Food Republic (NCL Bliss)

As a rule, when we find a restaurant that is all things to everyone, it is a reason to run far away.  Hey, I've always said (and others as well) - do one thing right and do it well.  So when we looked at the menu of Food Republic aboard the NCL Bliss, it initially scared us and we vowed not to eat there for the duration of the cruise.  Think of it, put Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and Chinese into one restaurant - there is no way it can be good.  But I get it.  Limited space on a cruise ship means they have to group some things together.   So for the purposes of curiosity, we did eat there anyways.

We ended up doing mostly the Japanese offerings including the Tonkatsu and Black Cod Skewers.  Inexplicably, the pork loin tonkatsu was cut into think strips and topped with honey mustard, radish, dried chorizo and bonito flakes.  Although each piece was crispy, the meat was slightly dried out and there was just too much "stuff" on top.  We would've much preferred a whole tonkatsu (that was less thin) that we could cut up by ourselves.  Coated with a lemon miso glaze, the Black Cod Skewers were actually pretty good despite the lack of charring.  Although it is pretty hard to mess up black cod due to its fat content, they still did a good job where the fish was buttery and soft.  I found the glaze to be a nice balance between sweet and savory with a background tang. 


Of course we didn't ignore the sushi, so we went with classic Dragon Roll consisting of unagi, avocado, shrimp tempura, imitation crab and unagi sauce.  This certainly looked like any other specialty roll from a Japanese restaurant on land.  In some aspects, it was not bad but the rice was a little soft for our liking.  Other than that, the avocado was fresh while the eel was soft and there was enough sauce.  The other roll was the Salmon Belly Roll with salmon roe and green apple.  As expected, this was a light and refreshing as there were not many strong flavors at play.  Again, the avocado as well as the cucumber were fresh.  Salmon was buttery and soft but a little lacking in flavor though.  Rice was still soft, but since there was a bit less, it wasn't as apparent.

Continuing with Japanese, we tried the Ramen with BBQ Pork Belly in a lemongrass broth.  Okay, I know I shouldn't have been expecting much, but still this was a fail.  First, the broth didn't really go with the rest of the ingredients.  It wasn't rich nor flavorful enough to stand up to the noodles and the pork belly.  The belly was probably the only good thing about this as the egg was not even done properly.  At the very least, we ended off with a fairly decent attempt at Shrimp Pad Thai made with real tamarind.  It was also spicy, which was a pleasant surprise.  The noodles were a bit soft though, but this was our favorite item of the bunch.  The large shrimp were also done properly with a meaty snap.  Yet, that wasn't enough for us to justify spending any extra money to eat at Food Republic.  We suspected this already.  It was just plain stupidity on our part.

The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Excellent location with plenty of natural light
- Interesting "order-at-your-table" computer screen

The Bad:
- Food is okay, but not worth the extra cost
- Small portions

Q Smokehouse (NCL Bliss)

In the late 90's we were seeing a new trend appear in the cruise industry - alternative dining options for a fee.  The usual main dining room with an early and later seating at fixed table arrangements were not the only place someone could dine at anymore.  So we saw the rise of specialty French, Italian and Asian restaurants as well as steakhouses.  Hey, we even started to see established restaurants on land set up shop aboard cruise ships.  Now we are seeing another genre being included - American BBQ.  On paper, Q Smokehouse aboard the NCL Bliss sounded like the real deal with menu descriptions that rivalled those in Texas.  Hey, I've been there and even though I wasn't expecting anything close, I still had medium-high hopes.

To start things of, we had the Deviled Eggs with maple sugar glazed bacon.  Honestly, I believe deviled eggs are making a comeback.  Often forgotten and associated with the 80's and earlier, deviled eggs never got the love I thought they should.  These were pretty good with creamy egg yolk spiked with enough seasoning a touch of mustard.  The sweet and smoky bacon did elevate the flavors as well as providing texture.  Next, I thought the Fried Green Tomatoes to be so-so.  Even though the crumb coating was uniformly crispy, it merely slid off the firm tomato.  It was almost as if the coating and the tomato were 2 separate dishes.  Lack of cohesiveness literally and figuratively.  It was topped with red pepper jam, bacon and blue cheese crumble.  The strong flavored ingredients were all there, but it just seemed something was missing.

