Posted by Seth on March 15, 2010 under News | 
For the past couple years Continental Airlines has made a point of advertising the fact that they still serve complimentary “meals at mealtime” for their passengers, even on domestic flights in coach where other carriers have all cut back service. That era is coming to an end later this fall as the carrier follows the trail blazed by a number of other US-based carriers: Buy on Board meals. The new purchased meal option will be offered on most domestic routes under six hours in duration as well as many Latin America routes. Intercontinental and longer international routes, as well as the longest of the domestic flights, will continue to have complimentary meals offered.
Perhaps most telling regarding this change is the quote offered by Executive Vice President Jim Compton:
Our traditional free-food model has served us well for many years, but we need to change to reflect today’s market and customer preference.
Yup, it is actually the customers who are clamoring for the opportunity to buy meals on board. Or demanding fares that aren’t profitable. Either way, definitely the customers’ fault.
To be fair, Continental has been watching the numbers for quite some time now and, just like their decision to initially not charge for a checked bag, they aren’t seeing any return on that goodwill towards customers. One executive recently noted that customers simply weren’t booking to Continental because of the meal on board; their corporate Twitter account said the same thing in reply to an earlier tweet of mine on the topic.
@WanderngAramean It’s true. We know that economy-class customers have not selected airlines based on free meals.
Sure, they loved to poke fun at other carriers in the past with some entertaining TV ads on the topic:
But at this point they’re simply following the cash flow in the right direction. The sad part is that this does mark the end of an era in commercial air travel in the United States. It also means that there is still the potential for more bits to be sold off as unbundled services. Exit-row seating was announced just a few days ago. Now this.
What’s next?
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Posted by Seth on February 26, 2010 under Trip Reports |
I’d love to take credit for some sort of brilliant trick or negotiating skill I used with one of the half dozen agents I worked with today trying to get out of New York City to Las Vegas. I wish I had a special trick up my sleeve or a special code word I could share that explains how I actually got on the plane and got the plane out of the snow at Newark today. I don’t. I do have a lovely first class seat on the one 757-300 that Continental Airlines got off the ground this morning that was actually headed to Vegas and I’ll admit that it was mostly luck that got me here.
I’m actually on the same flight I was originally booked on when I woke up this morning. The flight was canceled at least once – maybe twice – and reinstated with customers being moved around and reassigned flights somewhat haphazardly from what I could tell. A few of the times I called in to ask about alternate routings I was apparently already assigned seats back on this flight. The folks at the airport couldn’t really tell me if the flight was going to happen or not; there was mostly just confusion as the various different computer systems were spitting out different data to people.
When I left the Presidents Club the second time two friends were in the midst of a very creative rebooking that the agent seemed to be quite keen on, more more helpful than the three I spoke with that denied much less creative or expensive reroutes earlier in the day. Such is life, I suppose, though the inconsistency in the application of the rules is certainly frustrating.
One smart move Continental made was to not waste all the food that their Chelsea Kitchens division had produced the night before expecting to serve on the flights today. Rather than trash it since most of the flights were cancelled they packed it all up and brought it over to the terminal, setting up a snack bar near the Customer Service station in the terminal. Definitely a classy move, even if a limited choice of options.
But I was leaving the club because my flight was boarding, so I didn’t mind all that much, even if it was 5+ hours after the original departure time. It was only around the tenth flight that Continental managed to get off the ground at all today so the fact that it happened to be the one headed to the place I was going was pretty much blind luck. Oh, and then there were the hundred or so other lucky souls who managed to get a seat on the flight from the standby list. I’ve never seen the list of cleared standby passengers quite so long and I don’t think we left anyone behind at the airport.
First up, deicing, with the nifty trucks that they use at Newark. The guy in the cherry-picker cab actually drives the truck via controls up there. Saves needing an extra guy in the truck and it is pretty cool too.
Thanks to the fact that there were basically no other planes flying we had a quick taxi out to runway 4L and a great view as we made the final turn to depart. I really look forward to this view every time I get on an airplane.
And then it was time for the meal service. Sure, it was 3:15 in the afternoon at this point, but the flight was originally scheduled for a 9am departure. That means it is catered as a breakfast flight. So it was Honey Nut Cheerios or Omelets for everyone. Ten hours after I woke up and three hours after I had lunch I was finally having breakfast. Not that I mind too much; I love Cheerios. But it was entertaining and the flight attendant was laughing at the fact that she was taking breakfast orders in the middle of the afternoon.
