss. Jonathan chose the steak sandwich. The fries were absolutely delicious... the kind with light skin on them, but cooked so the skin almost tastes like breading. We also split an order of pepperoni rolls, which were served similarly to eggrolls, but tasted like pizza... wonderful.

Here is the view from our table, as we prepared to head out and drive home.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Buffet at Fallsview Casino

We walked across the street to the Fallsview Casino and walked around. We had some more great views of the Falls, and decided to have the Grand Buffet for dinner. It was a tad overpriced, but we could understand why it would be worth it to some. My favorite was the build-your-own-pasta bar, as the concoction the guy made for me was fabulous. Jonathan thought the lamb was good, and we both enjoyed the noodles. The dessert was rather disappointing, aside from the tiramisu (made as a mousse of sorts) and the cookies (chocolate and caramel chips in one cookie!).

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Tim Horton's

We thought about going to Niagara Falls for Valentine's Day weekend this year. However, we found out that Niagara Falls is one of those "seasonal" places. Silly Floridians, we don't think of these things. :-p

So, we went the first weekend in May. Early in the "season" but everything was open. It was supposed to be a 7-hour drive each way (exactly. isn't that weird??), and we ended up taking about 10 minutes longer (gas, customs, changing places driving) than that.


We were hungry from the drive, so we tried Tim Horton's, a common fast food chain in Canada (and several states in the US, too). The prices were reasonable, the menu was small, and the quality was awesome. We both went with soup-and-sandwich, I chose chicken salad and potato soup... Jonathan went with the chicken club and chicken noodle soup. Everything was very good, and I'd recommend them. Instead of soup, for $1 less we could have had donuts with our combo meals, which we found intriguing. I got a can of Sprite with mine, Jonathan went with a cafe mocha, which was exceedingly delicious.