Afternoon Tea, Rubens at the Palace; London!

Tea is for Tourist and That's Good Enough for Me!

It's quite possible that I will never again drag Jason to an afternoon tea event. Having now tried the experience in various cities and venues, I can safely say that raising a pinky in London is the pinnacle of my completely random yet utterly obsessive years-long quest for the best of high tea.

As to how I chose this location as opposed to the 842 others that seemed to be available in London ... well, it was a combination of dress code: I refuse to ask Jay to wear a suit to tea; money: champagne with tea is lovely but not 200 Great Britain Pounds of lovely; and location: I'd have booked the Orangery at Kensington Palace if it hadn't been closed ... what is with the irrational bias against January travelers???

Afternoon tea was served in the Palace Lounge; Jay and I both selected the Queen's Afternoon tea, which ended up being a ridiculous amount of food, even for us. But it did come with a glass of Guy Cadel Champagne, so that was a huge thumbs up! And before anyone gets confused about my earlier comment about the expense of champagne tea, I was referring to the Dom Perignon Tea the hotel offers in its Champagne Bar aka The Leopard Bar. That tea includes a bottle of Dom and a really cranky, wizened bartender wearing a funny uniform.

Of note ... The Rubens is the closest hotel to Buckingham Palace and yet somehow Jay and I still managed not to actually see the Queen's digs. It takes a special kind of historic landmark indifference to pull off an epic fail like that. We did, however, have a front row seat staring at the Royal Mews (the Queen's horse hotel); unfortunately there was nothing to watch but tour buses.

Tableside Temptation


The Royal Mews


The Palace Lounge


The sign pretty much says it all


Nice kitty ... or is that a hyena?


bubbles!


Real china teapots ... just as it should be!


The meal started with an amuse, of sorts: Iced Sweetcorn Parfait with Polenta Sponge. This could have been amazing, but it was partially frozen and the polenta was more like day-old cornbread than a spongecake. I would like to take this opportunity to remind our British cousins that vegetables do not a dessert make, and sweet corn is not a confection!

Looks better than it tastes!


The big kahuna showed up shortly thereafter and included three levels of food for us to attack. Our tea sandwiches included ham and wholegrain mustard, cheese and tomato, egg and cress, smoked salmon, and chicken with almonds. There were two types of scones served with Devonshire clotted cream, strawberry preserves, and a chocolate spread. And the pastries included a coffee eclair, carrot cake, meringue with chocolate, shortbread, chocolate brownie, apple and cinnamon cupcake with butter icing, vanilla cheesecake, chocolate macaroon, and a fruit tartlet. All of this was quite tasty and we took our time enjoying the bounty while watching a parade of double decker tour buses drive past over and over and over again.

The Tower of Tea Food!!


Sandwedges


Scones


Pastry Sampler


You'd think this was enough, right? Not for us! So the next course arrived and it was actually one of the most delightful, decadent things I've had in a long time: Warm Chocolate and Chili Soup. It was a smooth, creamy chocolatey joy with just a hint of spicy heat.

A wee cup of bliss!


And how did they help us quench the chocolate fire before we left for the evening? Why, with a serving of elderflower sorbet! This was such a lovely palate cleanser - light and cool with just a hint of floral. I am going to try to re-create this sorbet here at home once the weather warrants alcoholic sorbet.

Elderflower Sorbet


The final verdict - this was a truly gluttonous tea with some interesting variations and we were very pleased with the overall experience. At 39 pounds per person it wasn't cheap, but we didn't have too many food splurges on this trip so we didn't let ourselves feel bad about the cost. The hotel was lovely and the service was friendly ... and we only snickered once at the pseudo-military uniforms the serving staff had to wear!

Let's Hang Out in the Train Station!

The Longest Champagne Bar in Europe? I Do Not Think This Means What You Think It Means.

One of the things I loved about London was the ease with which we could travel around the city via the Underground. It was so easy to get from one end of the city to the other within a 20-30 minute train ride that it posed no problem when we decided to wrap up our Sunday evening at Jamie Oliver's with a visit to St. Pancras International.

Jay and I wanted to scope the place out since we would be taking the Eurostar from the station for Paris in a few days, but I had another, much more selfish reason for wanting to visit. Our guidebooks and the station's website all waxed on and on about the St. Pancras Champagne Bar, which they touted as the longest in Europe. This of course led to much discussion about whether or not England is actually considered European in the first place. And this then led to discussion about how long a bar has to be in order to be the longest in Europe. All of which led to much thirst on our parts by the time we found the bar.