A nap and a fresh baked chocolate-chip cookie somewhere over the Rockies and we’re getting ready to start our descent into Vegas now.
I hope the other guys trying to get out from NYC had less trouble with their flights than I did. Most were taking afternoon or evening flights so I’m somewhat optimistic – not overly so, but a bit.
Posted by Seth on January 13, 2010 under News |
It was only a matter of time before the additional up-sale options started on board once Continental switched to a cashless cabin on-board (all transactions are now CC/Debit based). The carrier has long charged for alcoholic beverages on their flights, even with a cash cabin. Once the CC terminals are deployed, however, it seems that finding new ways to use them is de rigeur in the industry and the Houston-based carrier is no exception.
Starting in February the airline will be running a trial of a number of specialty drinks, from Pomegranate Martinis to Mojitos to pre-mixed cappuccino drinks. These beverages will be available on the 737-900 fleet, not system-wide, and the alcoholic options will be $8 each or two drink coupons. The mix without the booze – which seems like a terribly sweet and miserable way to quench a thirst, though maybe tolerable with club soda – will be $3.
With the removal of pillows and cutbacks on blankets in recent months it would not be all that surprising to see sleep kits coming out soon as well, or even potentially buy-on-board food, though Continental does own their own catering company so their food costs remain rather low. Still, the switch to a cashless cabin seems to be starting an interesting series of moves for the carrier.
Here’s the full drink/price list:
- Glaceau Smartwater $3 or one drink chit
- Illy Chilled Cappuccino $3 or one drink chit
- Stirring Simple Pomegranate Martini with Skyy Vodka $8 or two drink chits
- Stirring Simple Mojito Mix with Bacardi Light Rum $8 or two drink chits
No word yet on the pricing for the drinks up front, though I’m betting they are free. They’d better be.
Posted by Seth on December 31, 2009 under Trip Reports |
Arriving in to Barcelona right at sunset was a beautiful sight. The skyline was lit up and the water was beautiful. Getting through immigration and customs was a piece of cake and we figured out how to store our larger bags at the airport quite quickly. A simple train ride into town, connecting to the metro and then a couple hundred yards to the hotel through quiet neighborhood streets. Checked in to the hotel and the out to wander a bit for dinner. Incredibly easy and pleasant and quite picturesque. Love at first sight.
We chose a small tapas restaurant, Cata 1.81, for dinner – only 6 tables inside plus the bar area – and sat in the bar for a couple hours drinking and snacking on some ridiculously delicious food. Salt cod ravioli, squid & Iberico ham with mushrooms & miso sauce, dried sausage and several other small plates. Plus several glasses of Spanish cava and red wine. Love at first bite.
Off to explore more now and to steel ourselves for the New Years celebration here tonight!
Posted by Seth on December 24, 2009 under Dining, Trip Reports |
It took me far too long in life to make a trip to Munich. I don’t know particularly why it was so delayed, but the planning just never worked out right. I had a layover in the train station there about 10 years ago but I never really went outside – big mistake – and so when the opportunity came up recently to add a weekend in Munich on to a scheduled trip to Germany I jumped at the opportunity.
I visited in mid-November so it was most definitely the off-peak season in town. Still, there was plenty going on, both during the day and at night. It was more than enough to keep me busy and entertained. Wandering the quiet pedestrian mall area of town was quite enjoyable, even in a light drizzle. Plus I managed to stumble into some phenomenal dining and drinking opportunities along the way.
After a rather unfortunate episode at the bar of the otherwise lovely Sofitel in the heart of the city a group of us made our way to a new bar/club in town, Eight Seasons. The night manager of the hotel was kind enough to make a call and get six of us on the list to enter which was a good thing as the place had the velvet rope and clipboard crew similar to many clubs in New York City. The scene inside was pretty much what I expected from a club with such an entrance policy but we still had a great time. I’m not entirely sure what we paid for the bottle of Bombay Sapphire that was consumed but it was delicious so I wasn’t all that worried about it. And we finished the night with a very late-night and very intoxicated amble/stumble to a street food vendor outside the train station and also to Burger King. Not the most authentic cuisine, but the strawberry shake was pretty good and the photos are pretty incriminating.
