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Royal kummelweck sandwich


John63

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The kummelweck sandwich has “evolved” (and not in a good way, IMO) from its earliest incarnation.  The last couple of times we tried it, we were so disappointed that we just gave up.  They have obviously downgraded the beef b/c it is way chewier and fattier than it used to be.  Also, long gone is the good au jus that they used to serve which has been replaced with a nasty thick gravy.  Ugh.

Hopefully you’ll have better luck with the kummelweck than we did.  Such a shame, really b/c it was a really unique and enjoyable quick bite to grab.  It used to be our go-to embarkation lunch.

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I had it on Allure, with gravy, and was impressed enough to get it 2 more times. Many months later I tried on Indy as they had it as a boarding day special......it was horrible. I should have gotten it on Harmony to compare but was star class and had too much of the other foods. Although there isn't a park cafe on Mariner, they too had it as a boarding day special. It was horrible, nothing but greasy fat. So, if you are on a ship that has park cafe, try it.

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I had it on Oasis in Park Cafe and on Anthem in Two70.  I like it, I do wish they’d cut off the fat. I ask for extra gravy, so it’s a mess, get extra napkins if you do this.

the amount of meat on the sand which-I feel varies on the person slicing or perhaps if they are trying to stretch it (or a combo?)  I’ve had 2 thick slices of 2 slices so thin it’s almost a “deli slice”. Once or twice 3 thick slices (not enjoyable).  Don’t forget, at least on these 2 ships, they have the little bags of chips-type varies -hidden-you must ask if you want them.  

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3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The kummelweck sandwich has “evolved” (and not in a good way, IMO) from its earliest incarnation.  The last couple of times we tried it, we were so disappointed that we just gave up.  They have obviously downgraded the beef b/c it is way chewier and fattier than it used to be.  Also, long gone is the good au jus that they used to serve which has been replaced with a nasty thick gravy.  Ugh.

Hopefully you’ll have better luck with the kummelweck than we did.  Such a shame, really b/c it was a really unique and enjoyable quick bite to grab.  It used to be our go-to embarkation lunch.

My better half and I agree.

On our Wonder sailing this past March, we noticed a big drop-off in the meat quality. It could also be a result of cooking the meat at too high of a temperature too quickly instead of low and slow.

What seemed to make it a little better was to ask for double gravy.

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1 hour ago, OutToSea said:

just hope the hot dogs and sausage are still good at the hotdog stand I remember them being good

 

We were on the May 13th on Ovation.  The sausage was okay but seriously over boiled/cooked, the buns came right out of the frig and a serious lack of condiments, no relish, mayo, just catsup and yellow mustard .  Hopefully its gotten better.

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I do like the sandwich. But have had mixed experiences depending on the ship. On my allure OTS sailing i thought it was amazing (but this could be just first time bias). Then on the my Anthem OTS sailing at cafe 270 i thought this was average. But my family on their first sailing was amazed by it (again first time bias possible). On my most recent sailing on the Oasis OTS, i had it again and thought it was ok while my family didn't care for it compared to their previous sailing.

I think there could be some first time amazement when you try it and depending on the ship some hit or misses. But like with everything in life don't knock it till you try it. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I had a version of this once at an Anchor Bar chain in Orange CA, which I heard does not compare to the original location in Buffalo.  I will say the wings (and I've had plenty of wings growing up in NYC) were FANTASTIC!!  The sandwich was ok and barely had any caraway seeds on it. 

I'm sad to hear the ones on Royal have gone downhill.  I hope people have mentioned this in their post cruise surveys?  Anyway,  I plan to give it a try on Harmony this Nov and I'm sure my other half won't bother since she doesn't like caraway seeds.  She grew up in SoCal, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.. ha ha!

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Definitely a your milage may vary situation. Give the piece of meat they are slicing from a good look beforehand. Look at the previous persons serving if you can. If the hunk of meat sits for too long under that heat lamp it gets dry. If they slice it with the grain, it will be tough no matter what. If it looks dry to me or they are slicing it wrong, I'll get something else. If it looks okay, you can ask them to slice it thin. They may not have the knife skills to do it, but you can ask. It's better if they cut it thinly. They also seem to want to skimp on the amount, so you can ask for another slice. They could say no, but usually they will oblige. It's not a very authentic Kummelweck, but it okay when the stars align, you get a good carver, and the beef is not overcooked and dry.

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I tried it on the Oasis of the Seas back in May and it was good, but...I wouldn't say I'm "tantalized" as the Royal Caribbean Press article says. It's sliced beef in a roll, so...it really rides on how good the beef is. For me, the roll seemed stale. Actually, that was a problem throughout that sailing. The rolls were often hard, but sometimes I'd get one that was soft like it was freshly baked.

 

Overall, it's free, so definitely worth a try. Maybe the quality varies ship-to-ship.

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20 minutes ago, Lexster said:

I tried it on the Oasis of the Seas back in May and it was good, but...I wouldn't say I'm "tantalized" as the Royal Caribbean Press article says. It's sliced beef in a roll, so...it really rides on how good the beef is. For me, the roll seemed stale. Actually, that was a problem throughout that sailing. The rolls were often hard, but sometimes I'd get one that was soft like it was freshly baked.

 

Overall, it's free, so definitely worth a try. Maybe the quality varies ship-to-ship.

Quality does vary ship-to-ship and I think that is the problem. I had an amazing couple on Allure but then they had them at lunch on Freedom and Indy, it was all fat and no meat. The rolls were different too. 

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On 7/14/2022 at 9:48 PM, Moby Dick said:

We were on the May 13th on Ovation.  The sausage was okay but seriously over boiled/cooked, the buns came right out of the frig and a serious lack of condiments, no relish, mayo, just catsup and yellow mustard .  Hopefully its gotten better.

Mayo on a hot dog or sausage????  

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On 7/14/2022 at 1:32 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

The kummelweck sandwich has “evolved” (and not in a good way, IMO) from its earliest incarnation.  The last couple of times we tried it, we were so disappointed that we just gave up.  They have obviously downgraded the beef b/c it is way chewier and fattier than it used to be.  Also, long gone is the good au jus that they used to serve which has been replaced with a nasty thick gravy.  Ugh.

Hopefully you’ll have better luck with the kummelweck than we did.  Such a shame, really b/c it was a really unique and enjoyable quick bite to grab.  It used to be our go-to embarkation lunch.

I found it was chewy and fatty too.  Still an ok sandwich, but not the "big deal" like I had heard it was!  Jane

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