Golfo de Panamá

So first, I promise to not provide this level of detail for every meal we have over the next 130 days. The fellow Neptune traveler’s know what is served, and my friends back home (Esp. You Tom U) warned me if I over do it he will stop following our blog.

There are two types of traveler’s onboard - The well seasoned traveler may have done 10, 20, and even over 30 cruises and there are us “The First Timers”. Yesterday, another person named Tom, also a first timer, remarked as we travelled through the Panama Canal for the very first time - he felt like a kid in a candy store - and by the way we can eat as much candy as we want. I am sure the seasoned traveler looks at us and smiles remembering their first voyage.

The Neptune has many places to dine and share in a meal where each bite is a musical array of flavor. The Chef’s Table (Haven’t been there yet) and Manfredi’s are two onboard restaurants in which you must set up a reservation to attend. These are quieter dinning venues with more specializes options. Last night was our first experience with Manfredi’s.

The Wine Pairing:
- Donna had a white (she is not a red wine person) The Tommasi Pinot Grigio, 2022, La Rosse - we had this other night with dinner - it is already becoming our ‘go to” wine - it is a delight to drink - refreshing.
- Paul ventured out with a red - Leone De Castris, Villa Santera, Primitivo Di Madurai from Italy —. If you drink this wine slowly the taste from the start to the end are an array of enjoyment. There is a hint of dry, without being too dry that you have to fight to find the flavor - this red paired very nicely with our main course.
- (A point of honesty) Donna and I are not advanced in the art of wine tasting - we are newbies learning the ropes. I am sure there are many on board this ship who could educate us beyond the basics of our experiences - yet - this is where we start. We have many ore miles and glasses of wine before us to educate our palette.

Appetizer:
- Donna had the “Il Tagliere del Salumiere” which is bresaloa, coops, prosciutto, grilled marinated eggplant, zucchini, scallions.
- Paul had the “Fritto Gameroni e Clamato”

Soups:
- We both had the “Zappa del Casale” the flavors are a blend of elegance and country cooking which welcome us to a dinning experience I am sure these first timers to Manfredi’s will remember.

Pasta:
- Donna had the “Spaghetti alla Caronrar o Bolognese” and Paul had the “Gnocchi alla Sorrentina”

By this time in the meal you can really have a sense of a journey which is choreographed as a fine ballet. I forgot to mention Thomas our waiter our tour guide on this culinary journey. He explains each of our ports of call as we venture through this experience. If we need to make an adjustment along the way, Thomas is an accommodating host.

Main Course:
- Donna and I both had the “Costata di Manzo Sull’osso” - slow cooked beef short ribs on the bone, polenta from ante; red wine sauce. Speaking of adjustments Thomas was happy to add asparagus and potatoes to Paul’s meal.

The only concern we had was why did they provide a knife? The ribs were so tender they fell off the bone as our forks approached. The flavor of the sauce and tenderness of the meat was the summit of our journey this evening.

After the meal the Chef came out to great us. There are over 100 chef’s onboard the Neptune. In talking with the chef we learned something very important to us. Over the past four years Donna and I have become educated on the differences of olive oil. We are self-proclaimed olive oil snobs - not experts - but we know the difference. With each meal Paul has requested olive oil to have with bread instead of butter. Much better flavor and healthier too. The waitstaff brings us a small dish of a basic lemon flavored oil. The chef taught us the trick to getting good olive oil - we are not to ask for just olive oil; Rather we are to request “Natural Olive from the bottle” from the chef. They will be happy to accommodate.

For desert:
- We both had the Mixed Berry Sorbet - it is always a refreshing way to end a meal. Paul is a chocolate person most of the time - We didn’t need to end this journey with the sweetness of rich chocolate.

Danger Ahead:
- Wanting a nite cap before we ended our journey - we asked Thomas our culinary tour guide for one last recommendation. A small rose shaped glass with clear liquid was before us. We were introduced to Grappa, a grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin. It’s 35 to 60 percent alcohol or 70 to 120 US proof. We Googled it and Wikipedia provides tons of information. It’s a fancy name for Italian moonshine. Before the glass hits your lips your hair is standing on end. We didn’t drink it all. It woke our senses. Had we finished it we would have needed a wheelchair to make it back to our room.

So, I promise I will not document every meal or provide this level of detail. Today’s post was due to the excitement of this new experience and provide a taste of what we are experiencing. Yes, the hardest decision a married couple has to make - Is where do you want to go out to eat? Even on the Neptune that question is asked, but the answer is always right.

Enjoy the photos of each of the steps, our ports of call, on last night’s culinary journey. Thank you Thomas for being a wonderful guide.

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