The Texan Crab Cakes with chilled pimento cream was appreciably better. I'm glad they didn't serve the same version as Cagney's.  That would've been a total rehashing of things from different restaurants on board.  These were quite good with evenly browned sides.  Unlike the one at Cagney's, the ones here were a mix of crab and peppers.  Hence, there was a variation of flavors that did mask the delicate sweetness of the crab.  No matter, it was texturally on point though, so we still enjoyed them.  Our last appie was the Tex-Mex Style Tortilla Soup with red onion and cilantro.  This wasn't bad where the balance of tang and spice made the soup appetizing.  It wasn't heavy despite the viscosity and the crunch from the tortillas added texture.  We actually didn't order this.  Instead, the server added this for no charge.

Onto the BBQ, my son went for the Beef Short Rib with pickles, chunky potato salad, coleslaw, BBQ beans and jalapeno cheese corn bread.  Yes, it wasn't a whole lot of short rib on the platter as he easily dusted this off.  It was good though being tender with rendered fat.  It was mildly smoky and could've used more rub.  My daughter kept it simple with the Pulled Pork with the same sides.  This was not very good as the pork was stringy and dry.  Yes, we sauced it afterwards with the available BBQ sauces at the table, but that only served to make it wet and sweet.  Sides were okay though as the potato salad was indeed chunky with a nice tang to it.  Beans were a bit sweet, but pretty typical.  Corn bread was decent being somewhat moist with a touch of heat and tang from the jalapenos.

My parents weren't really all that hungry and shared the BBQ 1/2 Chicken that looked rather appealing at first glance.  It sported a nice hue as well as well-rendered skin.  Although the dark meat was somewhat moist, the white meat was dry and rather bland.  There was smokiness, but not as strong as we would've liked.  For myself, I went big with the Pitmaster Platter consisting of BBQ chicken, beef brisket, pork spareribs and jalapeno & cheese sausage.  No need to talk about the chicken as it was not very good.  Brisket was awful as it was dry and hard.  Despite sporting a nice bark, the meat itself was almost inedible.  By visuals alone, you can probably tell it was more like jerky... Ribs were okay though being fall off the bone while still being meaty.  Nice bark on it too.  I liked the sausage as it was bouncy and juicy with a snap casing.

Off to the sweets, we shared the Warm Skillet Brownie as well as the Peach Cobbler.  Both were served with vanilla ice cream.  The brownie was okay where it was rich and moist.  However, it was really sweet though that partially obscured the chocolate flavor.  I really didn't like the peach cobble as it was a buttery mess.  Somehow, the batter was undercooked, so the whole thing was wet and mushy.  Furthermore, it was too sweet.  As you can probably guess right now, we were not impressed with Q Smokehouse aboard the NCL Bliss.  Yes, we cannot compare with on-land BBQ, but this was an insult to Texas-style BBQ.  If you are ever on an NCL ship and this restaurant is on that ship, take a hard pass.  You will do better at the buffet and that is free.

The Good:
- Loved that they tried to do a BBQ restaurant
- Service was top notch

The Bad:
- Food was subpar
- Not sure why we had to pay extra for this as the free one on Carnival was better

Cagney's Steakhouse (NCL Bliss)

After our solid specialty restaurant experience at Le Bistro (not surprising as we've done it twice before on previous NCL cruises), we were looking forward to our dinner at Cagney’s.  For those who aren’t familiar with NCL’s specialty restaurants, Cagney’s is another one of their longstanding offerings.  This is their classic steakhouse featuring all of the usual options including appetizers and sides.  We’ve had it once before aboard the Pride of America and came away pleased.  With that in mind, we had the same expectations this time around.

Packed and super busy, Cagney’s was much more popular than Le Bistro possibly because who doesn’t love a good ol’ American steakhouse?  We ended up trying almost all of their appetizer options including the Iceberg Wedge Salad.  Interestingly, the lettuce did not resemble a wedge, rather it was a half-dome.  Regardless, it was fresh and crisp.  I liked that they didn’t overdress the salad and there was plenty of blue cheese.  We found the Ahi Tuna Tartare was a bit on the bland side even though there was the promise of wasabi, pickled ginger and green onions.  The tuna was buttery and meaty but could’ve used more seasoning.  The lattice chips on top were crispy and went well with the soft tuna.