Now I know they use a different measurement standard in Europe, but this was so far past my level of expectation that I could only stand there with my mouth hanging open. I had pictured a bar the length of a passenger train, or perhaps running down the middle of the station along one of the rail lines. If the St. Pancras Champagne Bar is considered the longest in Europe then they must be using measurement standards provided by the Lollipop Guild.

The bar was a perfect cube.

While the bar's size was a letdown, the drinks were tasty and the setting was pretty cool. I found it very exotic since I have never traveled by train, let alone ever had a reason to go to a train station. Aside from a number of lovely bottles of bubbly for travelers to choose from they also offered several champagne cocktails. Two that we tried included a Classic Champagne Cocktail (gin, lemon, and champagne) and an Oriental Bellini (lychee liqueur, elderflower, and peach puree topped with champagne). There were also a couple of flutes of regular bubbly and all was right with the world.

While we wouldn't suggest that anyone go out of their way to find the champagne bar, it was an enjoyable adventure and provided some good laughs. And we're still trying to figure out what their definition of long is because it sure didn't jibe with ours!

Bubbles, yes; Long ... not so much


If you have to ask, you can't afford.


Upper level of the station ... getting ready to show the world it's O-Face


That's a Stinktown kinda crowd!


In retrospect perhaps a coffee bar would have been a better idea


A thing of beauty

Fifteen London. Yes ... I Said London

You Can't Save Americans from America, Jamie Oliver; but Thanks for Trying!

The problem with London, as we soon discovered, was that there were too many places we wanted to eat and not enough time or money to make the smallest of dents in our hungry-hungry-hippo wish list. After a lot of back and forth, Jason and I decided that paying a visit to Jamie Oliver's flagship establishment was high on our list of must-eats. Aside from the fact that Mr. Oliver is a pretty damn fine chef in his own right, what he has created with Fifteen is downright amazing and we wanted to support it in our own small way.

A little background for those of you who don't know: Jamie Oliver created Fifteen London in 2002 with the goal of serving high quality Italian food while sponsoring an apprentice program for unemployed and under-qualified young adults between the ages of 18-24. Each year, the restaurant recruits fifteen young people from the local area and puts them through a rigorous 12-month apprentice program that trains them to become qualified chefs. Since 2002, more than 200 young people have graduated from this program and have gone on to run their own restaurants or work in highly acclaimed kitchens around the world; approximately 90% of program graduates remain in the industry. And if that's not cool enough, profits from this restaurant, as well as the two others that Jamie Oliver has opened, are reinvested in the training program.

It is an amazing and generous thing that Jamie Oliver has done ... to give young people a reason to believe in themselves and help them discover a means of success that they might not have otherwise had. And it's refreshing to see someone who has accomplished so much give back to the community in ways that make a real difference. The poor man tried to make a difference in the United States by attempting to educate school districts and children about the "food" they were eating on a daily basis. Turns out school administrators don't care about the meals that get served to students and students don't care if the only chicken in a nugget happens to be pulverized bones ... the response was pretty much the same: don't tell us how to eat, you limey know-it-all!

Ahem.

Jay and I arrived earlier than expected for our reservation but the staff was great, allowing us entry and providing a tempting bar menu with which to quench our thirst even though they didn't officially open until 6PM. There are actually two dining options at Fifteen, the Trattoria which features a more casual, relaxed atmosphere with rustic-style Italian food, and the Restaurant which is located on the second level and offers contemporary Italian cuisine. We were booked for the Restaurant, and it turned out to be fabulous!

Fifteen


Where are the drinks???


Quite possibly the cutest couple known to man


Interior - upper level Trattoria


Dining Room - Trattoria


There were a number of interesting cocktails to choose from, so it took some time for us to make up our minds; the drinks were terrific and really well made. Jay started off with a Dirty Spicy Martini which included a vodka we'd never heard of mixed with homemade chili and lemon brine. He said this drink was off the charts and was happy to finally order and receive a spicy drink that really had some heat to it. I chose Rum Punch with Apple and it was so so good! It was made with spiced blanco rum, overproof apple, lime juice, and homemade almond syrup. If they served this kind of rum punch on Disney Cruise Line I would have fallen overboard years ago!

