Le Cellier

Recently, I had a meal at Le Cellier at Epcot with a friend and wanted to recap a most excellent meal.

Le Cellier is Canada's restaurant on the world showcase. They showcase meats and fish from our great northern neighbors. Once upon a time, the restaurant was a cafeteria, a la Rustler steakhouse. You'd order your meal, select your sides and a fine CM would bring your meals to you.

Now it is a sit down restaurant and a very good one at that. I'm not a fish eater (crustaceans only), so I've only dined on the meat selections. This time, the friend and I both ordered a kid's meal. I know, that sounds nuts. However, the restaurants at WDW allow anyone to order the children's meal. This works out great for those of us with smaller appetites. Fortunately, each of the countries of the world showcase has a 'featured' selection that is inspired by their country. In this case, it is a steak.

We started off with a ramekin of their Beer Cheese soup. The soup is great (though Barley and Hops back up in Maryland makes a better one) and is just the right size for the smaller appetite. It is a creamy soup with a sprinkle of bacon on top.

Then, the steak. It was about a 4 oz strip that had been butterflied to be about 1/4" thick, but it was grilled to the medium rare I requested. Seasoning was perfect: not too salty, not too peppery and full of flavor. Mine was served with harcort verts (green beans) and julienned carrots. Those just had a hint of butter on them. We both looked at the plates in amazement, as it's definitely enough for an adult. I didn't finish all of my vegetables, as there were plenty on my plate.

The dessert was either a build your own sunday or a fruit cup. I originally requested the fruit cup, then changed my mind. However, it was ignored in favor of the incredible chocolate mousse that we were given in honor of our birthdays. Creamy dark chocolate moussed in a dark chocolate cup. At one time, this *had* been on the children's menu, but so many adults requested it that it'd been switched to the regular menu.

Dessert was enjoyed with a glass of Inniskillin Ice Wine. Our server was unfamiliar with the ice wine and poured as if it was a regular glass of white wine. Yep, we got easily double what we should have. It was delicious, very sweet with a dry finish. This is a wine that is to be savored, with the dessert. The mousse was great, in that it accentuated the flavors of the wine without making it seem sweeter.

All in all, a great meal at a great place. Just wish I didn't have to pay a park admission to go there.