Bury Me On Space Mountain! - A 6 night Mommy and Me TR

[katie26]

Okay, after suffering through my Ministry of Silly Hats joke, I think y'all are entitled to the conclusion of this Very Special Episode of Will We Get Into Le Cellier?

"I could have sworn the reservation was one o'clock!" I whined. But somewhere in the back of my head, a (very dim) lightbulb went on. I remembered thinking, "Hmm... that's an odd time to dine, but since it's the only reservation left all week, I suppose we could take it..." when I made the ressie. Could it really have been for noon? (Note: upon return to the hotel, I double-checked and yeah, they were right... it was for noon.)

"Hang on a few minutes," the hostess said. "We'll see if we can fit you in somewhere." Mom and I held our breath, me feeling like a complete moron, while she went to check.

She returned a moment later. "No problem, we can squeeze you in," she said, "It's just going to be a bit of a wait."

"No problem!" we replied. And it wasn't even much of a wait in the end... ten minutes and we were at our table, pretzel bread in hand.

Our waiter was this really cool surfer dude who kept saying "awesome!" and "right on!" which was totally adorable. ("I'll start with the cheese soup." "Awesome!" "I'll have the same." "Right on!")

The hotly anticipated and much-awaited cheese soup was a bit of a disappointment. It was tasty, sure, but a little bit too thick and bland for both of us. I thought the texture was more along the lines of cheese fondue than cheese soup, so I used it as a dip for the breadsticks and managed to save some room for my entree. I think Mom sort of felt the same way - it was okaaaay, but not OMGamazing!!

The mushroom filet, on the other hand? OMGamazing!! I thought it was totally heavenly - perfectly medium rare, and resting atop a creamy, al dente mushroom risotto. Mom thought hers was a little undercooked, but also enjoyed hers quite a bit.

Though we'd had identical orders for appies and mains, we diverged on dessert. I had the maple creme brulee, which I thought was really fantastic - it had a nice, pure maple flavor and a brittle, tasty, slightly burnt brulee'd crust. Mom had the tangerine sorbet, which was a bit on the too-sweet side. (I thought it was great and intensely flavorful, but I did only have a bite.)

We thanked the hostess profusely on our way out, and kept going around the World...

 

[MEK]

thanks for the update. Love all your hats. So glad you got into Le Cellier! Sounds yummy!

 

[MEK]

Katie -

I hope you post again soon. I really love your pictures and I can even see them on the computer at work. I don't know why, because I can't see anyone elses'. So, please, post again

 

[katie26]

Katie -

I hope you post again soon. I really love your pictures and I can even see them on the computer at work. I don't know why, because I can't see anyone elses'. So, please, post again

Aww, I'm sorry! I have been slacking, for sure. I think part of the reason why is that I got super gun-shy about using my camera after the Great Unexplained Deletions happened and I don't have very many good pictures left! But I'll return tomorrow to keep going... pinky swear.

Next up is dinner at Citricos - again! - and our quest for Jon the waiter.

 

[katie26]

Actually, as long as I'm here - might as well finish up the dinner report!

Our dinner that night was supposed to be at the Flying Fish, but we'd had such a great time at Citricos a few evenings before... and our awesome waiter, Jon, had mentioned that he'd be working on Sunday night... and hey, it's Disney! If you can't do whatever you feel like doing here, then where can you?! So we called up Disney Dining, canceled our FF reservations like good Disney citizens and booked a late dinner at Citricos.

When we arrived, we mentioned to the hostess that we'd like to be seated in Jon's section, if possible. Click click click on the keyboards, and the hostess said... "We can seat you with Jon, but it'll be about an hour wait... or we can get you in right away in someone else's section."

An hour?! "That's okay," Mom said, "we'll just take the first available." Jon was fun... but he wasn't *that* fun!

Five minutes later, we were led to a table on the edges of the main room and handed our menus. As we mulled over our drink choices, a manager appeared. "Ladies," he said, "I hear you've asked to be seated with Jon. Please, follow me..."

Whoa! A little bit of pixie dust there, huh? Apparently at Citricos, if it's Jon you want, it's Jon you're gonna get! We were brought to a table for four in the back room - the one with the great view of the fireworks - with assurances that our favorite waiter would be there in a moment to take care of us.

Imagine our surprise when - instead of a talkative twenty-something with no "h" on his nametag - an older gentleman appeared. His nametag? "John." Ooooops! Wrong Jo(h)n!

John-with-an-h must have been completely bewildered, wondering, "Who are these people and why are they demanding to sit in my section?!" But he played it off well. "Lovely to see you, ladies!" he said. (Notice he didn't say, "Nice to see you *again*." Ever the diplomat, that's our John!) As he left to get our drinks, Mom and I collapsed into giggles and then debated whether or not to fill him in on the situation. (We decided to come clean, and he looked quite relieved and amused when the mystery was finally solved!)

Anyway... the service turned out to be impeccable, and the food? Even better! Sorry - there are only a few pictures of tonight's delights - and the salad photograph can barely even be called a picture. But I'll try to paint pictures with words, nevertheless...

I started with the goat cheese truffles. Mmmm... so good! The salad was perfectly balanced: the spicy arugula and slightly bitter frisee lettuce mellowed by the sweetness of the ripe peach slices, the creamy goat cheese and the smoky crunch of the bacon. This appetizer is the absolute illustration of how excellent ingredients, simply prepared, can make a whole dish even greater than the sum of its parts.

Mom had the crab gateau. (I think...) She liked it! Scroll back a few pages if you'd like to read my flowery description of the gateau from our first dinner.

For my entree, I had the bone-in ribeye. It was tasty, and cooked medium-rare, as per my request, but it wasn't the best steak in the universe. It really needed a swipe or two through the veal demi-glace for appropriate umami. The wood-roasted onions were tasty and the fingerling potatoes were good, too, but at the end of dinner, I kind of felt like... aww, should have stuck with the short ribs!

Mom ordered the short ribs. Smart girl.

Dessert and coffee arrived as the first fireworks burst above the Magic Kingdom. Our table provided a beautiful view - though I ended up switching seats for a better angle. I had the warm chocolate banana torte - really more of a tart - and it was all of the warm, gooey, chocolatey gorgeousness that I'd remembered from our last trip.

Then it was getting late, and I wanted to head over to the MK for the extra magic hours... just a few more twirls on Space Mountain! So I gulped down my remaining coffee (need that caffeine!) and Mom and I each took a bite out of the chocolate tiara that came with my tart (mmm, that's some high-quality chocolate in the decorative piece!) and then I was off to the Monorail... and Spaaaace Mountain!

(Which I rode, four times in a row, stopping only for a trip through the Haunted Mansion. Man, I wish they'd put those two rides next to each other. It'd be a closed loop for me... off of one, onto the next!)

 

[MEK]

What a great end to the day - 4 trips of Space Mountain in a row! Dinner souned (and Looked) great! Thanks.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

I'm here!