One of their signature dishes is the Lumb Crab Cake with lemon mustard cream and radish salad.  After several orders, we could see why.  The large freshly made disc was full of crab and no filler.  Fluffy and full of appealing crab texture, this was only lightly seared for color.  The natural briny sweetness of the crab was highlighted even though the creamy sauce did add some acidity.  This was better than many of the "on land" restaurants I've been too.  We also enjoyed their Lobster Bisque as it was purposefully salty (without being overly so) and featured the classic aroma of lobster.  This was amped even further with chunks of lobster.  It wasn't too thick either, so it wasn't too heavy or cumbersome to eat.

One of the more surprising appies was the Slow-roasted Pork Belly with apple cider marinade and honey soy sauce.  It not only looked appealing with a caramelized glazed exterior, it was also texturally on point.  With just enough fat and plenty of tender meat, the buttery pork belly practically melted-in-our-mouths.  Furthermore, it was perfectly balanced between sweet and savory.  Something rather classic was the Prawn Cocktail.  It featured 3 giant prawns that were prepared properly.  Meaty, de-veined and naturally sweet, there really wasn't the need for the cocktail sauce.  However, we did use it because it added the usual sweet tanginess as well as a bite from the horseradish.

For our steaks, I went big with the 20oz Porterhouse prepared medium-rare.  It was mostly that except for some of the edges of the striploin portion.  I found the meat to be tender with the filet side to be more buttery (as expected).  Since this was not a very big porterhouse as it was more of a T-bone, the filet was pretty small.  The striploin was also tender but much meatier where it was not as soft as I would’ve liked.  My daughter had the second biggest steak in the 16oz Roasted Prime Rib.  She also requested medium-rare and it was perfectly so.  This was one of the better dishes as the meat was melt-in-her-mouth tender.  It was also well-seasoned where the rub had penetrated the meat.  As you can see in the picture, the meat was pretty uniformly medium-rare throughout indicating proper preparation.

My son decided on his favorite cut being the 10oz Striploin cooked to medium-rare.  This was prepared properly and more evenly than my steak.  Of course being only one cut and uniformly thick, this was an easier task.  However, it was similar to mine as it was meaty and decently tender but not as much as he would’ve liked.  There was a nice sear and his Maitre’d butter was a good compliment.  Viv had something smaller in the 5oz Tenderloin.  It was textbook medium-rare where it was buttery soft.  Being a tenderloin steak, it wasn’t as flavourful as the other cuts, but the Bearnaise helped provided some fattiness.  I kept making fun of her 5oz compared to my 20oz which made her give me the death stare...

My mom had the Surf and Turf consisting of the same 5oz tenderloin as well as a skewer of prawns.  The steak was exactly like Viv’s in terms of execution and texture.  She also had the Bearnaise, which was necessary in my opinion due to the leanness of tenderloin.  The prawns were appealingly grilled where there was a nutty caramelization on the outside.  Texturally, they were meaty with a sweet snap.  Moving away from steaks, my dad had the Fisherman’s Platter.  This consisted of shrimp, scallops, calamari, branzino and crab cake with mustard remoulade and sweet chili dip.  He asked for it to be grilled and all of the seafood was pretty much on point.  Of course, the crab cake was exactly as good as the appie portion.

We decided to get all of the Sides including truffle mashed potatoes, parmesan truffle fries, onion rings, cheesy soft polenta, broccoli, creamed corn, mushrooms and mac n’ cheese.  The highlights included the creamy soft polenta and the plump corn. It was not overcooked where the sweet pops were welcomed.  I thought the fries were pretty mediocre as they weren’t that crunchy and the mashed potatoes could’ve been more flavorful.  Broccoli and mushrooms were cooked right while the onion rings were crunchy.

Onto dessert, Viv and I shared the 7-Layer Chocolate Cake served with vanilla ice cream.  This looked impressive at the table beside us which lead us to ordering it.  Good decision as it was really good.  Each layer was soft and fluffy with enough moisture while not being wet.  The cake was chocolaty without being overly sweet.  I’m not sure where they get their ice cream from, but it was not that smooth.  My daughter went for the Chocolate Brownie which was beautifully plated.  Yet, that was the only positive thing about it as it was rather dry and too dense (even for a brownie).  It was predictably sweet, but it was full of chocolate flavor.