Dirty Spiced Martini & Rum Punch


A second round of drinks had Jay ordering the Fifteen Bloody Mary which he said had enough heat to keep our hotel room warm for an entire evening. The rum punch was so damn good that I had to order another. Luckily for me, Stephanie ordered the other drink I had my eye on - The Dark and Stormy - and was kind enough to let me take a sip. This was also a tasty winner, made with dark rum, lime juice, pressed ginger, and raisin bitters. Ross went with Fifteen's version of a margarita which was really interesting - it included nardini acqua di cedro, tequila, lime juice, and a fresh chili. Wondering what that first ingredient is? It's a grappa-based liqueur made from the peel of the cedra lemon and is reportedly sweet, tart, and dry.

Fifteen Bloody Mary and more Rum Punch


Dark & Stormy and a Margarita


Once we were seated at our table, the four of us decided to split a couple of appetizers and chose Beef Carpaccio (Scottish Beef) with wild rocket, beetroots, and parmesan; and Pig Cheeks with cracked black pepper, wild rocket, and crostini. The carpaccio was some of the best I've ever had and I loved the meat salad presentation! As for the pig cheeks, they were nothing like I thought they would be. The dish looked like a miniature pulled pork sandwich instead of the succulent slices of cheeky pork that we expected. It was good, but nowhere near as good as we had hoped.

Carpaccio


Pig Cheeks


And now I must admit to an epic failure ... we didn't take any pictures of the menu that night because Jay and I assumed all the necessary information would be available on Fifteen's website once we got home. But that was not the case; so, while I have pictures to share of the rest of the meal, I don't have the descriptions of each dish and can offer precious little other than this: Fifteen is good eats!

Risotto - half order


Cappellacci


Lamb


Venison


Cheese Board


Tiramisu


Panna Cotta


Happy bellies; happy diners!

Remy; Disney Cruise Line - Disney Dream

Who Needs a Chocolate Souffle When There's a Cheese Trolley to Tempt Your Tastebuds?

I admit it: Jay and I were both really skeptical that the Remy experience would live up to the hype. We've cruised Disney before and while the food has been decent-to-good, it has never bowled us over. We were also a little leery of the $75 per person dining charge - the thought of dropping that much money for a dinner on Disney Cruise Line didn't sit well until I discovered that Remy offers a cheese trolley as part of their prix fixe dinner.

Deliberation over.

Reservation secured.

Disney Cruise Line 1; Brenda's vow to spend less on this vacation (-$150 and counting).

For those of you not familiar with the Remy concept, it's a new adults-only restaurant that's been featured on the Disney Dream throughout 2011 and which will also open on the Disney Fantasy in 2012. It's billed as the most upscale dining experience on board ship and having now dined there I would completely agree with that statement. The menu is French-inspired but still accessible for the less adventurous in your party; it's also a collaborative effort between Scott Hunnel (executive chef at Victoria & Albert's) and Arnaud Lallement (2-Michelin star French chef).

The dining room is located on Deck 12, and features large windows that look out to the ocean; the decor is French Novueau with rich red, green, and gold tones - it manages to be both luxurious and welcoming at the same time. One of the very nice extras that Remy provides (and there are many) is that once dinner is booked and guests are on board they are invited to meet with a sommelier in Remy's wine room and pre-select their wines for the evening. Jay and I very much wanted to do this just for the experience, but ran out of time - we plan to take advantage of this service on our next cruise.

Welcome


Main dining salon


Second dining salon ... much prettier in my opinion


Look who it is!


There is a wonderful bar located on Deck 12 between Remy and Palo called Meridian; they make some truly tasty and inventive martinis here with a hearty alcoholic kick. Jay and I stopped in here before dinner to allow them to dazzle us; we in, turn, dazzled them enough that they remembered us the next day!

Well dressed hogs are hogs nonetheless!


Dining Salon for dinner seating


Dining Salon once more ...


Our primary server for the evening was Jerry, an American cast member who had trained in France as a sous chef. He was like a gift from the culinary gods - personable, knowledgeable, fun, and willing to talk food until the cows came home, were slaughtered, and served up rare with a side of parsnip puree. Once we were settled and had been presented with the evening's menu, he rolled over a cart and began making us Remy's complimentary signature champagne cocktail. The "Colette", which is always prepared tableside, combined Taittinger Champagne and house infused Pear Vodka; fresh blueberries and apricots were added and the drink was garnished with a mint leaf. It was wonderful, smooth, and refreshing.