At the Bräuhaus
The following night was a dinner with the group at the Augustiner Bräuhaus, just a couple blocks from the train station. The restaurant is associated with the brewery and it isn’t completely clear which part they take more pride in, though I’m pretty sure it is the beer. Still, the food is delicious. With a group as large as ours – about 30 folks – the only reasonable option is to go with the sampler platters that they offer up. The appetizer course has various meats, cheese and spreads along with some breads and crackers. The main course was four or five different meats and some ridiculously delicious potato dumplings. Plus, the beer comes in liter-large glass mugs and it is phenomenal. After four mugs of beer I didn’t even really think it was that bad an idea to do jager shots. I know that I was wrong in that analysis and I did protest the concept a bit at the time, but ultimately the beer, exhaustion and a bit of peer pressure did me in. Jager shots for everyone. MANY of them!
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| Appetizer platter at Augustiner |
I probably shouldn’t have done the Jager shots! |
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| Large quantities of delicious beer |
We learned later that night that one of the group picked up the wrong jacket when leaving the restaurant. This was discovered when he reached into the pocket of the jacket he was wearing and pulled out someone else’s passport. Whoopsie. The hotel concierge was quite helpful in resolving that situation (which is to say that I dumped it on him and assume it was eventually resolved) but it also meant that we needed to go back to the restaurant the following day to find the correct jacket. I’m very, very glad we did.
It was a Sunday afternoon and they set up a TV in the main dining room for the locals to come in and watch the local Bundesliga team play, and also to enjoy a few beers. I discovered the German version of the morning after drink – a lighter beer cut with lemonade, quite tasty and refreshing – and I got to explore the rest of the menu. Oliver was there to translate for me which helped out immensely as the English version of their menu has only a small portion of the full selection. In discussion with the waiter and after much internal debate I settled on the Braumeister Schnitzel. It is the heartiest version of schnitzel on the menu, meant for the hard working, blue-collar brew master. And it was awesome.
Piled high with bacon and potatoes, it was just the right thing to cut through the alcohol still in my system and aid the hangover recovery. We also had a dessert of some sort that was pretty much fried dough topped with powdered sugar and some fruit preserves. The fried dough thing is a dessert in pretty much every culture around the world and the German version did not disappoint. Sugary sweet doughy goodness. Yum.
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| Braumeister Schnitzel and a morning-after beer |
Fried doughy goodness |
Seafood in Munich
My trip to Germany started with about 225 other folks chartering a 757 and flying around Europe on tours, so there were a decent number of folks I knew in Germany that weekend. Still, I didn’t really expect to randomly run in to two of them as I was touring about on the streets of Munich. Boy am I glad I did. They had made reservations for dinner that night and invited me to join them at Austernkeller. Austernkeller is a seafood restaurant in the French style which isn’t really what I would think of when choosing a dinner option in Munich. Fortunately these guys were making the decisions for that night, however, and it was a wonderful meal.
As is often the case the appetizers were better than the main course dishes but it was all pretty delicious. The oysters – wild Aussies – were the highlight of the meal for me, followed by the scallops and the fish. I thought the seared tuna was overcooked, but i like my tuna raw so maybe I’m not the best judge there. Still, the place has been around for over 30 years and there’s a reason for that. The food is top notch.
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| Some of the many delicious dishes at Austernkeller |
One other thing that I love eating is kebabs from the shops near train stations. No, there is no good reason for this, but I generally find that the food is pretty good and pretty cheap. That’s not so bad. On the way out to the airport for my flight to Los Angeles I stopped in at one of the many shops available and had my donner kebab gyro. Yum!
Posted by Seth on December 12, 2009 under Dining, Trip Reports |
The fickle upgrade gods are very much exactly that. Fickle. And Continental makes it easy to wring one’s hands over the upgrades. Their website makes it easy for passengers to monitor their position on the upgrade waitlist, as well as the number of open seats in the front cabin. So around 10am today I logged in to check. The ultimate tease presented itself. I was number one on the list but the front cabin was booked full. Bummer.
An hour prior to the flight I was happily ensconced in the Presidents Club, having a pre-flight beverage and I checked again. Still number one on the list but now only 19 seats up front booked. Things are getting interesting. With only one seat open up front it seemed somewhat a waste of time to add my wife to the list as a companion upgrade but, you’ve gotta be in it to win it so what the heck. Besides, without that upgrade I’m still sitting in the back.
