Veal Chop and Black Truffle Pappardelle at Il Gabbiano

It’s been a while since I last posted, and I think at this point, I’m sadly about two weeks behind.  That means I’ve got a bit of catching up to do, so here we go!

Last last Tuesday, I had dinner at Il Gabbiano*, a fancy schmancy Italian restaurant right on the waterfront in Brickell.  This establishment was once on my Miami restaurants bucket list and long forgotten, but I was finally able to cross it off!  *happy dance*

The meal started off with a couple quick and easy starters, offered to all patrons, compliments of the restaurant.  Parmesan cheese — carved from a block thrice the size of my head — and vinaigrette.  An assortment of bread.  Bruschetta.  Zucchini chips.  *violin quartet*

The cheese and bruschetta were good — very flavorful — but the zucchini chips were a disappointment, since they had gone limp, below average at best.  Sadly, I didn’t really sample the bread, since I wanted to leave room for my entree… maybe next time.

Carnival Conquest: Lunch on Lido

Today would’ve been a great day for cruising, but since I’m not on vacation, I settled for lunch on a cruise ship instead.  Carnival Conquest here I come!

Fun fact: Carnival Cruise Lines has 24 ships in its fleet and my goal is to set foot on all of them.  Might be tricky though, since one of the ships — and soon to be two — currently sails out of Australia.

The Conquest offers a decent number of dining stations on the Lido deck, including Fish & Chips, Italian, Southern Comfort, Guy’s Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, Pizza Pirate, Deli, and Sweet Spot.  They weren’t all open for lunch today, but a majority of them were.

I started off my meal with a small cup of ceviche from Fish & Chips.  I’d bet that most passengers don’t know about this station, since it’s tucked away on the upper Lido.  The ceviche included mostly shrimp, but also bits of calamari and scallops (I think), along with diced bell pepper and onion.  Rating… okay.  Would’ve been nice if there were more calamari and scallops…

I tried the Italian station next.