I Left My Heart at the Norwegian Escape Breakfast Buffet

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Have you ever stumbled upon great food in an unexpected place? It has happened to me a few times, but seldom do I crave it on such a consistent basis as the one time I was surprised by a cruise line’s breakfast buffet.

 

The ship was the Norwegian Escape. It was the fall of 2017 and it was my first cruise in years. I was travelling with my wife and my travel buddies Paul and Stephanie. Now, it was already a given that the food on Norwegian was going to be good. I just didn’t expect to be blown away by a buffet.

 

For the first couple days, my wife and I were ignorant to the mecca that existed only a few decks above our cabin. We opted for a light breakfast through room service those mornings, and we enjoyed coffee and fruit on the balcony in the salty Caribbean breeze.

 

As I had mentioned, the food on the Escape is INCREDIBLE. We dined in the Manhattan Room on the first night, one of their included meal options. Despite battling a little vertigo from my first day at sea, I was able to enjoy my meal. On the second night, we tried one of their specialty restaurants, Moderno, which is an authentic Brazilian able to eat my fill of succulent beef, pork, chicken, and lamb, perfectly marinated and roasted on a spit. The other specialty restaurants, Cagney’s Steakhouse, Teppanyaki hibachi grill, La Cuchina Italian cuisine, and Food Republic sushi were also amazing food highlights of the onboard tour-de-force of culinary excellence.

 

But yet, years later, I find myself craving none of those places like I crave the breakfast buffet. On day 3 we opted to try the breakfast buffet upstairs on the lido deck. For starters, it had absolutely everything. Now, I’m not talking a resort-style Sunday Brunch, here, mind you. No crab legs and prime rib and bottomless mimosas here, although we did have the Unlimited Beverage Package, so I could have had the mimosas if I wanted. No this was just simple breakfast items. Eggs cooked several ways, as well as to order, omelets, endless breakfast meats, biscuits, gravy, fruit, danishes, muffins, beans for authentic English breakfast, and even some Indian and Middle Eastern breakfast fare. But then, two things blew me away.

 

First of all, the hash browns were not really traditional hash browns. They were like little mini potato latkes, with onion and a unique blend of spices that I have not had anywhere else before. These things were so delicious that I completely changed my plans for the rest of the cruise to make sure I had time for breakfast in the buffet. On day 5 I discovered that they are even better smothered in gravy, and I regretted not discovering it sooner. Granted, this is extremely unhealthy, but I am admittedly a large fellow, and even though I had been dieting, I always give myself a free pass when I travel.

 

As amazing as the hash brown rounds were, there was still one more item that stole the show. While perusing the buffet I happened upon a soup station that had oatmeal, warm milk, and cream of wheat. Not a fan of those items I continued along, filling my plate. As I made my way around the buffet I approached another soup station, which I nearly stormed past, if it hadn’t been for a five-letter word a southern boy transplanted to Arizona could never ignore: GRITS. Now, I’ve had bad grits before -- living in Arizona they are unfortunately quite common -- but for the most part they are passable. So with that in mind, I tried them. Folks, these are NOT bad grits. In fact, these were the best grits I had had in a long time.

 

So, cholesterol counts aside, the breakfast buffet on the Norwegian Escape was and still is, in my book, one of the finest breakfast I have ever had. Even with all the amazing, delectable tastes on board this massive ship, I am a slave to potato rounds and grits. I cannot wait to return to the ship to experience it once again.

 

- Ed Gates