Culinary Quest

My girlfriend and I arrive at the Moshulu 20 minutes early for our 7:00 PM reservations.  From Penn's Landing, the Moshulu is the grandest sailing ship I have ever seen.  There are a great many people boarding both fore and aft, either for the restaurant or the Bongo Bar and Deck, respectively.  As we board the ship, I feel as though I am walking into the past.  The Moshulu has been refurbished to the glory of the luxury sailing ships of the early 20th century.  Everything from the hand-buffed woodwork to the plush chairs in the lobby speaks of a bygone era when luxury cruises across the Atlantic were the fashionable thing to do.  The view into the climate-controlled wine cellar allows us to see a few of the splendid vintages offered onboard.  Displayed front and center is a bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac.  I can't even imagine the waves of ecstasy that would overtake me if I were to enjoy but a taste.  

 

The restaurant is very busy, and we are asked to wait a moment while a table is prepared for us.  This allows us to walk around a bit.  On the deck above, we are able to view the activity at the Bongo Bar & Deck.  There is live music tonight with an Island beat.  The panoramic views of the city, the Delaware River, and New Jersey are gorgeous.  The immense size of the Moshulu can be appreciated from this vantage point as I allow my eyes to trace the lines of the ship from fore to aft.  The masts tower above my head.  There will be an Independence Day Fireworks Celebration here the last weekend in June, and I can only imagine how spectacular the fireworks will look from the Bongo Deck.

I return to the lower deck to find that the hostess is ready to seat us.  We are led to a table with a view of the river.  This is both very pleasant and quite romantic in the evening hours.  We are handed our menus and the impressive wine list of over 125 wines.  Our server arrives presently, introduces herself, and takes our water order.  My girlfriend and I marvel at the flavor combinations on the menu:  goat cheese with candied pecans, red seedless grapes, sun dried cranberries, Fuji apples, and jalapeño lime cilantro dressing; roasted Maui pineapple with Kona coffee BBQ sauce;  crab with caramelized onion, Haricot Vert shaved fennel salad, Chardonnay whole grain mustard Vin Blanc; Jail Island Salmon with lump crabmeat, flash seared asparagus, lemon aioli, creamy saffron orzo, and peppered port reduction, to name a few.

Our server returns to ask if we would like to have anything to drink besides our water and informs us of the evening's specials.  I ask what her favorite dishes are, making a point to query about the specials.  Our server has obviously paid attention when given the opportunity to taste the ship's fare.  She has probably even enjoyed a meal or two onboard in her own time.  Not only was she able to let us know which dishes she preferred, she was also able to inform us of the more popular dishes among other customers.  Then she told us, quite honestly, which dishes she would not recommend based upon her own experiences, noting that this was only her opinion.  An honest server is a valuable asset for a restaurant to find.  The Moshulu is very lucky to have found this young woman.  We ask for a moment to decide on our orders having these new items to consider.

After a moment's thought, I choose to begin my meal with the Nottinghamshire Stilton Blue Cheese & Watercress Salad, served with citrus roasted organic beets, candied pistachios, navel oranges, walnut vinaigrette, and spiced Port syrup.  My entree will be White Crescent Duck Breast prepared with scallion Jasmine rice, organic baby spinach, Maui golden pineapple salsa, and sweet chile duck jus.   

My server returns to the table to take our orders.  Having examined the wine list, I was unable to decide on an appropriate complement to my meal.  Therefore, I ask that the server decide upon a wine for me.  My best guess is that she will choose either a Riesling or a Zinfandel, the traditional selections for duck.  The wine list is replete with both, so I am certain to receive a fine wine. 

I notice that the restaurant is extremely busy with not an empty table to be seen.  This is to be expected on weekend nights, so I would strongly urge you to make reservations as soon as possible for a weekend dinner at the Moshulu.  The noise level is very high, in spite of the capacity seating, so conversation is possible at normal volumes. 

My salad arrives, and I am taken by the sheer size of dish.  I had expected to receive a less dramatic presentation given that I ordered a salad.  Instead, before me sat a beautifully presented plate of all of the elements described in the menu, ornately arranged on and around a large portion of watercress.  The colors combined to create an artistic scene of orange, burgundy, white, blue, greens, and browns.  And the salad tasted as fabulous as it looked!  The sweet oranges and the buttery Stilton blue cheese played on my palate.  The crunchy sweet pistachios and the tart roasted beets provided texture and flavor juxtaposition.  And the combination of the walnut vinaigrette and the spiced Port syrup bound all of the other flavors together flawlessly with the mustardy watercress.

My girlfriend and I notice that one of our server's other tables is giving her trouble at this point.  Our server, however, is handling herself with aplomb, being very polite, smiling, and accommodating the customers in any and every way possible.  We can overhear the customers' demands and language and we are astonished that the server is taking the abuse as well as she is.  When the server comes to our table a few moments later to check on us, she is visibly shaken, but still wears a smile and makes   polite conversation.  This is a sign of a true professional.  She refills our water glasses before leaving us.

Our appetizer dishes are cleared, and we have a few moments to chat before our server approaches with our wines.  My server brings a Baron Philippe de Rothchild Mouton Cadet, Bordeaux, France, 2003, for me.  The wine has a purple tinge, but is a very appealing color.  The nose is extraordinary!  I find a heavy blackberry-cherry bouquet with a hint of pepper.  Tasting the wine, the blackberry is the predominant flavor, with but an echo of the black pepper in the aftertaste.  The tannins are evident, but not overpowering, and the wine seems very well concentrated in its flavor complexity.  The finish is brief and supple.  A magnificent wine, but I can not imagine how well it will go with the duck.  