My mom decided on the Butterscotch Cheesecake with caramel sauce.  It was also nicely plated and the cheesecake itself was textbook.  Appealingly dense and creamy, it was full of cheese essence and flavor.  It was very sweet though due to the butterscotch.  That in itself wasn’t very appetizing to me, yet at the same time, I can see how some people with a higher sweetness tolerance enjoying this.  My dad shared the Raspberry Creme Brulee with my mom (she has a sweet tooth) and it was also pretty textbook. The custard had the ideal viscosity and exhibited plenty of raspberry within it.  The sweetness was purposeful and the sugar topping was perfectly torched.  So other than a few small issues here and there, Cagney's delivered as a steakhouse.  The meats were prepared right and the appies were tasty.  Definitely recommended as a choice if you have a dining package.

The Good:
- On point preparation of steaks
- Solid appies
- That crab cake...

The Bad:
- Some sides were meh

Tracy's King Crab Shack

Traveling to different places in the world not only allows us to learn about history and various cultures, it affords us the opportunity to eat!  Yes, that is probably more important than the other stuff...  LOL...  However, when we find something really tasty, it can often be a blessing and a curse at the same time.  You see, the chances of returning for a second taste are pretty remote, especially when the destination isn't exactly close and/or easy to get to.  So imagine the anticipation when I knew I would be going back to Juneau and yes, Tracy's King Crab Shack!  Well, it isn't really a shack anymore as it has moved into a B&M location close to where it was before.

Yes, the highlight of our visit to Juneau was heading over to Tracy's...  Well, since Viv wasn't overly enthused about another cruise to Alaska (#firstworldproblems), she was game for the Crab Shack Combo featuring a little of everything including their Famous King Crab Bisque served with Garlic Rolls.  I've had the bisque before and for me, this has to be one of the better ones I've had anywhere.  Usually, a bisque can be rather heavy where finishing the whole thing is a chore.  Although this version was still rich, it was thin enough to be eaten easily.  It was purposefully salty with plenty of sweet bininess.  The side of garlic rolls was great for dipping into the bisque as well as into the clarified butter.  They were soft and aromatic.

Also included was their excellent Crab Cakes that look more like chicken nuggets.  That was a good thing as they were little bite-sized crispy bundles of fluffy joy.  I swear I could've eaten a dozen of these by myself.  I didn't because we had more food aboard the ship later!  Alright, onto the main event with the King Crab Leg.  I noticed that the ones served with the combos were slightly smaller than the ones ordered a la carte.  No matter, it was still plenty big while being fluffy with an appealing rebound.  There was the natural sweetness accented by the salt water it was cooked in.  Yes, we dipped it into the clarified butter.  Yummy.  I can't wait to come back again.  Well, that is probably when I'm much older and retired.  Viv swore to never go on another Alaskan cruise.  We'll see about that.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Love the location and vibe
- Reasonably-priced IMO

The Bad:
- Unfortunately, no more AYCE crab legs

Seafood Buffet @ Garden Cafe (NCL Bliss)

Typically, we rarely eat dinner at the buffet on cruises (except for breakfast).  Even though some of the same items at the main dining room are available at the buffet, the experience isn't quite the same.  Something about plated food served in a fairly elegant setting seems more appetizing than spooning this and that onto your own plate.  Hey, don't get me wrong, there are times when I want to eat a variety of food and pile up my plate with random stuff.  So that was our mentality when we decided to hit up the Garden Cafe on Seafood Night.  This was the second night of our cruise after a day at sea.

As much as the Garden Buffet was the hub of activity, such as embarkation and the breakfast prior to debarkation, there was always enough seats since there were tables outside near the pool area.  Often, the buffet was not too busy.  Back to the seafood buffet, if you were expecting things like lobster and crab, you would've been bitterly disappointed.  Rather, it was merely like any other night except with a seafood theme consisting mostly of fish and shrimp.  So for my first plate of food, I loaded up on Mussels, Cocktail Shrimp and Grilled Shrimp.  Everything was actually quite good with the mussels being the highlight.  As you can clearly see, they were large and plump.  The cocktail shrimp were textbook with a buttery cold-water crunch.  Grilled shrimp were meaty and well-seasoned.

Consisting much of the same ingredients, we found the Seafood Paella and the Cioppino prominently displayed at multiple food stations.  I wasn't expecting authentic paella and I'm glad that I didn't.  This was more like rice with some seafood.  It didn't taste like a paella nor did it look like one.  With that being said, I didn't mind it for what it was with lots of sausage, mussels and shrimp.  Rice was not overdone, but wasn't all that flavourful.  As for the cioppino, it sported mussels, calamari, baby scallops and fish.  It was somewhat briny with plenty of tomatoey flavor.  Seafood was prepared properly.  One of the more surprising items was the Spaghetti Vongole.  In addition to the bevy of fresh clams, the pasta was al dente and tasted pretty good with enough seasoning and brininess.  On the side, the Clam Chowder was more starchy than rich.  It was rather salty as well.

