Dining Aboard
 The Wind Star

 
A pyramid of cream-filled profiteroles towers over a dark chocolate torte, a key lime pie and the crème brûlées. Cream puff swans swim past miniature chocolate éclairs. The French apple pie sidles up to the homemade ice cream. Ah, dessert first. Wind Star really knows how to throw a party, and tonight both her pool deck and her guests are rigged out in tropical glad rags.

Actually, the starboard avalanche of shrimp, lobster and crab on ice is the banquet’s beginning, but the line forms port by the desserts. Athwart the seafood, a whole table of fresh-baked breads beckons with butter from France. If I stop right here—a piece of key lime pie, a pile of shellfish and some of that warm bread and butter—I’ll be home free or at least ready to jive with the hip band that’s revving up. However, a smell that’s bewitched me all afternoon draws me over to the whole roast pig. On the way, BBQ ribs and corn on the cob jumped onto my plate alongside more bread. A little chocolate éclair, an espresso and oh my. Cancel the disco.

Bambang, Boom, Ari and Toto launch all of Wind Star’s feasts. They’re the most delightful waiters. They make mealtimes convivial and informative—they know their food. Zomie Concepcion is in command. He worked his way up through the ranks of Windstar Cruises to become the Wind Star’s Executive Chef and ace appetizer man. Zomie spices happy hour with special offerings like Spanish tapas of potato tortillas, olive tapenade and marinated beef.

Prime time for Zomie and his crew is the evening meal. Served in the natty, nautical dining room, the five-course dinners are formal, but dress is "casually elegant" and the seating—both time and place—is open. This beautiful room is fitted out in marine blue with golden accents and teak ceilings. Silver, crystal and flowers embellish the set for the evening’s culinary drama.

In the dining room dinner begins at the beginning, with a choice of appetizers. Sevruga caviar with mini wild rice pancakes (blinis), asparagus and a dollop of crème fraîche is my personal favorite, but the smoked salmon with horseradish-spiked potato salad is a close second. Often, I skip the soup course to save room for dessert, but I’d never pass up the chilled sweet-sour-creamy carrot and lemongrass.

The menu changes nightly, although the house salad—Belgium endive topped with tomatoes, cukes and carrot curls—is always available. I rarely indulge, the special salads are too intriguing. I adore the romaine leaves wrapped with prosciutto ham and scattered with crispy polenta croutons.

Entrees cover the waterfront, not to mention the stock farm and vegetable patch. Every evening there’s a new spin on fresh fish. Swordfish is grilled, Ahi tuna is seared and Maine lobster is broiled. Chicken is grilled Basque-style, jerked the Jamaican way and made Moroccan with couscous and date jus. Chili-crusted pork tenderloin and Osso Bucco veal shanks join forces with beef in its prime rib, tenderloin and New York steak versions. There is even a classic surf and turf and the dearly-loved veal liver and onions. Pastas tempt with the likes of ship-made gnocchi with braised oxtail and baby artichokes. Vegetarian alternatives are not to be overlooked either, the Spanish vegetable paella took me right to a Mediterranean beach.

When I finally cry "lighten up," there’s Windstar’s Sail Light menu. Scrumptious moderation from soup to nuts—or at least desserts— was created by Jeanne Jones, who wrote the book on spa food for the Canyon Ranch Spa. Tonight, the salmon en pappilote wins my allegiance although the "not-light" warm chocolate soufflé cake with orange sherbet beats out the Sail Light poached pear with rum sauce. Last night the Sail Light prune and Armagnac ice cream won me over the rhubarb soup—whatever that was. Frankly, Zomie’s recommendations for dessert were usually right on—bittersweet chocolate and orange tart or lemon tart with mango sherbet.

Zomie gets a hand with menus from Joachim Splichal, the celebrity chef of L.A.’s Patina restaurant. Splichal develops the menus, then hops aboard to divulge his trade secrets in Windstar’s galleys. To keep fresh, Zomie works short stints in Splichal landlubber kitchens and takes refresher courses at the CIA—that would be the culinary gurus not the spies.

The variety, creativity and panache of the Wind Star’s food are impressive. Some of my meals were truly exceptional and while others didn’t quite make the mark, dining aboard was always a pleasure. After all, Bambang, Boom, Ari and Toto could always serve dessert first.

           By Kate Crawford  June 2002

LINKS WITH ATTITUDE

Check out a Wind Star Menu.