Small Town Summer: The Cellar BYOB Restaurant

 Since my life has been engulfed with moving these past few months, we haven’t gotten much of a chance to go out to dinner. Yes, the occasional Thai takeout or pizza has come by but that has been about it.


Thankfully, it was different this time.


My mom, Aaron, and I went to the Cellar, a BYOB restaurant in Camp Hill, PA
(Right across the river from Harrisburg)

This isn’t our usual Wednesday night scene, but tonight we had a special cause.


Both in 2007 and 2008, I traveled to Ouanaminthe, Haiti for two weeks to work at a school and clinic for Haitian children and now adults.


The Cellar Restaurant donated 20% of all profits to Institution Univers and their charitable organizaiton, C.O.C.I.N.A. whether or not you came for the event or not.


This meant a lot to everyone and the Cellar are continuing the fundraiser every Wednesday in August 2011.


Back to the Restaurant:


When you pass the restaurant it probably doesn’t give you a feel for what it looks like inside or for how good the food is.

The inside is very attractive, light walls, tasteful art, and low lighting. So please forgive the horrible photography.




Aaron and I in the Cellar dining room

I was pleasantly surprised how good the food was. This was my first time at the Cellar and when I looked at the website, it appeared a little pretentious. It wasn’t at all. Both the restaurant and the staff were charming and hospitable. When we walked in we were welcomed by the owner and the manager who thanked us for coming to support the cause for Haiti.


The Cellar markets itself as “a BYOB restaurant” with the option for regulars to “rent” a locker for the alcohol at $10 a month (or $20 for a large locker) to be taken out and served whenever they come in.


Sadly, coming straight from work we had no bottle of wine. So the owner, Nicholas Dunphy, gave us a bottle of a beautiful dry red out of his own locker. For Free.


I liked this place already.


We ordered and I decided to get their special $29.99 deal: Any starter, a side salad, a lite entrée, and dessert. This was deal since every entrée was at least $20-$30 alone.

We began with two starters for the three of us:

Edamame Hummus with Kimchi and crispy Wonton Chips (We were given more chips)

Fried Calamari with Thai Chili Sauce

Both were wonderful. The Calamari was soft and crispy and great with Thai chili sauce.The real knockout  was the Edamame Hummus. When I saw this on the menu I was wary. This sounded like it would either be really good or really bad.

Instead, it was really great.

If you love hummus like me, this is completely different. But don't worry, you would love this too. Instead of chickpeas they used edamames, garlic, tahini, and I think some curry powder.

The hummus was fresh, light yet flavorful, and satisfying. The hummus was served with fried wonton chips and small pieces of kimchi. This was probably my favorite part of the meal.

Our next course was fresh rosemary focaccia bread and side salads. The dressing was a delicious house-made Citrus Dijon Vinaigrette and was a stand alone.

After the delicious starters our entrees were no let down either:

Aaron order Open Face Lobster Ravioli which was fantastic.

The dish is described on the menu as “Open Face Lobster Ravioli: Buratta Cheese, Pea, Baby Leek, Morel Mushroom, Lobster Broth”

 

Mom ordered the Quinoa & Roasted Vegetable Napoleon described as
“Chipotle Quinoa Cake, Roasted Organic Vegetables, Lancaster County Noble Cheddar, Panko Crust, Roasted Pepper Consommé”

This was over the top good and had a delightful kick.

And then there was my meal…..

I ordered the Cellar Mac & Cheese described as “Lobster, Jumbo Lump Crab, Chevre, Lancaster County Cheddar, Baby Swiss, Asiago Rigatoni, Panko Crust”

This does not do it justice.

It was brimming with crab, lobster, and cheese, and actually had few Rigatoni. This Mac & Cheese was unbelievably rich. I am so glad I ordered the “lite” version. I can't even imagine how big the “full” version is.

We were so full…but what about dessert?

I am a sucker when it comes to dessert, and since my meal came with a dessert I couldn’t refuse. So after narrowing the dessert menu from 10 items to 4 to 1, I picked the Almond Cake with Cinnamon Ice Cream.

 

 

For you “gluten freers” out there, this dessert was made for you, but don’t mind if I enjoy too!

The soft, flourless almond cake with a light cream cheese icing in between two layers of cake was unreal. Not to mention the cinnamon ice cream that went perfect with the cake and my cup of decaf coffee.

Yum.

Review: Overall this restaurant is fantastic. It is a little pricey for the weekday meal but great for a special occasion. While it is a little pricey, it is not over priced for the quality of the ingredients and culinary detail of the food. I will definitely come here again. Probably in a few weeks on another Wednesday fundraising night. This would not be a normal “college student” place due to price, I much rather come here than somewhere that was. I need just need to save up first.

The manager shared with us that the charitable nights were so successful they would be continue it for other organizations.  Six weeks-20% of profits. All you have to do is eat: not a bad deal at all.

So if you find yourself in the Harrisburg/Camp Hill area, check out The Cellar and don’t forget to bring a bottle of wine.

Enjoy,

Love,

The College Cuisiner