For my last dish, I moved somewhat away from seafood and went for a Sirloin Steak with veggies and polenta cake.  However, I did try the Seafood Pie and Salmon with Bearnaise as well.  Although it didn't look the part, the steak was actually tender and cooked to medium.  A total shock was the salmon as it was moist and flaky (very hard to achieve for a buffet).  I didn't care for the seafood pie as it was a mushy mess.  The veggies were good being vibrant and not salted much at all.  For Dessert, there was a selection of cakes, soft-serve and hard ice cream.  The picture of the station was from embarkation, but you get the idea of the selection.  I found them to be really hit and miss, but since it is a buffet, you can find something you like by trial and error.  So although some of the items were better than expected, this was not a comprehensive seafood buffet.  Good for those who don't like crab and lobster, otherwise, stick with the other choices if you were expecting more from "Seafood Buffet Night".

The Good:
- Better than expected (in terms of execution)
- Not overly busy (for the seafood buffet night)

The Bad:
- Not comprehensive in terms of seafood (but I get it, crab and lobster is expensive)
- Desserts are hit and miss

The Local (NCL Bliss)

Beyond the 3 main dining rooms that include Savor, Taste and the Manhattan Room as well as the Garden Cafe and Observatory, there is only one other complimentary restaurant aboard the NCL Bliss.  That would be The Local which is located in the middle of the ship overlooking the atrium.  At first glance, the place looks like a gastropub, although the menu is more traditional pub food.  Since I wanted to try as many venues as possible, we decided to try it for lunch on the first sea day.  

For our appies, we ended up sharing a few things including the Buffalo Chicken Wings and Pretzel Bites.  Served as a half-dozen, the wings were pretty large and plump.  Even though the skin was fried crispy, the meat itself stayed moist.  I would’ve liked to see the skin more rendered though, but that might’ve dried out the meat as well.  As for the buffalo sauce, it was much sweeter than we would’ve expected.  There wasn't the usual vinegary heat we normally associate with buffalo wings.  To be blunt, we really didn’t enjoy the pretzel bites as they were super dense and cold.  After one bite, we gave up on these.  On the side, there was a beer cheese fondue that was a bit thin and salty.

The Spinach & Artichoke Dip was barely any better.  There was plenty of spinach, but not a whole lot of artichoke.  As for that spinach, it needed to be cut into smaller pieces because we could’ve even pick it up with a chip.  The dip was far too watery and starchy rather than cheesy.  It was as if they used thickened milk rather than cheese.  At the very least, the tortilla chips were crispy.  For my main, I decided on the Blue Burger featuring blue cheese, spicy sweet tomato chutney, lettuce and tomato.  This was not bad compared to the previous 2 dishes.  The large beef patty was moist and juicy while the blue cheese really came through with sharpness.  Not sure if the chutney was actually spicy though.  Bun was toasted up nicely.

My daughter ended up with the Coney Island Hot Dog sporting melted cheese, chili and onions.  Nothing particularly complex here with a fairly large hot dog within a toasted bun.  The chili wasn't spicy, yet well-seasoned.  Tender morsels of meat made the hot dog rather robust and filling.  Side of fries were hot and crunchy.  Viv ordered the Turkey Pot Pie which was average at best.  It was not very thick which was good, but the viscosity was a bit off.  Rather than being creamy, the pot pie was starchy and sweet.  It was also short on ingredients.  The flaky pastry was pretty good though as it was super crispy and light.

My son went for the Baked Ziti with meatballs, tomato ricotta sauce and mozzarella cheese.  This was also just okay as the dish seemed slapped together rather than being cohesive.  The sauce wasn't very rich and the pasta seemed lonely with a lack of flavor and enough sauce adhering to it.  It could've stood to be baked a bit longer too for some charring of the cheese and drying out of the dish as a whole (there was water at the bottom).  As you can tell, we weren't that excited with the food we had at The Local.  Yes, it was complimentary, but then again, it further proved that the paid restaurants are a better choice.

The Good:
- No extra charge
- Good location near the Atrium
- Food comes out quick (not sure if that is a good thing though)

The Bad:
- Suspect fast food masquerading at pub food
- Servers were indifferent