Had ADRs. Did Eat. . .Well! Part II

[sleepydog25]

When last we joined our intrepid tasting trio, they had been pleasantly surprised by the new selections at Roaring Fork and had been mightily pleased with their dinners at Brown Derby. If I was computer savvy, there'd be a nice little "link" to direct you to said reviews. Instead, you get this ugly one: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1135812

We now join our regularly scheduled broadcast already in progress.

Day 3: Though we started the day with EMH at Magic Kingdom (Kingdom, kingdom, kingdom. . .) , our dinner ressies were in Canada's basement, aka TRFKALeC. Having recently read numerous posts about the less than stellar service at Le Cellier, I was a bit nervous even though we arrived for our 6:30 ADR 20 minutes early (even tossing in a chance encounter with that ferocious grizzly Kenai; DD5 told us not to worry that she'd Power Rangerize Kenai if he got out of hand). However, my fears proved ungrounded as we were seated in less than 10 minutes. Our server Carla (who was very attentive and friendly) mentioned we were seated in the New Brunswick area. . .okayyy. I spent the rest of the night attempting to plumb the reason for assigning such sections when to my knowledge no one gets any different food or treatment. Now, if Carla had said, "you can only order food and wine off the part of the menu marked 'New Brunswick' it might have made sense. Wouldn't have had much choice, but hey, the seating would have made more sense. Yet, I digress once again.

Seat #1, er, I mean Princess Daughter had the child's appetizer to start, naturally it was the cheese soup. And her mother followed suit with an adult's portion. Me? I had the Prince Edward Island mussels that was served chowder style with bits of ham and potatoes--it was absolutely delicious! There was just enough of the chowder-like sauce in the bottom of the huge bowl of mussels to emphasize the smoky nature of the mussels. If you love mussels, order two bowls and make it your dinner. The cheddar cheese soup--drum roll, please--was just okay to me. The taste was good but far too salty for my personal desires. Still, the wife declared it "scrumptious." And then there are the much-ballyhooed pretzel breadsticks. Again, they were good, but not great to us personally.

Our entrees came a bit later (timing was excellent for those who keep track of those sorts of things), and once again the daughter chose chicken strips with corn. We made sure she ate the corn to offset the growing of chicken nuggets/strips out of her ears. C'mon Disney, offer a small steak and more grilled items on kids' menus, okay? My wife had steak again, this time the whopping 14-oz NY strip which was cooked just right--medium rare--that came with roasted Yukon gold potatoes. Very good as it should be in a steak house. I went with the prized (though often criticized) wild mushroom filet with mushroom risotto served with a white truffle & herb beurre blanc. I don't denigrate others' views about not liking this same meal, but mine was superb. The meat was tender, plenty big for a meal (News flash! Filets are not meant to be served in 16-oz portions.), and was made further wonderful by the dreamy beurre blanc. If anything, the dish is a bit too rich. I paired my steak with a glass of Charmes merlot, while the wife had the Triggs cabernet. Her cab was actually more appropriate for the meal than my merlot, though it was the suggested wine on the menu. Our daughter had a 2006 Sprite which had just enough body to cleanse the palate with her chicken. She did say it should age another year, however.

Speaking of wine, the wine list at LeC is good, but not terribly extensive. They feature a lot of Canadian wines (both of ours were such) with which I am not familiar. The wife's cab was luscious, full-bodied, and had plenty of berry notes. My merlot was a bit thin, though still good, but it didn't hold up well with the filet as one would hope. It needed a bit of that cabernet signature cedar taste with a bit more finish than it had. Overall, our service at LeC was excellent as was the food. We weren't rushed, had enjoyable conversations with diners next to us, and would certainly make this a repeat visit place without hesitation based on this one night.
Le Cellier:

Day 4: I'm throwing in another bonus review here: the PSB at Akershus. It remains one of our favorite breakfast meals. We always make 8:30 reservations, always arrive as early as possible, and we've had three consecutive good experiences. Expecting a crush of folks such as we had encountered each prior day (Monday & Tuesday), we were amazed to find how uncrowded the breakfast was to start. We were the second table to be seated and upon first entering the castle, we were greeted by Belle in her ball gown who was taking pics with each little girl (and a few grown women, too!). The food, as has been the case each visit, was hot, tasty (man, I gotta learn how to make those cheesy potatoes!), and plentiful. Our server was attentive and the character interaction was good. For the record, we had Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, and Mary Poppins. Our little immediately pointed out how MP was NOT a princess, but we said she WAS magical, so that should count for something. PSB: (out of four)

After bopping around EPCOT, we headed to the room for a quick respite before taking on the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (or as the daughter says, "bibbibi bobbibi booteek"). I know it's not a meal, but it's worth mentioning at this point since it DOES require a reservation. I will talk more about this profound experience in my trip report (yet to be filed), but suffice to say now that it is a very crowded venue and that you must allow lots of extra time should you be planning an ADR around it. Oh, yes. . .we had done just that!

We interrupt our reviews to allow Dad to go make breakfast for lovely princess. . .tune in soon to catch the final installment of "Had ADRs. Did Eat. . .Well!