Tableside mixology


Mmmmmm, soon to be boozie fruit


Viola!


Cheers to you!


No, no no; cheers to you!!


As I previously mentioned, Remy's menus are prix fixe and there are two to choose from: a French tasting menu and an American-French fusion tasting menu. Guests may also order a la' carte, but most items are already included in one of the two tastings so it seems to make more sense to choose a menu. In order to try as much as inhumanly possible, Jay and I each ordered a different tasting menu and then asked for a supplemental item to be included as well. In this way, as Jerry told us at the end of the evening with something like admiration tinged with disbelief, we tried everything on the entire menu save two items.

The first Amuse Bouche was presented shortly after we ordered and it was such a delight! The server who brought it to us explained that we had to pop the entire thing into our mouths and chew ... mouths closed please, or you will squirt soup at your dining partner! Somehow the chef deep-fried a wee wad of cheese and then infused it with tomato soup. It was such a small little bite, but full of so much flavor and texture that it was like 'mater soup and grilled cheese had a surprise party in my mouth!

They look like tater tots


We were presented with a second Amuse Bouche, which a friend has informed us was Cold Watercress Soup with Wafer thin Crostini. It was quite tasty, and much lighter in flavor and texture than you might expect based on the picture.

Watercress Soup


Remy also offers wine pairings with each dinner for about $99 per person. Jason and I weren't really interested in that so we chose our own bottle to enjoy throughout the evening. We selected a Puligny-Montrachet, which is considered by many to be one of the finest dry white wines produced in the world. I couldn't tell you if it's really the finest or not because I'm not smart enough to know; what I do know is that we both think it's a terrific white wine that we don't often have a chance to enjoy.

Our wine steward for the evening told us later that he doesn't often have guests who order white wine with dinner - most Remy guests stick with the pairings or order California reds - he went on to say that he liked us already because it was obvious that we drank what we liked instead of what we thought we were supposed to like. That was a nice comment for him to make, but like I said earlier ... we aren't smart enough about wine for the most part to know what we're supposed to like!

Chill


Montrachet ... yum!


And now, let the food parade begin!

My first official course was the Jamon Wrapped Shrimp - Iberico ham wrapped Florida shrimp with melon. This was a sweet-salty joy! The double melon soup (honeydew and cantaloupe) ensured that every bite of ham and shrimp took a sweet, fruity bath before finding its way to my mouth. The presentation was lovely, as was the mix of flavors.

Jamon Wrapped Shrimp


Jay's first course was the Langoustine Royale - Royale Norway lobster with nage reduction. The man was all over this one and said it was fabulous and tasty and "please sir, may I have another?" As to the nage reduction, it's obviously some kind of sauce but I can't seem to find any information on it; it could be a typo or it could be a Norwegian secret sauce on par with that of McDonald's. Only time will tell.

Langoustine Royale


Jay's second course was Asperge Verte - Asparagus with black truffles and vin jaune sauce. Jason adored this - he's a big fan of asparagus to begin with and when someone adds black truffle sauce to it ... well, he's over the moon! There was a second component to Jay's asparagus course which is pictured below. He didn't have as much to say about that one but still enjoyed it.

Asperge Verte - black truffles


Asperge Verte - Vin Jaune


My next course was the Tomato Rataouille - served in Calamarata pasta with cuttlefish. This was good, but not my favorite of the night; it seemed a little salty to me but I loved the presentation.

Tomato Rataouille


Next up for Jason was the Sea Bass Atlantique with Thai Sauce. The sea bass was lovely and flaky and the Thai sauce provided a strong spicy punch - one of Jay's favorites during the dinner for sure because there are few things he enjoys more than fish and spice!

Sea Bass in Thai Sauce


Duck Breast was next on the menu for me - Duck sausage and Duck confit with strawberry-rhubarb puree. Jason ended up eating most of this because I'm just not a big fan of duck. I'm getting there, but this was just too gamey for my taste and the puree was far too sweet an accompaniment.

Duck Breast ... two ways!


A return to normalcy with the next two courses saw Jason presented with Homard Maine - Maine lobster with Spicy Bouillon. He loved it - lobster is another one of his favorites and paired with spicy broth it was a win-win for him.

Maine Homard


My next plate was one of my favorites for the evening: Seared Tuna with quail eggs and sherry vinaigrette. The kitchen staff very kindly did not include the black olives that were supposed to garnish this dish and that made me very happy. The tuna was just lovely - rare and sweet - I could have eaten nothing else for remainder of the meal until the cheese cart arrived and been quite content.

