Azamara Journey PrimeC Dinner

When writing my columns the past few days, I thought about sharing some of my favorite cruise moments.  

Celebrating a special event, with friends and family, in a specialty restaurant is one of those moments.

Azamara Journey

PrimeC

Dinner Experience

While on our 12-Night West Indies Cruise on Azamara Journey, we celebrated my birthday at the PrimeC specialty restaurant.  It was a fabulous dining experience (and the food was great too).  If you've never dined at a specialty restaurant onboard a ship, I highly recommend it.   You will pay a surcharge to do so, and the cost varies by venue, but the service and quality of food will leave you wondering why you hadn't done this before.

As with dinner in the main dining room of the ship, you'll have the opportunity to select from a menu that consists of Soups & Salads, Starters, Entrees, and Desserts.   The difference between PrimeC's menu and that of the main dining room is that it never changes during the course of the cruise.   

Soups & Salads

My husband and I had different soups with our dinner.   I selected the Wild Mushroom Soup (left) - Porcini Dust & Poppy Seed Twist while he selected the Three Onions Onion Soup (right) - Gruyere Cheese Gratin & Onion Tart.    Both of these soups were fabulous - we could have easily made a meal by asking for another bowl.

Starters

Several starters sounded really good on the menu, but our waiter suggested two of his favorites which we decided to try. The Macadamia-Nut Crusted Tiger Prawns - Orange-Horseradish Marmalade and the Chicken Lollipops - Crisp Waffle Potatoes, Trio of Sauces were both excellent choices. Again, if we ordered another helping, we could have skipped the main course.

We always find that when we follow the waiter's recommendations, we can't go wrong. Fortunately, the waiter spaced out the various courses so that we had a little time to rest before continuing.


Main Entrée

Dinner selections were difficult once again, so we presented out options to the waiter and let him help us make up our minds.   My husband opted for the Broiled Cowboy Bone-In Rib Eye Steak  - Zucchini & Squash, Crisp Onion Rings, Baked Potato and Condiments.   I on the other hand went for something a little smaller:  Sauteed Filet Mignon - Steamed Broccoli & Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Dessert

Once again we couldn't decide on what to have for our final course.   In honor of my birthday, the waiter had brought me a small birthday cake and the staff sang happy birthday to me.   Since we wanted to try some of their desserts, they wrapped the cake up in aluminum foil so that we could save it for later.

I'll leave you in suspense ...  to see what we had for our dessert, you'll have to check out my Prime C Restaurant  photo album on Facebook.

Moderno Churrascaria

Norwegian Epic Moderno Churrascaria

Tableside Carving on Norwegian Epic

Norwegian Epic dining has a wide array of tastes to satisfy the most serious foodies' palate.  There are 20 dining options, each offering a unique atmosphere so you can have upscale and elegant one night, laid-back and casual the next.

Green Means Go ... Your Plate will Fill up Fast

Norwegian Epic's Churrascaria

A churrascaria is a Brazilian steakhouse.
Churrasco is the cooking style, which translates roughly from the Portuguese for 'barbecue'.

Save Room for Picanha

Passadores (meat waiters) come to your table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meat, be it beef, pork, filet mignon, lamb, chicken, sausage, fish, or any other sort of local cut of meat. A common cut of beef top sirloin cap is known as Picanha.   This prized cut of   sirloin is know for it's rich flavor.

Moderno's Meat Selections

Advice: Pace Yourself

If you've never been to a Churrascaria before, you could quickly find too much food on your plate.    In Moderno, just like in other traditional Churrascarias, there is a sumptuous salad bar which is typically where you start.    

Your table setting will include knife, fork, spoon, and two important items unique to a Brazilian steakhouse:   tongs to grab the meat selections and a card with red on one side and green on the other.    Turn your card to green and you'll be swarmed by servers displaying various cuts of meat.   Chose as many as you like to fill your plate.

Red = Stop

Tip #1:   Don't fill up on the salad, there's too much other food to savor coming up next.  You will be tempted because there are many of the great selections.
 
Tip #2:  Take a break and savor your meal.   The waiters aren't going to chase you out of the restaurant.   You want to enjoy your meal, and experience all the different meat selections.  

Tip #3: Communicate your likes and dislikes to your servers.   When the passadores bring a meat selection, they will usually have more than one meat doneness.  If you like your meats a particular way, let them know and they'll be happy to bring your choice to you. 

Tip #4: Leave room for dessert.   We couldn't decide what to have, so we chose them all.

Moderno Churrascaria is the best kept secret on Norwegian Epic.   It is well worth the extra service charge.   A restaurant like this on land would cost you around $50 or more per person not including beverages or dessert.

More Pictures on our FB Fan Page: Moderno Churrascaria Album