My Last Meal

NaBloPoMo’s prompt for today is: if you knew whatever you ate next was your last meal, what would you want it to be?

I think that I love food too much to narrow down one meal. So I’d request a five course meal. First, would be a caprese salad with the freshest buffalo mozzarella and balsamic vinegar, second course would be a lobster bisque, the third course would be mac and cheese with hot dog and kim bap (Korean Sushi), the main entree would grilled halibut and bulgogi (Korean BBQ), and the dessert would definitely be a pairing of the finest cheeses/grapes and creme brulee with a glass of the most decadent port wine.

NOMNOMNOM I’M SO HUNGRY.

Cruise 2011: Dining Room Experience

So, I am trying to get back to my Cruise Recaps, and I’ve just realized that this is going to make me miss vacation/friends while I am also drooling over some of these food pictures.

For those of you who’ve never cruised before, be warned, that there is food EVERYWHERE. I think I honestly gained about 10 pounds over 7 days. I was being overly gluttonous, but hey, what can I say? When there is food available at all times of the day, I will most definitely be the girl eating at every hour, on the hour!

I didn’t do a very good job taking pictures of the Lido Deck lunch buffets and/or anything else outside of the formal dining room, so I will curtail my recap to a review of our week-long dining room experience.

Mr.DJW and I have cruised before, both separately and together. We don’t remember much of either dining experience because when we went together we sat at a 2-top and had more of an intimate experience; and the time we went separately was too long ago for us old fogies to remember any details besides “I ate a lot.”

Our dining experience was so much fun on this cruise as we traveled with 8 others in the group. We made it to the formal dining room each and every night for our 8:15 p.m. table at the Silver Olympian Dining Room.

Our servers: Chulee from Thailand, Bryan from India, and Alan from Turkey were always so sweet and accomodating.

They were always entertaining us, in addition to their amazing serving skills, they were pretty talented dancers too!

All 10 of us got close to our servers and each night we were always the last table to close out the entire restaurant because we got caught up in the “brain-teasers” that Bryan showed us after our dessert. And most nights, we were mesmerized by the magician who came around to show us a few mind-boggling “magic” tricks.

Aside from the amazing staff, I have to admit that the food was pretty delicious. I mean, to get a break from cooking for an entire week was a blessing in and of itself, but the dinners was always on point. They always had a plethora of menu options for each course, including vegetarian, non-sugar, and other non-standard food items to accomodate all of the ship’s cruisers.

I was kind of disappointed with some of the “higher-end” items not being up to par, but that’s how it goes when you’re mass producing meals for a ship of 3,000+ people. Overall, the meals were delectable, and the dessert was ALWAYS delicious. Especially, this piece of heaven right here:

Yup, HEAVEN. It’s Carnival’s signature dessert, Melted Chocolate Cake. Mr.DJW and I always orderd it with extra vanilla ice cream. Literally, the cake melts in your mouth. I’m not even a huge chocolate addict, and I enjoyed EVERY bite.

Their seafood dishes were my absolute favorite entrees. I’m a huge seafood fanatic and all of their dishes met my expectations (and then some!)

And again, their desserts (even the sugar-free ones) were AMAZING!!!!!

My tip for the dining room is TRY EVERYTHING YOU WANT!!!!! The servers are always patient and accomodating. If you see more than one menu item you want to try, go for it! Mr.DJW and I have this habit of being THAT couple who orders practically everything on cruises and at all-inclusives; but hey, it’s our vacation right?

’til next recap…

Cruise 2011: Getting Acquainted & First Dinner

So last I left you, we were just enjoying the first few hours of our glorious time on the Carnival Liberty.

After our time out on the Lido deck, we went down to one of our friends’ cabins as they were lucky enough to have gotten some liquor through security on their embarkation.

Tip #1 for future cruisers who are boozers: PACK LIQUOR ON YOUR LUGGAGE! It is much harder to “sneak it on” at ports. I lost $30 trying to sneak clear liquor at one of our ports, because they “test” water bottles by swiveling the bottle around. Water falls down quickly, while liquor lingers around. If you do try to “sneak it on,” you will have a much easier time just bringing the bottle onto the ship, going through security, and having them tell you to “check it” with the crew member who is in charge of handling liquor purchases (and returning to guests at the end of the trip). If you get lucky, like one of our friends, you’ll just be able to walk by the crew member who’s not paying attention and take the bottle to your room.