Seared Tuna


My "main course' was the Australian Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Braised Short Ribs. I've had this before at Victoria and Albert's and it never disappoints. The Wagyu was tender and flavorful while the combination of short ribs and potato puree was so good that it should be outlawed.

Wagyu Beef Tenderloin


Braised Short Ribs & Potato Puree


Jay's "main course" was Poularde Rotie with Albufera sauce ... also presented in two dishes. Too be completely frank - we have no idea what this was but agreed that is was quite tasty. Our menu, unfortunately, doesn't provide much in the way of description and our knowledge of French is limited to cheese!

Poularde Rotie, Part I


Poularde Rotie, Part II


And then the best part of the meal, at least as far as I was concerned, came to pass. The arrival of the cheese trolley ... 12 beautiful and delicious examples of French cheese just waiting for this little piggie to get her hands on them!

Cheese Trolley


Mine! Mine! It's all Mine!


Jerry knew, both from the crazed glint in my eye and the timely warning from Jay, that he was dealing with a fromage fiend. But he really seemed to enjoy the cheesy enthusiasm - he told us that it's rare to find many guests on the cruise who really love cheese and who know much about it. And I suppose that's understandable since the cheese course is more of a European dining tradition than an American one ... but those of us here know there are other cheese addicts out there who would have run away with the trolley just like I did!

Ahem.

I continued making friends with the wine steward by asking for a 20-year tawny port to drink with my cheese. He gave me some samples (I love him so much) before we decided on the Noval 20-year; oh, brother was it ever good!

Port ... the other cheese drink


Getting back to the cheese for a moment ... I asked Jerry if they could just make us a cheese plate with a sampling of everything in the cart. No problem, says he, with a cute little smile (he really was cute!) and a few moments later a lovely plate loaded with cheese and a spoonful of fresh honey was delivered for Jay and me to share. For you cheese loving cruisers who end up at Remy, don't be shy about asking to sample all the cheeses - they don't mind and actually seem to enjoy sharing the cheese-love with their guests.

Clockwork cheese plate!


Bendy, cheese, and port


Jay is a scotch man ... single malt of course!


You wouldn't think we had any room left to continue eating, but Jason and I have an extra stomach that we roll out on occasions like this. We couldn't let dessert go to waste - that would have been a crime.

I was presented with the Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse, another item I've had the good fortune to try at Victoria and Albert's. It's quite a light dessert, actually, and the ice cream served in the chocolate eyelashes is a perfect compliment.

Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse


Jason received Vacherin Framboise, which was vanilla ice cream sandwiched between meringue and topped with fresh raspberries and raspberry puree. It was lovely and light and full of delicate flavor - we both really enjoyed it.

Vacherin Framboise


We then received a surprise dessert. I don't know what exactly it was, although it looked to be a variation on Jay's initial dessert. We suspected at this point that they were pulling a Monty Python on us ... "just one mint? It's wafer thin..." waiting to see if either Jay or me (or both of us) would explode from all the food we'd eaten. I have no doubt that they were stunned by what we put away that night - we didn't earn the title Remorseless Eating Machines for nothing!

Mystery Dessert


Aerial shot of dessert


If that wasn't enough we were then presented with Mignardises ... handmade candies and treats that we should have asked them to package up for us, but at this point in the evening we literally couldn't seem to stop eating. Now that I think back on it I am surprised we didn't explode right there in the dining salon!

Mignardise


More Mignardise


Everything at Remy was incredible - the service and the atmosphere and the food. It was such a lovely experience and so much more than we originally expected and we adored every moment there. We cannot wait to try it again on our next cruise in October 2012. For those of you out there who truly love fine dining, give it a try the next time you're sailing one of Disney's two new ships -you won't regret it and the staff seems to adore guests who are foodies. For those of you who aren't quite as in love with your food as the rest of us, I would still strongly encourage you to dine there if you have the opportunity. You'd be hard pressed to find this kind of experience on land for $75 per person (excluding the booze, of course) and it's staffed with friendly, accessible cast members who want to share the food love with you!

And, to close it out ... if all that food wasn't enough ... when we returned to our cabin there was a note waiting that thanked us for dining at Remy along with a small box of signature truffles. Holy Overkill, Batman - we couldn't eat another bite!

Delightful Surprise


More Yum!