The Crown Grill on the Star Princess

Unlike Trattoria Sabatini, the Crown Grill is more off-the-menu rather than a non-stop, course-intensive exercise in binge dining.  And while I recommended Trattoria Sabatini as a worthwhile expenditure at $20 a person, the Crown Grill experience is far and above a better choice for the same price.  Not only was the food a bit higher on the gourmet level, the wine list was also superior.  Indeed, I found one of my favorite varietals, Zinfandel (old vine no less), from my favorite Zinfandel vintners, the extraordinary Seghesio family.  This particular bottle came from the Sonoma appellation, vintage 2008, and it bore all the great body and character I’ve come to expect from Seghesio’s often overlooked and underrated Zins.  So good was the Crown Grill that we actually went back a second time.  The same cannot be said of Sabatini’s.

Our appetizer selections included beef carpaccio with Parmesan shavings, scallops served with foie gras, and tiger prawns set atop a papaya salpicon.  The carpaccio, a raw, thinly sliced tenderloin, was exquisite, although I found the olive oil drizzle a bit uninspired over the more traditional vinaigrette.  I, for one, love experimenting with different vinaigrettes when I serve this dish (pomegranate vinaigrette being one of my personal favorites), and it strikes me as a bit tepid on the part of the chef who doesn’t use this appetizer as an excuse to show off a little.  But if this is a shortcoming, the foie gras more than made up for it.  Indeed, I found it so good that, after sampling Ursula’s, I ordered my own sans the scallops.  The foie gras came swimming in butter, perfectly seared on the outside to a nice, almost crusty layer, while the interior retained the rich, creamy consistency for which this dish is known when properly prepared.  The tiger prawns were expertly prepared but, let’s face it, how difficult is it to get right the cooking time for shrimp?  Where this dish excelled was in the “papaya” salpicon, which I found to be a treasure trove of crab and small shrimp perfectly bound together in a rather tasty mayonnaise-based concoction that merged the various flavors exquisitely.

We both tried on our first visit the Black & Blue Onion Soup, an interesting take on this traditional French offering.  Most restaurants invariably fail to caramelize the onions properly during the making of this dish.  I know it takes me sometimes up to two hours to do this, and I guess that’s not a very good use of time in a commercial establishment.  Nevertheless, the Crown Grill took the time to get it righ and I was pleasantly surprised.  Unfortunately, I was not as enamored with the choice of using a Roquefort cheese to top the traditional crouton.  The sharpness of the cheese overpowered the sweet, delicate balance of the caramelized onion.

Our biggest disappointment came when Ursula’s filet mignon arrived overdone, and we were not the only couple to experience this problem.  On our second visit a diner at the adjoining table sent back steaks twice for the same unforgiveable offense.  True, you can’t make steak rare enough for Ursula, but even so I find it inexcusable to send out a medium rare filet to a diner who specifically instructed that they wanted their steak bleu, with the center not even at the warm stage.  I even warned the waiter to, “Just pat the cow on the butt and send it out our way,” but that still failed to result in a rare steak.  But when they got it right, that 28-day aging really showed.  The meat practically melted in our mouths.  Unfortunately, on our second trip I went from the porterhouse to the rib eye, which resulted in a steak on which over a quarter was inedible fat and the remaining meat being a bit on the chewy side in some parts of the cut.  No matter how much the waiter pushes the rib eye, steer clear based on my experience.

Side dishes included a rather tasty creamed spinach, asparagus cooked ever so slightly beyond the right amount of crunch, and sautéed mushrooms that were perhaps a bit bland but still a good accompaniment to the steak.  Your only real choice here is in the potato—baked, red-skinned garlic mashed, or garlic herb fries.  The rest of the sides are delivered automatically.

As for desert, the wild berry and apple cobbler was interesting, but the crust was far too much after such a large meal.  Skip the seven level s’mores stack; it’s barely edible.  The caramel cheesecake parfait was good, but the best of the bunch was the lemon meringue pudding tart.

Finally, before I go, tomorrow is the 25th or March.  Happy Birthday to our dear, dear friend Anita Diego.  Thanks for taking care of business.