[pperfectmom]

Oh, I loved your reviews and your style. Thanks for including the wine reviews also. Most people don't bother with that, but, to me, the drink is as important as the food. I'll definately remember not to get the merlot with my filet in September. I'm more of a cabernet sauvignon kind of gal anyway. Were you on the DP? I'm curious as to whether we should use a TS credit for DD at LC. Did they let your DD order any appetizer off the list? Wasn't there a steak on the child's menu? And, most importantly, did you all have dessert? Thanks.

[Cocomisu]

Can I second the thank you for the wine details?

[pplasky]

Originally Posted by sleepydog25

our dinner ressies were in Canada's basement,

Seat #1, er, I mean Princess Daughter had the child's appetizer to start, naturally it was the cheese soup.

Our entrees came a bit later (timing was excellent for those who keep track of those sorts of things), and once again the daughter chose chicken strips with corn. We made sure she ate the corn to offset the growing of chicken nuggets/strips out of her ears. C'mon Disney, offer a small steak and more grilled items on kids' menus, okay?


Le Cellier:

All of your reviews have been very good so far.

Were there other apps for the kids besides cheese soup. I thought there was steak on the kids menu at Le Cellier??? How about desserts? We are trying to carefully choose where we eat based on our children and might need to pay for one of their meals out of pocket. If the menu is a limited as you seem to make it for them, we may skip it or use this one to pay for out of pocket.

[Betsyt82]

There was a grilled steak in the kids menu in March. Unless they have changed that.

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Thanks for the funny and good reviews!

[Aimeedyan]

Thanks for the 2nd round of reviews!

[ufgator]

Thanks for the great and funny reviews. I'm glad you mentioned about the timing - it is important. I liked your comments about the 2006 sprite needing to age more.

[sleepydog25]

Originally Posted by pperfectmom

Oh, I loved your reviews and your style. Thanks for including the wine reviews also. Most people don't bother with that, but, to me, the drink is as important as the food. I'll definately remember not to get the merlot with my filet in September. I'm more of a cabernet sauvignon kind of gal anyway. Were you on the DP? I'm curious as to whether we should use a TS credit for DD at LC. Did they let your DD order any appetizer off the list? Wasn't there a steak on the child's menu? And, most importantly, did you all have dessert? Thanks.

Actually, I'm suffering from a cold I caught down at Walt's World, so my brain is veering when it should be tacking straight. Yes, they DO have steak on the kids' menu at LeC, and usually our daughter would eat that, but for some reason she opted for chicken. I actually meant to commend the restaurant for providing something different instead of my incorrect statement that they didn't have it. Mea culpa.

Yes, drink is as important as the meal if you're talking about wine. Though LeC's list could have been more extensive, it is still better than your average steakhouse by a long shot. You won't find any typical grocery store varieties at LeC, and most of the offerings are in the $40 - $80 per bottle range, glasses from $7.75 and up. Normally, I'm a cab guy, too--full-bodied, luscious, and seductive--the wine that is. I opted for the suggested pairing but I think the merlot just needed more structure, more depth to carry the truffle beurre blanc. Just my opinion, of course.

We were not on the DDP since two of the five places we ate were 2TS, and we don't eat much CS nor snacks in the parks, preferring to bring our own water (is it just me or is the water in Orlando/Disney World stinky tasting and smelling? No offense to you fine folks who live there.) and snacks. So, I can't answer any DP questions.

As for dessert, once again it was simply a slip of the mental gears (which were largely stripped years ago) again. Thanks for reminding me how feeble my brain has become! Our daughter had the delectable Chocolate Moose which was just as cute as the many pics I've seen of it on here. Wifey and I shared the Chef's Dessert Trio which was superb! Served on a single platter, the dessert consisted of a small slice of the Happiest Celebration on Earth Chocolate Whiskey Cake (henceforth known as HCECWC--no, that's too long, too. Call it Le Cake.) The Le Cake was moist, very chocolatey, though I didn't detect much of a whiskey note at all. The orange marmalade on top added quite a nice contrast of taste. Additionally, there was a maple creme brulee which was quite good, and a small scoop of raspberry sorbet which was the perfect complement to the other two heavier desserts. The price for the trio is $12 which we thought was a decent bargain given you get three for one. . .bargain being a relative term at Disney, of course.

Were there other apps for the kids besides cheese soup.

Honestly, I can't remember but I'm pretty sure there was at least one more appie selection. The child's menu isn't extensive, however, which is largely the case everywhere in D'World.

Can I second the thank you for the wine details?

Certainly!

I liked your comments about the 2006 sprite needing to age more.

She's a little young for the wine aspect, but I'm training her early!

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the review. We eat at Le Cellier just about every trip. I have never had a bad steak there.

[jezebella]

Great review! Really appreciate the wine notation as well! In my mind I'm a sommelier...in everyone else's I'm just a wine-o! Anyways...awesome review and I'm really looking forward now to one of our honeymoon meals!

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

[lexmelinda]

Thanks for the great reviews. Your reports are intelligent, funny and well written. I seriously hope you are not only composing your dining reviews but a trip report as well. You're my kind of writer....and your spelling is fabulous, too!

[NMW]

Thanks for the reviews! I loved the wine review!

[lovesdumbo]

Thanks for the great review. I was getting nervous about all the negative reviews on service at LeC but now I can make my ADR without worry.