Are these the best alternative restaurants afloat? We went aboard Viking Star and Sea to find out
Jun 1, 2016 | 3:59 pm
By
Staff Writer
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| Manfredi’s was magnificent, but was it our favorite on the ship? Photo Credit: Viking Ocean Cruises |
Every cruise ship has one of these, if not two or three. They go by various names depending on what cruise line you’re sailing. But what they have in common is an elevated “gourmet” experience that lures passengers from their assigned seat in the dining room to an extra-charge restaurant where, for $30 and up, they can dine in a more refined setting with higher quality food. Only on the most expensive cruises does the food come free in these alternative venues. Even premium lines like Celebrity and Holland America charge their paying guests a premium. Not so on the recently launched Viking Ocean Cruise Ships, Viking Star and Viking Sea.
Here, the rules have changed and passengers can choose to eat in not one, but two specialty restaurants without shelling out so much as a sou. They’re part of an array of inclusions that make Viking Ocean stand apart from its competitors: free excursions, free access to the spa, free wine and beer at every meal, and not an inside cabin on the ship — or, for that matter, a cabin without a balcony.
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| The Chef’s Table Photo Credit Viking Ocean Cruises |
Side by side, Manfredi’s and The Chef’s Table are situated in beautiful rooms with large windows overlooking the sea, plenty of tables for two, and some of the best food we’ve ever eaten onshore or off.
Manfredi’s is Viking’s entry into the “Italian restaurant at sea” category. Virtually every cruise line from Princess (Sabatini’s) to Disney (Palo) has one, but Manfredi’s stands apart, and not just for its complete lack of a surcharge. The restaurant walls are lined with Italy’s most famous movie stars, the club-like room is loaded with atmosphere, and there’s an entire open
kitchen that produces sublime plates of antipasto. The choices in every course make it impossible to leave hungry. Do not miss the pasta selection, which changes frequently and is reliably delicious. Or choose the crispy calamari with an-out-of-this-world balsamic dipping sauce. Then there are the meats. Viking just went from choice to prime in all its dining venues, and it also upped the portion size on steaks from seven ounces to nine ounces. This means your Bistecca Fiorentina will not just be better, but bigger. The fish is also perfection, the veal outstanding, and, if you can, leave room for dessert — including a Nutella panna cotta, a simply phenomenal tiramisu, and a pistachio torta so good that we’re sharing the recipe for it. The restaurant is open every day from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. |
| A palate cleanser is featured between courses. |
Right next door is The Chef’s Table. If I had to choose the finest restaurant at sea, this would be it. Every three days a new menu appears. Five courses are served around one of seven themes, all of which are carefully explained on each menu. These menus cover an extraordinary amount of culinary geography. From a menu called “Asian Panorama” and a new entry called “Xiang” (which salutes China’s Cantonese and Huaiyang cuisine), the chef’s menus take diners along the Silk Road in “La Route des Indes,” to Venice and to Western Europe, ending in the brand new “Erling’s Scandinavian
Bistro,” which is a proud salute to the line’s Norwegian roots. In between, there’s an amusing menu called “Sweet & Salty,” which pairs those two flavors on every plate. With each course, a new wine is presented and paired with whatever is being served. The food is remarkable and consistently excellent. “Venice Carnival” presented us with a roasted pepper and tomato jelly amuse bouche, followed by beef carpaccio, a bellini granita, cod filet, and finished with a mascarpone mousse filled with passion fruit. Sweet & Salty lived up to its name with a tomato and watermelon gazpacho, and grilled scallops with
beets and passion fruit. Even the dessert delivered on its sweet and salty components: A Grand Marnier Bavarian cream was accompanied by basil jelly and strawberry sauce finished with black Hawaiian lava salt. To sample everything on offer at The Chef’s Table would require staying on the ship for 21 days, something that undoubtedly sorely tempts passengers after just one meal at this remarkable sea-going spot. Note: While initially open for two seatings a night, diners can now make reservations for any time between 6 and 9 pm. Don’t forget to check out this recipe for a phenomenal pistachio torta.
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More Stories by Monte Mathews
Monte Mathews is the proprietor of Brick Kiln Kitchens located in Bridgehampton, New York. You can read more of his work at www.chewingthefat.us.com. Read more
Recipe for Pistachio Torta
After trying a phenominal pistachio torta on a recent Viking Ocean Cruise, we just had to post the recipe
Jun 1, 2016 | 3:38 pm
By
Staff Writer
Italy is the world’s seventh largest producer of pistachios, primarily grown in Sicily where the trees flourish in the volcanic soil near Mt. Etna. Most of Sicily’s pistachio production is now used either in pistachio ice cream or in pastries. This moist and flavorful cake is incredibly fragrant thanks to the frothy orange blossom whipped crème fraîche that matches perfectly with the distinctive panache of pistachio.
This recipe is courtesy of Viking Ocean Cruises.
Ingredients
For the torta
1/3 Cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 Cups pistachio paste
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
4 Ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
2 Tablespoons honey
3 Large eggs
2 Tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
1/2 Cup toasted pistachios, shelled and chopped
Confectioners sugar as needed
For the orange-blossom water whipped panna acida
8 Ounces crème fraîche
1 Teaspoon orange blossom water, or to taste
For the honeyed oranges
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
3 Oranges, peeled and cut into ¼-inch rounds
1/3 Cup honey
Pinch of salt
Directions
For the torta
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease an 8-inch springform pan and line bottom with a piece of parchment cut to same size. Grease parchment and dust entire inside of pan with flour, tapping out excess.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt, and reserve.
Place pistachio paste and granulated sugar into bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until paste is broken up and sugar is well combined.
Then add butter and increase the speed to medium. Beat until light and fluffy, approximately 3-5 minutes, then drizzle in honey.
Add eggs one at a time, beating each one until completely combined before incorporating next. Pour in Amaretto.
Add flour mixture and beat only until it is just combined.
Pour batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes. When the cake is ready remove from oven, pop latch on side of pan and remove ring.
Allow cake to cool completely.
For the orange-blossom water whipped panna acida
In a clean bowl, whisk together crème fraîche and orange blossom water. Continue whisking until crème fraîche just begins to get stiff.
Refrigerate until needed.
For the honeyed oranges
Melt butter and sugar in a frying pan over medium heat until butter begins to foam and brown slightly.
Add orange rounds and cook for about 1 minute or until edges begin to just caramelize.
Add honey and pinch of salt, swirling pan.
Remove from pan and serve immediately, or allow to cool to room temperature before serving.
Top cake with the chopped pistachios and dust with powdered sugar.
Serve with the orange blossom water whipped panna acida and the honeyed oranges.