A quick trip up to the counter and she’s on the list. Except she’s not. When I got back over to the bar where I left my laptop and refresh the list she still wasn’t there. Finish the drink – priorities – and then back to the counter. We go through the process again and a quick refresh confirms that she is now there, sitting pretty at number three and still one seat available.
Fast forward to the gate at boarding time. One last check before taking our exit row seats. Uh-oh. The upgrade gods are toying with us. That last seat is now taken by someone else and we’ve dropped to numbers two and four on the list. Such is life. For the price I paid I can’t really complain about the exit row. Besides, I‘ve got a pretty good sub in my bag that I brought for dinner. So we board and settle in to our seats.
Just to pain myself I refresh the list to see where we’re going to end up on the list. Sacre Bleu! Only 18 seats booked up front now, and I’m still number two on the list. Could there be such a miracle? And then, 10 minutes prior to departure, four seats available and we’re in spots 2 and 4. We’re in the money assuming the race ends as shown at that point. And then, with 5 minutes to go, the announcement is made that the forward boarding door is closed. One more refresh and the top three are cleared, leaving one empty and me (in the form of my wife’s companion upgrade) in that last spot.
Awww…screw it. I know I’m supposed to be in that seat. It is time for drastic measures. I make the self-upgrade happen. I explain the situation to the head flight attendant – that I’m next on the list – and he understands and acknowledges that he was going to find that next person so I can go ahead and sit down. Even better, the two seats they assigned to us are actually together. No need to bother the other passengers with trying to move around at the last minute.
And that brings us to the potato strings on the lasagna. We were in the last row of first so no choice in our dinner: lasagna with red pepper soup and a salad. It actually was all decent, but they had crispy potato stings on the lasagna. I just don’t get that one at all. Still, dinner was pretty good and the Argentinean red wine that Continental is serving this month is actually pretty decent. Of course I’m driving on arrival so I can’t fully take advantage of the situation but such is life.
And on a day of crazy winds in Newark our flight is on-time into Ft. Lauderdale. I love it when a plan comes together.
Oh, and to the guy in 15C who the deadheading flight attendant told you’d probably get the upgrade but who was behind my wife (i.e. me) on the list, sorry for getting your hopes up and then squashing them when it didn’t happen. Oops.
Posted by Seth on October 26, 2009 under Dining, Trip Reports |
Coming off another 48 hours in Waikiki I’m finally getting to the point where I don’t hate the place. When the sales come up the flights are a great price for the number of miles earned so it is really hard to resist them. But I’m generally not all that happy in Waikiki. The beach is fake and not particularly soft. Plus it is incredibly crowded and loud. The shopping is the same as many places on the mainland (though more expensive) and the food is mostly chain restaurants that are overpriced and not particularly good. The ones that aren’t chains are just overpriced for the most part. It certainly takes away from my enjoyment of a quick weekend away.
But since I’ve actually done this trip a couple times now I’m starting to find some of the less touristy dining choices. Delicious food at reasonable prices and all right in Waikiki Beach (or very close by). All of them are located towards the Diamond Head end of the beach, a bit out of the fray but not too much so.
- Me B-B-Q
808.926.9717
Great Korean BBQ shop with breakfast, lunch and dinner every day but Sunday. Meat, rice and a side range from $6-12 and is way more than enough food even after a long day of surfing or diving.
- Morio’s Sushi
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| Mmmm…brains. Enjoying sweet shrimp at Morio’s. |
808.741.5121
Housed in a natural foods market, at night Morio’s transforms into one of the better sushi shops along Waikiki Beach. Morio works the sushi bar himself while a couple of waiters scurry around the small kitchen to help serve guests at the 5 tables on the adjoining patio. There are only about 8 seats at the counter and getting one can be tough – especially on a Saturday night. Morio’s regulars are loyal and keep coming back, with good reason. When in doubt, ask Morio for a recommendation. It is sure to please.
Morio’s is also a BYOB shop and there are at least three convenience stores on the block. More than one guest headed back out mid-meal for more as the drinks kept flowing. Some of the regulars were even sharing their stash with the staff. Watching a guy move his hands that quickly with such sharp knives is one thing. Watching him do it after he chugs a beer is whole different level of amazing.
