Do You Foresee Le Cellier Becoming Mostly a DDP Restaurant

[Cool-Beans]

A good bit of it is that it is the only restaurant around the World Showcase that serves food that non-adventurous American diners would enjoy.

That could be part of it. But until everyone started going on and on about Le Cellier, it wasn't too flippin hard to get a table there. It's just like all the others. They get tons of hype on the internet and it gets tough to get a last-minute table there. Eventually the hype dies down and it isn't so hard.

Why are you no longer 60% weird? Are you on the naughty mat?

 

[bavaria]

Well, la-dee-da. You know, I heard they have rides and fireworks at Europa Park.

Hi, Bavaria! I was starting to worry that you were...that you had been...that you were in a certain group. Good to see you!! (

Hi, brain, no, we were just in - well, France, and Germany amongst other places. Where else would you expect to find 'bavaria' except in Bavaria? (Actually, that is a trick question - 'where's bavaria' is similar to 'where's Waldo' based on my travel schedule)

And no, to some people's dismay, I am sure, I am still here

But seriously, let me tell you some of my food - for 2 Euros I had a tomato soup. Not the liquid lukewarm tomato juice stuff. A big bowl of THICK tomato soup, with a giant dollop of cream, parsley, and a nice big crouton.

For 2,30 Euros I had a waffle - made fresh in front of me, served with loads of sour cherries and whipped cream.

The crepes are made fresh too - none of the premade stuff which they just reheat like at Epcot.

 

[bavaria]

To get back to the real topic ie Le Cellier - two years ago in August I was driving down the 417 after work, called WDW-Dine, and booked myself a table at Le Cellier for dinner. That was on a Friday night in early August, and I believe that I ate around 7pm.

I doubt that I could do that today.

But I agree - Le Cellier is just the current favourite, due in large part I am sure to what bicker said ie it is the 'normal' or non-adventurous food in World Showcase.

 

[bicker]

Why are you no longer 60% weird? Are you on the naughty mat?

Nah, I updated my profile.

 

[esdras]

A good bit of it is that it is the only restaurant around the World Showcase that serves food that non-adventurous American diners would enjoy.

I'm not sure I totally agree with this.

In terms of table service (I'm not going to include Biergarten, since it is a buffet style - even though most of the food there isn't terribly "adventerous"), there are a few options for non-adventerous eaters.

I will also exclude Bistro de Paris, since it has the added dress code an no children's menu.

Effectively, that leaves you with Le Cellier, Rose & Crown Dining Room and - I would argue - Chefs de France.

Main dinner items at R&C include:

Harry Ramsden's Famous Fish and Chips - Batter-fried fresh Cod served with English chips and Garden peas. (Fish and Chips are pretty standard fare)

Pot Roast - Sunday dinner-style braised beef with roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, and Red Wine gravy. (Unless you dislike red wine - this sounds like something served for an American or British Sunday family dinner)

Admittedly, the other dishes include some different sauces - like a mustard sauce on the pork loin, and the steak and fish has a black and tan sauce (made from two beers - Guinness and another ale - although many argue over which ale is the correct one)

Not as much choice of "non-adventerous" food compared to LC, but at least a couple of rather standard dishes

In terms of Chefs de France - I think its mainly the appetizers that are the most unusual - and they aren't included on the DDP any longer anyway.

Selections for dinner there could include:

Demi poulet fermier a la broche pommes puree au basilic et tomate braisee - Half of an all natural rotisserie chicken, basil-flavored mashed potatoes and braised tomato. (For the most part, the meal is a rotisserie chicken - unless you dislike basil or a braised tomato, this is a fairly normal meal)

Filet de boeuf grille, sauce au poivre noir Gratin Dauphinois et haricots verts - Grilled tenderloin of beef with black pepper sauce, original potato gratin of Savoy and green beans. (Beef tenderloin, a fairly normal sauce being pepper based green beans and cheesy potato - my mom made this - although not with the fancy name and presentation)

Gratin de macaroni - Baked macaroni with cream and gruyere cheese. (It's mac and cheese - the only problem being if you don't like that kind of cheese)

Jarret d'agneau aux haricots blanc - Braised lamb shank with navy beans. (Again, nothing too different here)

Lasagnes de legumes du soleil a l'huile d'olive au thym - Zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, onions and tomato baked into thin layers of pasta. (Veggie lasagna - only a problem if you don't like those kinds of veggies)

Plat de cote de boeuf au cabernet et polenta de Savoie - Beef short ribs braised in Cabernet wine on a bed of polenta. (Also fairly normal - polenta being - I think - corn based. Only a problem if you don't like red wine)

Some of the other dishes might be a little different - but French cuisine really isn't that adventerous, even if it sounds like it is.

So, while it is true that LC has non-adventerous fare, so do these other two restaurants - however, LC still has a couple of advantages over R&C and Chefs.

R&C actually has the fewest non-adventerous dishes - only two that are extremely basic. LC and Chefs are better here.

Chefs just seems more "pretentious" than LC and R&C. Face it - you're still probably wandering around the parks in shorts and Mickey T-Shirts - perhaps it just seems more appropriate to be in the nice (but more casual) settings of LC and R&C.

So, LC has non-adventerous food in a nice, but casual setting.

Anyway, that's my take on why LC might still hold a lot of popularity.