Soon, the White Crescent Duck is placed before me.  The large duck breast, cooked medium rare at my server's suggestion, rests atop the steamed, sweet, organic baby spinach.  The duck breast is dressed with the Maui golden pineapple salsa, and finished with the sweet chile duck jus.  To the side sits a formed cake of scallion Jasmine rice.   The presentation is beautiful and fragrant.  There is a thin  layer of fat evident under the duck's skin, obviously due to the shorter cooking time. 

I taste the duck first.  I do not think that this dish should be ordered any other way than medium rare.  It is moist and succulent.  The skin is crisp.  The think layer of fat is neither obvious, nor distracting; and the flavor of the duck itself stands out exactly the way that it should--as duck.  In combination with the sweet pineapple salsa, the duck becomes even more pleasant to the palate.  I get the sweetness first on my tongue, followed by the duck, and then the combination.  Since the sweet chile duck jus is in play as well, I catch the spicy-sweetness of this as almost an afterthought that wraps itself around the whole.  The classic duck l'orange has nothing on this dish. 

I am a big fan of spinach, so I anticipate the next bite anxiously.  The vegetable is sweet and flavorful.  It has absorbed a bit of the sweet chile duck jus, so it carries the spicy-sweetness of the sauce to the tongue and palate as well.  This taste combination is marvelous.  In combination with the duck, the spinach works as a great flavor enhancer. 

The scallion Jasmine rice smells delicious.  The scallion and Jasmine both stand out in each bite when the rice is tasted alone.  In combination with the jus, the flavors meld to create a playground of tastes that dance among the taste buds.  The Jasmine, scallion, pineapple, jus, and duck together are like a kaleidoscope.  I taste everything together, yet separately.  This dish is a masterpiece.

Now I try the wine with the entree.  They are an extremely good match.  The strong blackberry of the wine complements the flavors of the pineapple salsa, the duck, and the jus wonderfully.  The wine is very dry which, for some reason, seems quite appropriate for the White Crescent Duck's flavors.  I will have to thank my server for her wine selection.

The server checks on us while we enjoy our entrees and refills our waters.  We thank her for her marvelous wine selections and make conversation with her about her experience with wines.  I find out that she makes a point to learn as much about the wines served on the ship, as well as wines in general, in order to place her among the finer servers.  I am duly impressed.  She is very pleasant to speak with and quite charming.

Our plates are cleared once we have finished eating.  The server brings us dessert menus that contain desserts, Ports, after dinner drinks, dessert wines, coffees, and beers.  Each of the desserts sounds delicious, but my attention is drawn to the Grand Chocolate Tasting.  The menu describes this treat as a warm chocolate tart, chocolate sorbet, black magic cake, trio of ganaches, and chocolate surprise.  My chocoholic alarm goes off!  How can I consider any other dessert?  But what should I order to drink with it?  I am, of course, a diehard fan of Port, and the Moshulu has a fine selection of this delectable liquid.  However, is there any chance that I can find a way to rationalize a taste of the Remy Martin Louis XIII?  As much as I wish this to be possible, I have not yet won the Powerball, so I will have to wait until my next visit.  The dessert menu suggests the Warres Vintage 1980 Port to accompany my dessert selection, so I will go with that.

My server arrives to take our dessert orders and informs me that the ship is out of the Warres Vintage 1980 at the moment.  I ask her to surprise me with something comparable, feeling confident in her abilities by this point.  In a matter of moments, she returns bearing a Sandeman Vau Vintage 1999 for me.  Excitedly, I examine my Port.  The color is a deep mulberry.  The Port caresses my palate with gentle tannins.  The flavor structure is well developed and deep.  The robust berries and playful spice gave this Port an enchanting feel.  A well-balanced Port that is very drinkable now, though a few more years of aging in the bottle may provide some benefit as well. 

Our desserts are brought to the table deserving some fanfare.  My Grand Chocolate Tasting is grand, indeed.  The statuary that has been created using chocolate confections, cakes, and pastries is almost too attractive to eat.  I do not want to insult Chef Rich, though, so I set about tasting each element of the dessert. 

At the bottom of a chocolate slide rests an egg-shaped chocolate sorbet that is absolutely decadent.  I taste my Port and find that it matches the sorbet marvelously.  The chocolate slide reminds me of a cookie wafer and is especially tasty when eaten with the sorbet.  Again, the Port is a magnificent flavor enhancer.  The warm chocolate tart has a berry filling underneath the chocolate top.  The crust is light and buttery.  The berry-chocolate combination is not a new concept, but as presented in this tart, they are a stroke of genius.  The strong berry flavors of the Port are a perfect fit with the tart.  I wonder what a blackberry-chocolate pie would taste like.  Sticking through a hole in the slide is an orange and white swirl of sorts.  I taste it and find it to be a white chocolate treat.  Poised at the top of the slide on the peak of the black magic cake is what appears to be the chocolate surprise.  This turns out to be a dark chocolate candy of sorts--the most delicious kind of chocolate, filled with even more creamy dark chocolate.  The flavor surrounds my tongue and fills my mouth.  Port and dark chocolate are natural matches, so I am not surprised by my findings.  Finally, I taste the black magic cake.  This is a four-layer dark chocolate cake with three different chocolate creams between the layers.  Ernie Rich is not overstating his case by calling this cake "magic."  The chocolate cake is absolutely divine.  The chocolate creams each create a different experience with the cake.  My girlfriend leans over to tell me that I have "that look" on my face.  I tell her that I want this cake for my birthday, if Chef Rich will make one for me.  The Sandeman Vau Vintage and the black magic cake go together like Fred and Ginger.  The way that the Port accentuates each flavor in the cake, bringing out the various chocolate's characters individually is astonishing.  I am not neglecting the ganaches on the plate, of course.  They are very tasty as well; however, in comparison to the major players on the stage, they are but extras on the set.