Sunshine Seasons: Dinner Review

Amanda descends to Le Cellier for Canadian cuisine

- Amanda L, February 27, 2011

We arrived at Le Cellier, announced ourselves at the podium, and within five minutes our names were called.

While we were waiting, a guy attempted to get a walk-up reservation but was flatly turned down. The hosts weren't even nice about it. In fact, the hosts seemed grumpy that night, though for us it really didn't matter since our interaction with them at the podium took all of five seconds.

Our server, Ashley, was friendly, personable, and not hovering over us but always nearby. She even turned my Diet Coke into a hidden Mickey!

For his drink, Andrew had the Red Maple ($4.69), a raspberry smoothie with a splash of Sprite. It was completely fabulous even though he did not get a hidden Mickey with his drink!

Appetizers

We tried all three of the breadsticks that were placed on our table with the drinks.

I didn't care for the sourdough breadstick, but the multigrain and pretzel breadsticks were tasty. Andrew was all about the pretzel, so Ashley brought us out a couple more of those.

In retrospect, one breadstick would have been MORE than adequate!

We'd heard so much hoopla about the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup ($6.29) that we knew we'd be ordering it as our appetizer. Unoriginal, yes; but crazy delicious.

I was in heaven.

Entrees

For dinner, Andrew had the Coffee-rubbed Kansas City Strip Steak with Hazelnut Butter and Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes ($32.99), cooked medium. Andrew isn't much of a steak eater, so I'm not sure he liked it as much as he said he did.

After we got home, he said he probably wouldn't order it again - but he did eat a lot of it while we were there. So... mixed bag.

I had the Mushroom Filet Mignon with Wild Mushroom Risotto, White Truffle, and Herb Butter Sauce ($35.99), cooked medium-rare.

Whoever had the fat kid idea to put butter on steak... I salute you. The butter from the steak seeped into the potatoes as I cut into them and made them even creamier and richer.

I give it an enthusiastic HELL YES!

The steak was perfectly cooked and every speck of meat was edible, with no gristle or other nasty meat business.

I did notice that the food was on the salty side. I wouldn't have thought anything of it except that I'd read a few comments about the saltiness of Le Cellier food. I'm kind of a sodium addict, so it wasn't a big deal for me - but it's worth noting in case it would be a big deal for you.

Dessert

Even though I was full, I ordered the Bumbleberry Cobbler with an Oatmeal Streusel and Cheesecake Ice Cream ($6.99) for my dessert.

I chose it because bumbleberry (which means blueberry/raspberry, for those who don't live in the sticks like we do) is one of my favorites, and I'd already eaten like 3029842984 calories worth of cream cheese, so why not enjoy some more in my ice cream?

I think there were also some apples or peaches in the cobbler, which I wasn't expecting, and they were still on the crunchy side, not nearly as soft as the berries. The crunch was a letdown. But the sweet and creamy ice cream mixed with the tart berries and oatmeal crumb topping, well, THAT was a winner.

Andrew had the Campfire S'mores ($5.99) which consisted of a Chocolate Brownie, Graham Crackers, and Roasted Marshmallows with Vanilla Ice Cream arranged beautifully on the plate.

He was more in awe over the presentation than he was the taste. He didn't call it gross or anything, but I could just tell...

Amanda is a student in Maine, which she considers unfairly far away from Disney World. At this time, she only experiences the Magic every few years but looks forward to becoming a regular and fueling her Disney addiction.

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