- Rainbow Drive-In
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| Eggs over a giant mound of fried rice for breakfast at Rainbow. Huge portions at great prices. |
808.737.0177
I certainly didn’t discover this place – it has been around for over 40 years – but it is top notch. Located just far enough off the beach (about a mile) to keep the casual observers away, the grub is top notch. Breakfast is served until 10:30am and lunch/dinner after that. Huge plate lunch helpings for around $7 each. Hard to go wrong at that point.
View Local Waikiki Dining in a larger map
Posted by Seth on September 10, 2009 under Uncategorized |
The flight from Seoul to Chicago was the first that I actually got to sample the food on the flight. The menus came with instructions for how to mix them bibembop (only for the white folks, of course) as well as some Western dining options. The food was actually pretty good, though the timing was once again strange. Lunch was served right after departure. Well, just over an hour after departure. And no drink service immediately upon departure either. The first drinks were not served until after the first food was presented. It is billed in the menu as a pre-drink appetizer – a small lump of crab meat in some sauce – and it was rather tasty, but I generally prefer my drinks first and then my food, not the other way around. I also generally prefer my drinks in full size glasses. I’m sure that they keep their wine budget down by using the miniature glasses that they do and shrink the costs even more by only filling the glasses half-way with each refill. The net was that I pretty much got one sip from each pour. It was definitely a slow go on the alcohol side of things.
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| Bibembop for lunch. |
The menu showed a mid-flight snack and then a light meal later. When I woke up from a nap about 6 hours into the flight I thought I’d be getting the former. It was the latter. So another strange meal schedule with the last several hours of flight completely food free. Good thing I saved the honey roasted peanuts they provided at boarding for a late morning snack.
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| The "light meal" |
The seat in business class is OK, but that’s about all I can say for it. The current seat on the 747 is a lie-flat-at-an-angle model, also known as a slidey seat. I slept fine and with minimal sliding, but there are a couple of quirks that make it hard to get particularly comfortable in the seats. The armrests are at different heights – about 4-6 inches different. This is very confusing to me, and rather uncomfortable. Also, the padding on the seats is quite thin, enough so that I noticed. I tend to fly on Continental a lot and their seats are hardly known for being well cushioned. The Korean business seat was the same or worse to me. Using the blanket provided helped to address the issue when sitting up but didn’t help much during the sleeping portion of the flight.
No amenity kits and the pillows in business class are the same as those in coach, and it isn’t because the coach pillows are that nice.
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| Much more direct with the warnings! |
I understand that the latest & greatest business class seat is better than the current iteration, but that isn’t really why I wouldn’t spend the money or points on their product. It turns out that it just is rather blah. If I’m going to spend the points or dollars I’d rather feel like the quality of the product, both in the air and on the ground, was actually worth the expense.
Posted by Seth on September 8, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Back to the airport now in Manila and getting ready for my return trip. Fortunately I had been able to find reward inventory in Business Class for the return so my hopes and expectations were slightly higher. Of course, knowing what I did of the lounges I should have been more guarded but I wanted to believe that the blah experience thus far was because I was in the back of the plane.
Manila’s airport is quite lively late at night. There are wide-body flights headed to Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Korea (3 flights) Singapore and several other destinations. That meant plenty of people around and no seats to be found. Since the check-in counter doesn’t open until around three hours prior to the flight that meant I was stuck sitting on a baggage cart for about an hour waiting for the agents to arrive. Part of that is my fault – I chose to arrive early so that I could do the drive to the airport in daylight- but it was still annoying. The staff had a bit of a show that they performed when opening the check-in counters (it was all in Korean but the rest of the passengers applauded so I guess they did well) and then I was finally able to deposit my bag, collect my boarding pass and head through immigration and to the lounge.
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| The dining spread at the Korean Air lounge in Manila |
Finally, a lounge with food and a full complement of booze. Sure, the brands were less than exemplary – Absolut vodka, Gilbey’s gin and a local rum that was passable but unremarkable – but at least there were options. They also had some actual food options beyond packaged snacks. Nothing truly delicious, but a bit of food to tide me over.
