It had been ages since we were on land for dinner, so we took
advantage of our ship's late departure while in the wonderful charming
city of St. John's on the island of Newfoundland in Canada. All the
indicators pointed to BIANCA's (www.biancas.net) just two blocks from
the ship and it turned out to be a wise choice. Friends of ours, from
nearby my hometown (in Westchester, NY) who had three girls that play
with Sam in the kid's club, joined us at what can be called real local
cuisine with flair.
We started with an amuse of EGGPLANT, ZUCCHINI Caponata Bruschetta
with a stripe of balsamic across the plate. If the main courses were
as good as this, all we be great. A bottle of SANCERRE 2009 from
Gitton Pere et Fils in the Loire was a great choice (wine can be SO
pricey in Canada because of the taxes!) with our seafood starters.
Raves came for the SNOW CRAB & SHRIMP BISQUE with Armagnac Essence,
Croutes and Sauce Rouille(which I did not taste). Will and I traded
halfway for the starters and the Toasted PUMPKIM SEED Crusted SCALLOPS
with Salsa di Pomodoro Aglio Fresca was the easy winner. This dish had
everything from tasty scallops perfectly prepared and even a small
hint of spice in the mouth after each bite (perfect with the
Sancerre). The SNOW CRAB CAKE with Garlic & Citrus Aioli and Basil Oil
Glace was a huge cake and nicely made, but we are so spoiled from our
divine almost pure crab cakes at home, that this was a bit of a let
down due to it being a bit breaded (even though much larger), although
the sauce was excellent.
We moved on to a YLLERA 2004 Tempranillo from Castilla y Leon in Spain
which was divine and smooth and tasty and absolutely perfect (well for
the 3 of us that ordered) with the FILET of CARIBOU with Fricassee of
Sun Dried CHERRIES, Bitter Chocolate, Potato Gnocchi and Sweet & Sour
Red Cabbage, It was a large and super tasty portion resembling a
slightly peppery mole sauce, but with the cherries added. PORCINI &
PECAN Crusted Cod with Roasted Peruvian Potatoes, Tomatoes, Smoked
Bacon & Green Pea Puree was about as good as cod can get, and this is
about the most popular of local fishes available far and wide in
Newfoundland & Labrador!
Our server Myron (when he saw me writing, he said his name was Bob!),
did a good job and kept us on time for our embarkation deadline. The
only minor problem was that we found ourselves pouring the white wine
from time to time. There was yummy bread with Sun Dried Tomato Butter
to mop up the super sauces and at the end of the meal when we asked if
there was a local dessert or ice wine he brought us over a taste of
Labrador's LADY of the WOODS Birch Sap Wine. When cold, it was half
decent, but upon warming had the smell of strawberries and the taste
of turpentine! Luckily, he steered us away from this and we went for
the Chateau Originac PINEAU de CHARENTES, a fare superior French
dessert wine. Alas, we missed some great Canadian icewine!
Desserts were decent, but win no prizes. I chose the CHOCOLATE PEANUT
BUTTER CREAM, Marshmallow, Graham Crackers, Peanut Rice Curry & Hot
Chocolate which was a deconstructed Smore.
The "cream" was actually a very rich thick fudge-like bar which was
just too rich and ganache-like for me.
The Sweet CARROT CAKE, Cream Cheese Icing, Candied Walnut Crunch,
Raisin Coulis and Cinnamon Stick Ice Cream got one rave and one "too
dry," so it's a wash on that, and the Blueberry & Lemon CREME BRULEE
seemed to be the best bet. We all enjoyed our last sips of wine and
headed back to the ships to be the last ones to board at 9:28pm (all
aboard was 9:30pm) and the ship sailed just 20 minutes later.
As we left, there was a lone soldier in 18th century garb at the
Queen's Barracks on Signal Hill (the military bastion that guards the
harbour) saluting us with a multi-gunfire salute as we left St. John's
& Newfoundland(we were in St. Anthony's the day before), where we had
such a great time touring and eating and meeting the ever so friendly
locals!
