Sherman's Food Adventures: Carnival Freedom Posh Dining Room Night #4

Carnival Freedom Posh Dining Room Night #4

When I had originally booked this cruise, I didn’t have much intel on Belize. I knew it was South of Mexico, but that was about it. After some Wikipedia, I found out that it used to be British Honduras and hence, their official language is English. I moved onto finding out what we could do with a day there and it was established the best thing to do was to book a tour out to the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha. It was a rather bumpy hour ride out to the ruins, but when we got there, it was well worth it. After another bumpy hour ride (with a van overheating added to the adventure), we made it back to the vessel just in time. That didn’t leave us much time to get to our 4th dinner at Posh.

For my appie, I went for the Braised Ox Tongue which was served on a crostini.  This was prepared properly where the ox tongue was super tender and succulent while still retaining some meatiness.  The braising liquid was flavorful where there was a balanced amount of saltiness and sweetness.  I liked this so much, I asked for another plate!   My son decided on the Cannelloni stuffed with cheese and spinach.  On the menu, the part about the spinach was left out, so once he dug into it, the horrors of greenery was shown on his face.  We ended up eating it and it was alright.  The pasta was a bit soft, but the filling was perfect where the spinach was not overdone.  On top, there was a considerable amount of melted cheese to go with the tangy tomato sauce.

He ended up trading appies with Viv and happily ate it.  Why?  Well, it was an order of Fry Jacks with beans and dipping sauces.  Think fry bread and you get the idea of this dish.  Nothing complex, but done right nonetheless.  It was crispy and warm while the inside was soft and airy.  The tangy dip was a nice compliment as it cut the heaviness of the fry bread.  Since he avoided the spinach, we made him order the Cream of Broccoli as well.  C'mon, cream of anything tastes good right?  In this case yes as he ate it without incident.  It was creamy and lightly seasoned, while not heavy.  As for the broccoli taste, it was kept to a minimum where he didn't even notice it much.  

For his main, he went for his latest obsession, BBQ Ribs with cheesy corn bread and baked beans.  Okay, we all know that these ribs were not the authentic central-Texas BBQ variety.  So let's get that out of the way first.  However, they were tender and fell-off-the-bone.  There was a lack of smokey charring BBQ flavor, but the liberal slather of tangy sweet BBQ sauce ensured there was enough impact.  For myself, I had the Southern Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  This was actually pretty good with a firmly crunchy exterior.  It wasn't greasy and it was also seasoned enough.  The chicken itself was fairly tender and moist, even the white meat.  However, I would've liked to see them brine it so there would be more penetrating taste.

My daughter decided on the Roasted Beef Tenderloin with polenta.  Since it consisted of only one small piece, she went on to finishing it all.  I gave it a try and there was no mistaking why.  The meat was super soft and tender where it required very little effort to chew.  It was rested properly as the meat juices were still there.  There was a mild rub on the outside, hence the flavors were natural.  The jus did add some saltiness though.  Personally, I would've liked to see it more medium-rare as it wasn't appealing to look at.  Viv gave the Chili Rellano a try and it was stuffed with chicken.  The filling itself was quite good being moist and lightly spiced.  On the other hand, the pepper was a tad underdone, so it was a touch crunchy rather than being tender.

I added the Sausage and Pepper Linguine for good measure and it was probably one of the better dishes.  The linguine was perfect al dente and was coated in a zesty and tangy tomato sauce.  There was just enough of it for impact without drowning the pasta.  There was ample amount of sauce which was a touch peppery with some fennel.  I wasn't exactly hungry due to my main dish of fried chicken, but I ended up finishing the plate.

For dessert, the kid had the Smores Parfait which was layered with chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallow fluff.  Naturally, it was pretty sweet with all of the ingredients involved, however, it tasted like smores and that is all that mattered.  For myself, I had the Blin and Blanc which was like a bread pudding made with cake.  Hence it was pretty rich and filling.  I found the sauce poured on top to be very sweet which in my mind wasn't needed as the dessert was already sweet enough.  For this meal, it was mostly good with a few things that could've been better.  Yet up to this point, the food had been pretty consistent.

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