 After a round of celebratory vodka/redbull shots, a few of us headed back to our balcony room to check out the view… we had our first towel animal greeting us:

 I have no idea what it is still, none of my friends could figure it out either. There were two blue dots on the head for its eyes, but I just couldn’t figure it out. Can you tell what it is?

After some downtime in the room, it was time to check out the pool and grab some more drinks before our 8:15 p.m. dinner time!

Half Strawberry Daquiri / Half Pina Colada

“Miami Vice”

My hubby, being a goof, but good sport about taking pictures!

After some play time in the pool (by the way, all pools are salt-water pools on the ships). We headed down for our first meal in the Silver Olympian Dining Room.

We were seated at a round 10-top table tucked away in the back corner of the second floor. This worked out nice for our group as we were always there to close out the restaurant. The food, needlessly to say, was absolutely delectable. Here are a few pics of some entress throughout the week, but I won’t bore you with an everyday routine re-cap of the same events!

The attire for first night dinner was casual, so I chose a black tank-top blouse and dark skinny jeans, while Mr.DJW donned the classic polo + shorts for comfort. After that, we killed some hours at the ship Casino (which Mr.DJW spent a lot of time in throughout the week), and got ready for our first “Fun Day at Sea…”

Have  a great weekend, friends. Next up: Sea Day 1 & Port Stop: Cozumel!

Restaurant Review: Brio

To eat well, is to live well

BRIO brings the pleasures of the Tuscan country villa to the American city. The Italians built their spacious country villas to escape the pressures of urban life and enjoy “La Dolce Vita” – the good life.

 

They would mingle with family and friends and eat freshly prepared food from their grounds while surrounded by natural beauty. In just that manner, Brio offers its Guests “La Dolce Vita.”

 

The excerpt/quote above was taken directly from Brio’s website.

 

Mr.DJW and I conveniently live 1.5 miles away from a fairly new one at our local, outdoor mall. Although, we haven’t indulged since Ash Wednesday in any take-out, dine-in, etc., I had a few food pics from our last trip to Brio that I wanted to share with all of you.

 

(Source)

 

(Source)

Brio is one of our favorite “date-night” restaurants. The food is amazing, the ambience is calming, and for two home-bodies like us, it’s the perfect setting to enjoy QT outside the comforts of our home.

We almost always start off with calamari and a glass of wine (Red for Mr.DJW, White for me) with the complimentary flatbread and cheese. NOMNOMNOM.

This last trip I ordered the: Shrimp Verduta – Angel hair tossed with shrimp, garlic, sundried tomatoes, roasted artichokes, Feta and spinach, topped with pesto bread crumbs.

And Mr.DJW ordered the Roasted Lamb Chops: Full rack, perfectly seasoned and grilled to order, with red wine veal sauce, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

As if those don’t photos make me drool, mmmmm, the food was absolutely delectable!

I cannot wait until lent is over and we can take a trip over to Brio again soon. I highly recommend it to anyone that has one nearby!

–What is your favorite date-night restaurant? Italian restaurant?

Sacrifice

Today is Ash Wednesday.

(Source)

I am, by birth and through the years, Protestant (United Methodist, to be exact). I am, by association of Mr.DJW, Catholic. Rather than to debate my views on religious sects and various differences in religious practices, I’ll just simply explain to you that Ash Wednesday, the Lenten Season, and most definitely Easter have always been a part of my religious beliefs and practices in both churches.

As I look forward to the upcoming 40 days (46, including Sundays), I am looking forward not only to the usual “What am I going to give up?” puzzle, but really taking consideration of what this time of year truly represents. I’m sure that it symbolizes different things for different people, and for others it’s just the Spring/Winter-ish season.

For me, the next 7 weeks will be one of reflecting, repenting, and reflecting again.

I digress.

Mr.DJW and I decided a few weeks ago that this year we would be giving up “eating out.” With our crazy work and school schedules, we end up eating out for lunch/dinner a LOT. Whether it’s something small, like a subway sandwich, or take-out from our favorite thai joint, OH and I can’t forget, Mr.DJW’s weekly addiction to PIZZA.

We’re both also on new workout plans and eating healthy regiments. So this “sacrifice” helps us to pad our wallets instead of padding our butts and guts.

I think it’s a great addition to this time that I use for spiritual cleansing and growth. Our “sacrifice” will help me to feel the same physically and financially!

Are you giving anything up for lent? If so, what are you giving up?