I wanted to pick up some alcohol at duty-free but I wasn’t sure if I would be permitted to carry it through the security screening passing back through Seoul so I asked at the desk. You’d think I had asked the woman the answer to the meaning of life or some other such complicated inquiry. The response started as a simple “I don’t know” and only when I pressed did she make an effort to find out. All of their flights go via Seoul. This seems like the kind of thing that passengers might ask rather frequently. I didn’t expect it to take 20 minutes to figure out an answer. I helped myself to some snacks since they actually had some available and eventually got the answer to my question so I headed out to buy my booze. I wish that the answer had been more accurate. I was able to clear security in Seoul with the duty free just fine but upon boarding my flight to the USA I learned that they only permit duty-free purchased in Seoul to be carried onto the planes bound for the USA. Even though the bottle was in the stupid tamper-proof bag and was purchased 10 hours earlier. Fortunately they were able to check it for me but I have no idea if it will arrive in one piece or not.
I also asked about postcard stamps. I had finally found cards and written them but had yet to find stamps. The guy at the information booth in the airport said that I should be able to find them past security. I couldn’t. I asked at the lounge and she said that they were sold at a store there but she didn’t know which one. Based on the trouble with the duty free inquiry I didn’t push it any farther and resigned myself to the fact that I likely had postcards that would never be mailed. Still, not the type of service I had expected to receive from the folks in the lounge.
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| First and Business on a KE A330 |
Midnight rolled around and I wandered over to the gate area and made my way into my seat. Not the most comfortable in the world – recliner style – but it would do for the 3.5 hour flight. In truth, I tried to stay awake for the dinner. I actually went so far as to tell the flight attendant that I wanted the bibimbop option. And then I promptly fell asleep. Again they were very apologetic that they were unable to serve me since I was asleep and I once again explained that the sleep was more useful to me than the food. Smiles and nods all around and then I was off to the rather pedestrian lounge that I’d spent so much time in on the outbound journey for another shower and an attempt to make a breakfast from their meager offerings. I also needed to see about my seat on the upper deck of the 747.
I’ve only had a few opportunities to sit on the upper deck. There was the United fare mistake to New Zealand a couple years ago but we were stuck downstairs in both directions on that flight. And then there was this trip. I reserved a seat upstairs in advance and everything was looking so good. Alas, it was not meant to be. At the counter in the lounge they explained to me that there was no upper deck. Suffice it to say that I was very confused. It was definitely still a 747-400 plane but there were no upper deck seats. “How is this possible?” I asked. “The upper deck does not exist,” was the reply. Once we got past the part about how they couldn’t simply remove the bubble from the top of the plane I was able to show them a seat map and they looked it up some other way on their system. Apparently the upper deck was being used as overflow seating for economy customers on this flight. So it was back downstairs, albeit to a lovely bulkhead window seat, for me. Walking through the cabin I can see why – not an empty seat to be found in the economy cabin. I’m still annoyed; another chance at flying upstairs lost to the fickle whim of the travel gods.
Three beers and a shower in the lounge later I wandered out into the terminal in one final effort to find stamps and mail my postcards. I was successful! Cards posted and the clock rapidly approaching noon had me on my way to the gate area to board the flight. Strange coincidence at the gate area. There was a guy struggling with his phone charger in the lounge so I lent him an adapter to use. I ended up standing next to him in line to board the plane. And then I found myself sitting next to him on the flight. Just one of those strange coincidences in life, I guess.
More coming in part 3…
Posted by Seth on August 28, 2009 under Uncategorized |
 McLobster Roll |
 Pearl Oyster’s Lobster Roll
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To be fair, I’m not entirely sure how one can actually do a lobster roll wrong. The concept is quite simple: lobster meat, mayonnaise, some seasoning and a delicious roll. Lettuce is apparently an option and it is highly recommended that fries be served on the side. Surely something so simple would be hard to mess up, right?
With the exception of the McLobster (yes, such a thing really exists as evidenced by the photo at the right), I can’t say that I’ve even ever heard of a bad one and that really is no surprise. Still, finding a place where you can sit and enjoy one is always a wonderful experience. And we found another great one last night at Pearl Oyster Bar. The recipe is incredibly simple: Lobster, mayo, salt, pepper, lemon juice and some chives chopped in. I swear there was another seasoning in there but I’m notoriously unreliable on that front so I’m probably just plain wrong. Still, it was delicious. The lobster was a mix of finely chopped and rather large chunks, just enough to help me make a mess of myself when trying to get the big chunks into my mouth. Their rolls are occasionally bemoaned for too much mayo but I did not find that to be the case – and I’m pretty much a mayo hater. Yes, it was a relatively wet mix, but that is necessary in a lobster roll to facilitate the full conveyance of all the little lobster chunks. And they put some fancy lettuce on top for reasons I do not understand. Then there is the bun – buttery goodness that only a cardiologist can love (for future business). The whole thing was quite divine.
