Hey everyone! So sorry about the long delay in posting. As mentioned, I was in Australia for the past two weeks, and there wasn't much time for internet access. I'll try to reply to everyone tomorrow, but first I wanted to post the next review.
The day after our incredible Yachtsman dinner, we had lunch at Le Cellier. Although we've had some "just okay" experiences here, the food is often great for a theme park restaurant, which keeps us coming back. How would this meal stack up?
As usual, the meal started out with Le Cellier's bread selection. We both liked the nutty, crunchy multigrain bread the best.
My mom started with the roasted Prince Edward Island Mussels with tomatoes, garlic, and fennel cream. She really liked them - the mussels were fresh, and you can't go wrong when you pair mussels with garlic, fennel, and crunchy bread.
My starter was the duck confit crêpe with duck prosciutto, arugula, fennel, and candied orange. This was the delicious dish - I loved the tender, rich confit with peppery arugula, salty prosciutto, crunchy almonds and sweet citrus.
My mom's entree was the signature mushroom filet mignon with wild mushroom risotto and white truffle butter sauce. She enjoyed it as usual.
I chose the BLT salmon sliders with heirloom tomato, smoked bacon, and herbed remoulade. When I ordered this, I asked my server if I could get another side instead of french fries (I wanted something lighter). He said they could sub mashed potatoes instead. Since mashed potatoes really aren't any healthier than french fries, I asked if I could get a non-potato vegetable or a baked potato (basically anything that wasn't fried and/or stuffed with butter and cream). His reply was that "we're a steakhouse, that's what we do." I'm sorry, but that wasn't okay with me. Le Cellier may be a 'steakhouse' by name (and only two of the entrees on the lunch menu are actually steak), but above all, it's a Disney restaurant that should cater to a variety of dietary needs and preferences. Le Cellier lunch used to offer a light, vinegar-based potato salad (I had it in January 2011), but that has been cut from the menu. Overall, I was disappointed with the waiter's response, but I didn't make an issue of it and I accepted the french fries (knowing that I wasn't going to eat them).
Just another comment - Le Cellier is trying hard to position itself as one of WDW's better restaurants, with the change to a signature dinner last year (and with lunch rumored to become a signature eventually). I've tried to be supportive of LC in its change, because I honestly think the food compares favorably to most 1-credit restaurants and a few signature locations. But in contrast to the flexibility we'd experienced at Yachtsman the night before (and would subsequently experience at Les Chefs de France), LC really dropped the ball. They'll have to step it up if they want anyone to take them seriously as one of WDW's better restaurants (and people have displayed some strong skepticism since the change to a signature dinner).
Here's a look at the slider (there were two on the plate). It looks pretty good, right?
Well, it was okay. The BLT component tasted like a basic BLT. The salmon was salmon. The herbed remoulade was mayo with extra seasoning. Overall, the menu description had me expecting something a bit more upscale, and I was disappointed.
BTW, here's what the plate looked like when it arrived.
Here's what it looked like when I was done.
Yep. For some reason, I was expecting a higher ratio of "content" (salmon, tomato, bacon, etc) to "filler" (the starchy stuff). I never waste this much food, but the bread and fries simply weren't worth the calories. I made a bad choice.
As much as the entree let me down, dessert exceeded my expectations. I ordered the chocolate "nanaimo bar" with vanilla pastry cream, hazelnut-chocolate ganache, and mocha gelato. Weeks before ordering this dish, I had looked up what a nanaimo bar is - it's an authentic Canadian dessert featuring a no-bake chocolate 'cookie' with a vanilla custard/icing layer and topped with more chocolate. Common flavor varieties include coffee/mocha.
On a recent Disney Food Blog review, they discussed the dinner nanaimo bar (which is included in the chocolate trio). The dinner nanaimo bar looked like a boring piece of chocolate cake. This was much better:
The bottom chocolate layer had that lovely "no-bake" taste that I enjoy from brownie batter, and the vanilla layer was thick and creamy. Instead of a chocolate layer on top, the gooey hazelnut-chocolate was on the side of the dish - a nice 'deconstruction' that didn't harm the flavors at all.
The mocha gelato was excellent and added a nice coolness to the dish. However, the real surprise was the scattering of pop rocks around the gelato. The pop rocks added a fun, crackly sensation that I wasn't expecting. This dessert truly exceeded my expectations.
My mom chose the no-sugar-added lemon poppy seed shortcake with seasonal fruit (berries) and vanilla whipped cream. She really liked it - I tried some and the shortcake wasn't very sweet (which we consider to be a good thing
). There was still plenty of sweetness from the fresh, tart berries, and I thought this was a great choice after the heavy mushroom filet.
Aside from the salmon sliders and the service issue (which is further rooted in LC's surprisingly stiff substitution policy), the food was all great. As such, it disappoints me that this meal caused LC to lose some points in my relative perception of WDW restaurants. We've never had any issues with reasonable substitution requests at WDW, so this incident really stood out. From a food standpoint, I'd still come back to Le Cellier. But I no longer see Le Cellier as Epcot's best restaurant by far. Tutto Gusto and Les Chefs both provided better experiences overall. And don't even get me started on Le Cellier vs. Yachtsman.
We have also booked to go to Yachtsmans and I'm really impressed with your review. Looks better value for two credits than Le Cellier 
