My Plate or Yours?

Eating In While Sailing Away

The thing about a long cruise is that it is a lot of restaurant eating, in this case three meals a day for 24 days since we aren't making the kind of stops that allow you to lunch with the local residents (And I've seen what penguins eat. Yuck.)



Seabourn food is great -- on this cruise the food is much, much better than our last Seabourn cruise, but the choices are odder and more limited -- what would have been an Indian market buffet for dinner in the Colonnade two years ago is instead an a la carte menu, and the vegetarian option isn't Indian, it's Asian noodle stir fry and not very good. "Why," I asked, "when some of the best vegetarian food in the world is Indian?" "That's what they decided in Seattle," shrugged the waiter. Whether it was really a corporate decision or not (the vegetarian entree on Italian night was, I am not kidding, "Soy Glazed Shiitakes and Gingered Greens") it's an error of judgment. 



Likewise these amazing three course Keller menus they serve in the Restaurant, but in limited supply. The scarcity is at Keller's direction "to create a demand" said the Guest Services Manager. If more people realized these menus were available I imagine the limited supply would just create a demand for Keller's head. 



But I'll direct these comments somewhere they can do more good. My point was only that sometimes you want to get dressed up and go out fancy, sometimes you want to hang at a neighborhood grill, and sometimes you want to stay home and eat in your jammies. 

On our third night out we went with the third option. Burger (and excellent fries) for Jer, spaghetti and tomato sauce for me, set up with tablecloth and all in the room. In the warm weather the balcony is the place to do it but forget about it now -- cozy in the living "room" is the way to go. 



Which brings me to last night. The Restaurant was offering a fixed Chef's menu (not THE chef, just "a" chef.") it looked good, but we'd been tuxed and gowned the night before and I was definitely thinking comfort clothes if not comfort food. 



One phone call later we had two waiters bearing down on our suite with a full array of silver and settings and five courses. They set us up and left us to it. Each course was superb,
stayed warm, and made us smile. No waiting in between, no loud chatter, no obnoxious person drinking too much at the next table. And jammies!



Lime marinated gravlax -- yum!

White plum tomato soup. Not familiar with the white plum tomato (hmm) but also yum. 

A seared scallop in cauliflower purée. 



Halibut with sundried tomatoes and mushrooms with basil mashed potatoes. 



Lastly a plate of sweet bites -- a mini baked Alaska (okay, that one suffered a bit), pistachio macaron, and a perfect bite of strawberry cake. 



And then another phone call to have it all whisked away. 



That's one romantic evening. And no high heels!

Insomnia

Lying in bed. Can't sleep at 12:45 am. I think I over-napped this afternoon. But the ship is very gently rocking and the glass doors are open, letting in the sounds of the sea
and the fresh, clean air. Sometimes insomnia is a call to relax and enjoy. 



Food today was just meh. Pastry for breakfast, cookies for lunch and a peculiar Indian menu for dinner where two courses hit it out of the park and the third and the bread were abysmal.
So more cookies for dessert. They are strategically located around the ship -- gingerbread houses with piles of cookies stacked around them. If I wanted to prowl in my jammies I'd go get some more right now. 



Also spent sometime today photographing some lovely things on board. A huge coral and turquoise urn, for want of a better word, whose colors thrill me and whose texture draws my fingers
like a magnet. And lovely flowers -- calla lilies I think -- that are just made for a macro lens. 

All Aboard

I'll tell you, I am ready for three weeks of being spoiled. This fall has been a heavy lift, and I have two Bloom pieces to write and four KTR chapters to revise on board, but I am going to be indulged while I do it, and see sights the like of which I have never seen before. Plus, penguins! Happy me. 



The ship is lovely. Same exact one we were on in the Mediterranean summer of 2013, two doors down from our previous suite. So far we haven't busted in on the neighbors by accident. It's Christmassy on board, but subtle. I could use a few more gaudy trees but I guess not everyone shares my tastes. 

            

First night on board we did what I like best -- room service. Too cold for the balcony but cozy inside. Jer had shrimp ceviche and fish with asparagus and I had a divine potato and Gruyere tart. So, so good. And a long, hot bath. Bliss. 

         

The next day was a sea day. Got up early and worked out and then sat on my butt self-righteously all the rest of the day. Checked out all the jewelry in the Collection. Not as interesting as the last trip and nothing I loved but some very blingy stuff. 

There ARE some darling diamond penguin pendants. This ship is full of the kind of people who look like they'd buy a diamond penguin as a nice last minute stocking stuffer. I, on the other hand, went to the boutique and bought three giant bags of gummi bears (they ran out last time and I am not a risk taker when it comes to the important things.) 

