Recently I had dinner at City Cellar in West Palm Beach. Monday night in the height of Season at 7pm and the place was packed. Jammed packed. What was interesting is there was a very mixed crowd of diners, you could definitely pick the crowd apart; the locals were the ones “sans” the outrageous sunburns, the Snowbirds always seem to travel in large groups of 6 or more and carry on equally as large. The vacationers, well they’re the ones all matchy-matchy in their new winter vacation-ensemble wear complete with the “I dig the sand in Palm Beach” tee-shirts. So yes a very eclectic scene happening in City Place, it’s definitely fun to watch and be a part of ….from a distance. This was my first time at City Cellar I didn’t know much about the menu or style of the restaurant but I did check out the wine list online before going, I was very excited about some of their wines they pour by the glass and even more of their bottle selection. We had the David Bruce Pinot Noir, and the Meritage BV Tapestry with our dinner. City Cellar is an upscale casual dining restaurant with prices starting at $7 for appetizers and $7.50 for and salads, pizza’s $14 and entrees from $21-$36 ranging from pastas to New York Strip steaks and everything in between. You’ll see what we ordered below and be sure to click on each photo for an enlarged view.
Mussels with Chardonnay, Shallot, Thyme ,Tomato and a touch of cream with Crostini. “The house broth was perfect for crostini-dredging, bread & broth!”
Fresh Burrata and Tomatoes with an Olive Oil Balsamic Glaze “Cheese, tomatoes and olive oil, need I say more…..”
Crabmeat Crusted Chilean Sea Bass with a Yukon Gold Potato Pancake and Steamed Asparagus in a Citrus Butter sauce. “The Sea Bass was fantastic, the crabmeat crust was a nice addition of flavor and texture to the overall dish, but the biggest surprise, the Potato Pancake, how fun! Now I get the Snowbird contingent!”
Braised Lamb Shank in a Rosemary Sauce served with Potato Puree and Fried Parsnips. “This was my dish, it’s one of City Cellar’s house specialties, and I can see why, it’s definitely comfort food on a fine level. This slow cooked house specialty is definitely worth the visit, it’s a heavy meal so you can skip the starters if you’re going to order this dish. I ended up taking most of it home and it was even better the next day.”
Banana Cream Pie. Layers of fresh sliced banana with a vanilla bean whipped cream custard filling and a graham cracker and toasted pecan crust. “Like we even needed this…but sometimes after all that heavy food you need just a bite of sweet and I haven’t had banana cream pie in a long time. It was definitely a meal at a crossroad, old world comfort food gets a makeover.”
City Cellar Wine Bar & Grill 700 S Rosemary Ave West Palm Beach, (561) 366-0071
