For some reason, I cannot bribe, threaten, or cajole my husband to going out to high tea with me. Fortunately, I am not alone in wedding a man who has an absurd aversion to pricey crustless finger sandwiches – my friend Catherine did too. So we decided to leave the boys behind and venture to the historic Queen Mary, the classic transatlantic cruise ship permanently docked as a floating museum in Long Beach.
Back in her heyday, dining aboard the Queen Mary was an extraordinary experience. First Class menus not only changed daily (can’t have the same thing twice!), the kitchen was expected to serve up any and all special requests. Some of the regular passengers would try to stump the kitchen by ordering the most exotic dishes they could think of, just to see if the chef could pull them off. Once, in the 1950’s, a diner sent a request for rattlesnake steak. You might think the chef would give up then and there, but no. The chef produced a dinner of freshwater eel and had the waiter shake a baby rattle while it was served!
Customer service has only gone down-hill from there – how could it not? But, Catherine and I were not disappointed in the least. Open faced finger sandwiches topped with watercress and caviar combined with a teapot that was never allowed to go empty made us positively giddy (yes, you absolutely can feel quite drunk on that much caffeine). Scones and petifores followed, and needless to say, we did not take a doggy bag home for the boys. If they want petifores, they’ll just have to come out with us next time.
Check out the Queen Mary’s archived original menus on their website.
What’s your favorite Girls’ Day Out adventure? Tell me in the comments, and don’t forget to join the link-love that is WanderFood Wednesday!
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