It is a good thing, too, as I actually wasn’t all that impressed with the other things we had at dinner. Sure, it was a hot summer day, but I wanted to give the Clam Chowder with Smoked Bacon a try. The best I can give it is a “meh” rating. There was very little evidence of any clam actually in the soup and the smoked bacon bits were minced so small that there wasn’t much chance of getting a true hit of flavor from them. It was an OK soup, but nothing spectacular. Ditto for the blueberry pie we had for dessert. I have to say that it looked a ton better than I think it actually tasted. Again, it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really do much to wow me. Having heard so much about it I was expecting something more. It is a very solid example of a blueberry pie, but not amazing. I should also note that I’m biased on the blueberry front due to great memories from growing up, but I still don’t think this one was anything special.
Overall dining at Pearl Oyster is a great experience. Be prepared to wait a while for a table (we had a 20 minute wait – though called 45 when we arrived – at 9pm on a Thursday) in a small, cramped waiting area. Or be prepared to leave your name for the list and find somewhere else in the neighborhood to pass the time while you wait for your table. But those are preparations worth making as the food makes up for it in a big way.
Posted by Seth on August 27, 2009 under Dining, Trip Reports |
There is really only one restaurant in Ålesund, Norway that gets much of any sense of reviews on the Internet, at least in English. Sjøbua is a seafood shop located at the end of a small street, and it is THE seafood restaurant in Ålesund. The windows of the dining room open up onto the harbor with some pretty phenomenal views and the food is absolutely top notch. The fact that we actually managed to have a meal there was actually quite a surprise. And it was completely worth it – maybe even worth going out of your way to find.
We tried to dine there on our first night in Ålesund but we were led astray by the review from Frommer’s that suggests they are open on Saturday nights. They are not. And we spent the next five nights camping out in the fjords. It turns out that there was cell phone coverage out there but I didn’t bring mine and I certainly had no desire to interrupt the kayaking with trying to get dinner reservations. So we gambled and simply asked at the front desk of the hotel when we returned to civilization on Friday evening. “I’m very sorry sir, they do not have any tables available. Perhaps you would enjoy dining at the Indian restaurant just up on the corner.” That is the same Indian place that we had dined at the previous Saturday when we found Sjøbua to be closed so that wasn’t going to happen.
We gambled, and we won. We walked in to the restaurant shortly after 7pm and announced ourselves as a walk-in couple and pretty much begged for a table. There was a nice bar area that I would have attempted to dine in had things not worked out but that proved unnecessary in the end. It turns out that there was a 6:30pm reservation for two that never showed. And it was now ours!
The food was delicious. Simply off the charts phenomenal. I can attribute some of that to the fact that we’d been dining off of camping stoves the previous five nights, but those meals were actually pretty good (we have made one of them a regular staple at home now) so it can’t have just been that. The food was actually really that good.
We shared an appetizer and had an entree each. We shied away from the (crazy expensive even for Scandinavia) lobster appetizer and had something a bit more pedestrian, though quite delicious and quite local. It was mussels in a relatively traditional preparation and they were delicious, though not necessarily unique.
The coup de grace of the evening, however, came when the entrees were served. Getting the right amount of sauce to cover an entree is always a challenge. It always seems that you get not enough or the meat is swimming in sauce. Neither is a good way to dine. Sjøbua had quite the appropriate solution to that problem. Our meals were served and then, about 30 seconds later, the waiter showed back up at the table with a small bowl containing extra of the sauce. For one of us that meant more actual sauce, and for the other, a small bowl brimming with perfectly prepared thick cut bacon diced into quarter inch cubes, crispy and delicious.
Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t just the bacon that made the dish. The Salt Cod Gratinee (it sounds better in the native Norwegian) was phenomenal all on its own. But the addition of a side of bacon to top it off served as the proverbial icing on the cake. Except it was bacon on fish smothered in a creamy sauce. And extra bacon at that. Truly top notch at every turn.
