Location: La Central, 250 Convention Blvd, San Juan, PR, 00907 https://distritot-mobile.com/la-central-by-mario-pagan Date Tasted: 3/22/2024 (Saturday) (dinner) Price: $18 Beverage: Chopin Martini, dry, blue cheese olives […]
Our initial reaction was one of hopeful curiosity. The smell was good and cheesy, but the (rolled!) carpaccio was hiding under a large bed of carrots, jicama and watercress.
After a wonderful day at sea we sat down to the ship’s Italian restaurant for Valentine’s Day dinner. This was the first carpaccio appetizer I saw when I checked the restaurant menus after boarding, but it was the third I tasted on the trip.
On a cruise ship, there is no consequence to ordering a lot of food and then ultimately not eating it. For that reason many of the dishes, even in the specialty dining areas are understandably small. In this case, it’s really too bad because it was a very well-executed dish all around.
Great recovery Tre Belle! Although I rated this dish a 2/10 back just about 2 years ago, today’s offering was a vast improvement and salvaged the offering for future tastings.
Wow. Just wow. This is pretty much the definition of a deconstructed dish but the most notable feature is that this was a SINGLE piece of meat. One, gigantic, plate-filling, perfect cut. I have never seen that pulled off before.
Apparently, Tampa Florida shares some important similarities with the Netherlands. They both touch water, and they both seem to have carpaccio on every menu. Win for me.
I’ve heard from some Tampa locals that they don’t even try to go to Bern’s because it’s impossible to get in. They have a pretty amazing server training program and they really focus on doing things better than they need to be.
My first selection of carpaccio down in The Islands, it’s definitely not something you see a lot on a menu. The Twisted Cork is an utterly unassuming little building from the outside but as you step in and look at the array of menu items you’ll be impressed.
There are lots of things to say about this rendition, but most important is that it was hard to get past the fact that the meat was so cold it was literally half frozen to the plate.
