El Barco Crucero Grand Princess de la Línea Princess, en el Puerto de la Luz y de Las Palmas

El Barco Crucero Grand Princess de la Línea Princess, en el Puerto de la Luz y de Las Palmas
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Image by El Coleccionista de Instantes
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Barco Crucero Grand Princess
El Grand Princess es uno de los barcos más grandes del mundo, tiene una imágen distintiva, con un puente de 159 pies y un único club nocturno suspendido en la popa a 150 pies del nivel del mar. La decoración interior del barco es casual y sofisticada, un ambiente de calidad.
Sus atractivas y abundantes actividades alagan al viajante de cruceros en su primer viaje y hace sentir bien a los que ya han viajado varias veces – una clara ventaja sobre sus competidores.
Los camarotes, más de la mitad con balcones, son espaciosos y muy atractivos con una pequeña sala de estar cerca de un ventanal o del balcón.
Con tres salones comedores y tres restaurantes alternativos, más un servicio de habitación, una pizzeria y una parrilla de comida rápida, comer es un constante placer (los salones comedores cuentan con un menú con 450 platos distintos durante la semana). Con el lanzamiento del programa Personal Choice Dining, los pasajeros pueden comer lo que quiera y cuando quiera.
El entretenimiento es igualmente variado, con tres shows distintos emitidos simultáneamente casi todas las noches.
Camarotes

Los camarotes externos con balcones (son los más numerosos de todos los camarotes en el barco) son de 215 – 255 pies cuadrados, incluyendo balcones. Las camas gemelas se pueden unir para conformar una cama única más grande y el espacio de los cajones y el armario es adecuado. Los balcones en el Caribe Deck es casi tan grande como el camarote, pero los mismos no cuentan con techo, haciéndolos poco o nada privados. Lo mejor: es la excelente iluminación y secadora de cabello con una consola con TV y refrigerador. Lo peor: baños pequeños y mal iluminados con solo lugar para una ducha, lavatorio e inodoro. Las mini suites y deluxe suites están decoradas de manera similar pero cuentan con mayor espacio, incluyendo mayor área de estar y baños más grandes, más el servicio de mayordomo. Los camarotes internos son pequeños pero adecuados con 160 pies cuadrados. El Grand Princess tiene en cuenta instalaciones para discapacitados, con camarotes de 240 – 385 pies cuadrados ubicados principalmente cerca de los elevadores y disponibles en varias categorías. En cada plataforma de los camarotes están disponibles lavadoras operadas a moneda con planchas y tabla de planchar.
Cenas

Los tres salones comedores principales del Grand Princess, Botticelli, DaVinci y Michelangelo, cuentan con vista al mar, murales y mesas para dos a diez personas. Cada noche el menú de cocina continental cambia, incluyendo platos saludables y vegetarianos. Otras opciones para comer incluyen, el Painted Desert (cocina del sudoeste) y Sabattini’s Trattoria (italiana), Ambos están abiertos para almuerzo y cena y requieren reserva. Sabatini’s incluye un costo adicional por persona de ,50. Con una decoración inspirada en Tuscani, está constantemente ocupado y es muy bueno. El Paint Desert rara vez se llena. El servicio de ambos lugares no es tan bueno – Princess tiende a poner personal con menos experiencia en sus restaurantes alternativos, y eso se nota. El Horizon Court, con la mejor vista al mar del barco, es un bufet abierto las 24hs y se convierte en un restaurante con servicio de mozo luego de la 7:30pm. Otras opciones de comida durante el día incluyen el Trident Grill para hamburguesas, perros calientes y pollo, y el Poseidon’s Pizzeria. El servicio de habitación cuenta con un menú limitado para los huéspedes que no están en suites con tan solo sándwich y ensaladas. Un bar de cremas heladas vende productos Haagen-Dazs, y el té estilo Inglés se sirve todas las tardes con pequeños bocados, scones en el DaVinci Dining Room.
Entretenimiento

Con tres salones que presentan distintos shows cada noche, más un casino, karaoke, cabaret, películas en los camarotes, baile con música en vivo (o un talentoso DJ en el Skywalkers), los pasajeros cuentan con una verdadera variedad de actividades nocturnas. También hay comedia (algunos cruceros cuentan con hasta cinco comediantes, incluyendo algunos de renombre), junto a algunos de los shows estilo Broadway/ Las Vegas. Grand Princess cuenta con una gran variedad de entretenedores, músicos, bailarines, cantantes y personal que ofrece unos de los mejores programa de entretenimiento en el mar. Las actividades diurnas van desde películas a bingo, desde subastas de arte a demostraciones de cocina, juegos de mesa, torneos deportivos, lecturas, video juegos y paseo virtuales para los más jóvenes. El casino está abierto cuando el barco está en alta mar y ofrece blackajck, ruleta, dados y tragamonedas.
www.princess.com/learn/ships/ap/

Gravy Frites

Gravy Frites
TV Menu
Image by Kyle Strickland
Cleveland’s constantly shrinking population peaked by 1950; our river caught on fire due to pollution in the 1969; our sports teams are in shambles; everyone from John Elway, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James have kicked us in the nuts; and our politicians are all crooks. For those steadfast brave citizens who have put up with all this and remained – Jonathon Sawyer and his Greenhouse Tavern are giving them some serious good eats to ease the pain.