Theoretically, even Tutto Italia's menue isn't too adventerous either - and fairly casual too - perhaps the next best alternative for non-adventerous eaters at Epcot's World Showcase.

Sorry for the long post - just thought I would consider this from a menu and dining atmosphere standpoint.

 

[bavaria]

Oh, I will be the first to say that for the most part World Showcase has watered down food, adjusted for the North American palate (No, that is not an insult, just factual, based on my travels around the world. The German CMs and I often chuckle over the Americanized items which don't even have a real German name!)

But for someone who is not adventurous, even trying to decipher the menus may be a challenge. We see a lot of threads here like that asking if XYZ restaurant is ok for a 'picky' or 'non adventurous' eater.

Many of us are looking for a more authentic experience and will ask our server for the more authentic spicing of a dish at Marrakesh, for instance. But many are looking for familiar food, and don't want to risk spending a lot of money on a meal to be unhappy.

A few months ago I was with an Italian friend, looking at the Tutta Italia menu. While we were pleased to see some fairly authentic sounding dishes, a number of people came along, read the menu, and said 'too unusal for us' or something along those lines.

WDW cannot please everyone, so they have tried to please the majority by tempering a lot of the dishes available at World Showcase. Le Cellier is a safe bet for most, and while they could find items elsewhere as you noted, they may not want to risk trying.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

We're going twice this year. First trip - no dining plan, second trip - dining plan.

We're going to Le Cellier when we're NOT on the ddp. We're going at lunch and what I'm most interested in is the cheddar soup and the filet. Probably won't get dessert, or at the most will split something with DH, so our entitlements under the ddp wouldn't really cover what we want anyway. That's not to say we won't go back for the second trip.

 

[esdras]

Oh, I will be the first to say that for the most part World Showcase has watered down food, adjusted for the North American palate (No, that is not an insult, just factual, based on my travels around the world. The German CMs and I often chuckle over the Americanized items which don't even have a real German name!)

I would have to agree with this - but it just isn't WDW that does this to ethnic foods - most "international cuisine" restaurants in most North American cities have to tailor their foods somewhat. Even in my own city (pop. 350,000) we have about half a dozen Thai places - and the range of "authentic" Thai cuisine is surprising - unfortunately, I don't know enough to be sure which is the MOST authentic. Asian cuisine tends to be altered the most (from my perspective) - as we have 3 Korean restaurants (the one Asian country I have visited), and while they are all good - none are fully "authentic".

But for someone who is not adventurous, even trying to decipher the menus may be a challenge. We see a lot of threads here like that asking if XYZ restaurant is ok for a 'picky' or 'non adventurous' eater.

True, unless you are a foodie. The dishes at LC sound "normal".

Many of us are looking for a more authentic experience and will ask our server for the more authentic spicing of a dish at Marrakesh, for instance. But many are looking for familiar food, and don't want to risk spending a lot of money on a meal to be unhappy.

Sadly, this probably is related to what I mentioned in my first paragraph of my reply. If most North American "ethnic" restaurants have tailored their menus to be at least somewhat North American (not that they should have to, but likely because they need to if they want to stay in business), and most North Americans have not travelled extensively enough to know authentic foods from around the world (unfortunately, most cannot afford to do this - in terms of time or cost) - WDW has little choice but to North Americanize the foods too.

It is unrealistic to expect enough North Americans to travel extensively enough to appreciate a broad range of international cuisines. So, for restaurants to offer authentic food, they have to believe people are ready for authentic food - but people won't be ready for authentic food until they've tried authentic food - but the restaurants won't make authentic food until people are ready for... see where I'm going with this? The classic Catch-22.

A few months ago I was with an Italian friend, looking at the Tutta Italia menu. While we were pleased to see some fairly authentic sounding dishes, a number of people came along, read the menu, and said 'too unusal for us' or something along those lines.

Yup.

WDW cannot please everyone, so they have tried to please the majority by tempering a lot of the dishes available at World Showcase. Le Cellier is a safe bet for most, and while they could find items elsewhere as you noted, they may not want to risk trying.

Sadly, you're right - some would be naturally hesitatnt unless they took the time to really read the menu or ask some questions about what is in the dish. It's too bad, since that makes them miss out on some really good meals that aren't way out for even picky eaters - like some of the ones I mentioned from R&C and Chefs.

Count me in as one of the people on your side - wishing WDW would go more authentic - but I know they would have a hard time pulling that off.

 

[gk90]

We're going twice this year. First trip - no dining plan, second trip - dining plan.

We're going to Le Cellier when we're NOT on the ddp. We're going at lunch and what I'm most interested in is the cheddar soup and the filet. Probably won't get dessert, or at the most will split something with DH, so our entitlements under the ddp wouldn't really cover what we want anyway. That's not to say we won't go back for the second trip.

Yikes!! I haven't been thinking about DDP changes much since we're not going to WDW again til Aug 09 and just realized after reading your post that my one of my favorites, cheddar soup, is no longer included on the DDP!

 

[Kimberly Hill]

Has anyone had the moose recently? I didn't see it listed on the menu pages at AllEars.

We had the moose mousse last week.

I didn't like Le Cellier nearly as much as I did a few years ago and we decided we'd only go back for the cheddar cheese soup, pretzel bread, and dessert. At that point, it's no longer a good choice for the DDP and ADRs are so hard to get so I guess we'll wait until it loses popularity and then visit only for a light lunch and pay OOP.