          

That night was a formal night and we were invited to sit at the table of the head of personnel training (a thankless task the onboard management endures to make the guests feel special) so we got all decked out and fortunately, the guy was a hoot and the food was superb. 

             

Thomas Keller has signed on as executive chef of the Seabourn line which can and usually does mean nothing much but he seems to have taken it more seriously than most. In addition to various Kelleresque touches (a "haute dog" at the Patio Grill) there is an honest to God three course Keller menu offered in the Restaurant occasionally. The staff is clearly not wild about it because it takes longer to prepare and most of the passengers are oblivious to what it means but I insisted on the menu and Jerry and I both had it. 

           


It was seriously Keller caliber. Started with a large spinach gnocchi in some kind of foam with shallot jam and a giant soft boiled egg on top and a slice of applewood smoked bacon. Rich and decadent and yet somehow all the good comfort of bacon and egg. Spectacular. Followed by swordfish on melted radicchio with nicoise crumble on top (see first pic.) I swooned. It took the chocolate fondant with passion fruit to revive me. 

                   

Since we were all dolled up I wanted to dance but by then the ship had commenced its own rock and roll and I could barely get to the room. Doped myself up good and fell asleep before all the kitchen's good work was for naught. 

Next day we took a boat ride (different boat) to the Emerald Lake (Todos los Santos in Petrohue, Puerto Varas.). I imagine in the sun it must be stunning because in the rain it was pretty darn cool (and cold.) The water is full of copper runoff from the mines and it really is a lovely green, even in the rainy mist. 

      



The damp chill got in my bones and when we got back I curled into a ball and fell asleep for a couple of hours. Woke up for room service spaghetti and tomato sauce and a bubble bath and crashed again. I am like a sleep deprived sponge -- can't soak up enough. 


Today I got the photograph of a lifetime during breakfast outside on deck of a rainbow hanging in the hills over Castro, Chileo, and let Jerry go explore the town while I catch up on blogging and writing. 

     

Lovely, indulgent day.

Santiago

Santiago was splendid. Warm. Vibrant. Full of color and youth. Walked around a lot. 

Travel plays mind games on me. Wonder at the never-before-seen wars with the desire for order and familiarity. It makes my brain crazy, synapses desperately firing to make sense of the new by locating it in the old. "This is like..." "This reminds me of" Remember when...?

Hiking up a series of worn stone steps to the top of an ancient castle in a park in Santiago I alternately flashed to the Roche de Doms in Avignon, Les Baux de Provence nearby, Israel's Masada, and, less warlike, a long climb to a Buddhist shrine in Seoul. 

I am frustrated and a little amused by my inability to just enjoy the moment for the new experience it is instead of trying to convince myself that it's all one big deja vu. I guess it's human nature to try to connect oneself from the before through the now to the after and I do enjoy the kaleidoscope of memories that travel unleashes for me. 

Requires lots of meditation to be where you are. 



In lieu of that we ate some fabulous food. Good, fresh, updated versions of Chilean themes. Flavors -- smoked paprika, peppers, tomatoes, terrific cheeses, olives, Quinoa, corn, potatoes, dolce de leche. All kinds of meat (surprise!) Good stuff. 



Nothing too molecular. Read that Santiago is such an up and coming foodie city that one chef injects carrot sticks with penicillin to make them white and cheesy. Ugh. 

Had some terrific stuff. Night #1 Chilean hake for me and short ribs for Jer. Lots of roasted vegetables and corn casserole. Amazing salsa -- cilantro and tomato and onion but smoky? Yum. 



Night#2 really first rate. J had a tomato and goat cheese caprese type salad but the tomatoes were plum and poached and skinless. Sweet (a drizzle of honey?) Goat cheese sharp and creamy. Excellent. I had vegetable antipasti that had all kinds of good things. Amazing caponata. Smoky hummus. And then J followed with smoked trout stuffed with cheese and Serrano ham and I had -- shout it from the roofs OUTSTANDING -- squash tortellini. Fantastic. And Jerry had one of his all time best desserts ever. Pistachio creme brûlée with strawberry sorbet. 



Night#3 we went to a wine bar and had a cozy (but chilly) meal outdoors. J had osso buco, I had a potato tortilla and salad and a side of roasted vegetables. Cherry cheesecake for dessert. Actually had a server come back and tell us that they thought we had ordered too much food. Who, us?



The next day the Santiago portion of the odyssey was at an end. Driver picked us up early, drove us through the valley and across the mountains and to the shore. Toured Vino del Mar and Valparaiso and found me some rocky lapis (bought from a smiley old guy from the trunk of his car) and got us to our lovely ship.