Being a Cleveland expat in Phoenix, my ears perk up every time I hear something about the city, or watch something about it on TV. Unless of course it is a replay of “The Drive”, “The Fumble”, "The Catch", “The Shot” or “The Decision”, I will tune in to watch. Flipping through the channels one evening I landed on Michael Symon – him being one of Cleveland’s celebrity chefs I naturally stopped to watch. It was the Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” program in which they interview all of their food celebrity personalities asking them to describe… well you know “the best thing they ever ate.” Symon was testifying about his affection for The Greenhouse Tavern’s Gravy Frites. The way Symon described the dish made your mouth water: crispy pommes frites fried in duck fat, smothered with melted mozzarella cheese and crumbled curd, then bathed in savory brown gravy. I’m drooling just typing it. So upon getting an invite from a close friend to attend an OSU Buckeyes game back in Ohio, I said we had to work in a stop to the Greenhouse Tavern to try these Gravy Frites.

The Greenhouse Tavern is located in the East 4th Street Entertainment District of Cleveland, near the ballpark, Playhouse Square, and the Arcade. I guess all of that is called the “Gateway District” now? It is about two doors down from Symon’s now famous Lola. Owner and Chef Jonathon Sawyer’s modus operandi centers upon offering eco friendly, locally grown, sustainable food. He has also created the state’s first LEED certified restaurant. Gazing down the constantly changing menu, the French influence is obvious: steak and pommes frites, house made fromage blanc, foie gras steamed clams, coq au vin, etc. It is hard to imagine, having grown up in Cleveland, that one could actually eat like this in the Rust Belt. He also offers some unique and quite frankly awesome sounding dishes like Roasted Pig Heads with shrimp paste BBQ; Duck Pasta complete with duck livers, pecorino pepato, and duck skin cracklins; and Crispy Chicken Wings Confit – why not?

Unfortunately the Roasted Pigs Head wasn’t on the menu the night of our visit so we settled upon the Foie Gras Steamed Clams, the Fifth Quarter, the Pan Fried Pork Chop Saltimbocca and of course the Gravy Frites. The Foie Gras Steamed Clams were tasty but if there was foie gras in the broth is was just waved in front of the boiling pot, much like vermouth in front of a martini glass. The mysterious Fifth Quarter is marked Market Price and simply described “w/ tasty bits” – so I had to try it. It essentially serves as the chef’s appetizer special. As luck would have it tonight’s Fifth Quarter was buttermilk deep fried chicken necks, backs, and gizzards – by far one of the best tastes of the night. I couldn’t agree with Chef Sawyer more – never throw out these tasty morsels. The buttermilk breading was awesome and the tasty morsels of meat were tender and cooked perfectly… I wanted seconds. The Pan Fried Pork Chop Saltimbocca was served with crispy fried sage, some fancy sounding mashed potatoes called pommes puree, herb salad, and a red eye gravy. This dish too, was fantastic. What made it was the side of county ham, essentially a slow cooked pork belly, that was so flavorful and “melt in your mouth” that you wish you had a whole plate full of it alone.

When we got to the Gravy Frites, I can’t say that I necessarily agree with Michael Symon. The fries on top had some nice flavor and were crisped on the outside, but once we got beyond those and entered knife and fork territory it was like eating a soggy mess of mashed potatoes, gravy, and overwhelming mozzarella. To be fair I think I get where Michael Symon was coming from when describing his favorite dish: he was coming from his restaurant next door, after an endlessly long dinner rush, being weeded all night, exhausted and famished, quenching a beer and some sustenance late at night. If those were the circumstances, then yes – this dish would in fact be amazing as it would serve as the perfect reward to hard nights work on the line. I could also envision throwing down a plate of Gravy Frites, after hours, and one too many drinks – much like the Primanti Brothers tradition in Pittsburgh. I then might believe that it was the “Best Thing I Ever Ate”. However, I in fact was just there for dinner and wanted to sample the full range of the restaurant’s offerings. All in all, the sum of the Greenhouse Tavern’s offerings, their mission, and their elevated tastes, definitely make me want to stop in every time I’m home in Cleveland.

read more at: The Best Thing I Ever Ate: In Cleveland

V e s p e r B i s t r o

Reopening of 167 St on the B, D lines

Reopening of 167 St on the B, D lines

Image by MTAPhotos
MTA New York City Transit performed major station repairs and upgrades at the 167 St station on the Grand Concourse line, reopening the station in January 2019. This station originally opened for service in July 1933.

While crews made critical repairs to the station infrastructure such as concrete and metal platforms, stairs, beams and columns, they also modernized the station with enhancements to entrances including stairs, LED lighting, digital signage providing real-time service information, and new turnstile areas with security cameras and brighter lighting.

Countdown clocks and Help Points, which allow customers to communicate quickly with staff for assistance or emergencies, were installed, as well as new station furniture and platform safety enhancements such as tactile edge warning strips to improve customer safety.

Photos: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Ovoke Ukpokpo