The Florida Foodie
The New Kid on the Block: Cheddar’s Casual Café
By Saucy Sarah
Cheddar’s Casual Café has opened its doors in Wellington just in time for the holiday season. Cheddar’s is a chain restaurant, hailing from Texas, that boasts handmade food at budget-friendly prices. I was eager for the grand opening to arrive and have the chance to try out their menu; a collection of homespun family favorites, with a touch of Tex-Mex.
The restaurant is a cozy combination of rich dark woods and stone. I was pleasantly surprised by the wide open main dining room and huge paddle fan lazily rotating over the bustling dinner crowd. The tables are made of real butcher block and there is a delightful lack of the typical “kitschy” collections of old Americana we see littering the walls at most local bar& grills.
There is something for everyone on Cheddar’s menu. A good way to
begin is to order the plate of three hot buttered croissants ( $1.99). They arrive warm and fluffy with a light drizzle of gooey sugar icing. They are addictive, so be careful not to spoil your dinner! We also tried the Homemade Onion Rings ($4.50). Thin and crispy, they come with a Cajun and a ranch dipping sauce. I was delighted that the onion rings were not greasy at all. I also tried the house salad, just $1.99 with entrée purchase, with Cheddar’s famous homemade ranch dressing. The salad is filled with fresh vegetables and the ranch is creamy and tastes homemade.
For our entrée’s, I tried the Rib & Shrimp combo platter ($13.59). The shrimp can be ordered fried or grilled, I opted for the fried. The shrimp was fried perfectly, a bit spicy, but not greasy at all and the cocktail sauce was fresh and a good complement. A half rack of nicely smoked ribs came with the shrimp. The BBQ sauce is sweet and tangy and they do a good job of not over-saucing the ribs. My companion had the Bacon Cheeseburger ($5.79). You have to tack on $1.99 if you want fries, or any side, they do not come with the meal. The burger was tasty, but we questioned if the patty was actually fresh and handmade or if it was frozen. When a restaurant’s mission is “from scratch” food, you do not want your customers wonder if that is really the case.
We were too full to try one of Cheddar’s tempting desserts, but I am 
looking forward to returning for a second visit and trying the Monster Cookie Sundae ($4.99). A chocolate chip cookie baked in a cast iron skillet and topped with ice cream and all the fixings. That doesn’t sound bad at all.
Cheddar’s cozy atmosphere and good food and great prices make it an idea place to take the whole family, and visiting holiday guests, without breaking the bank. I look forward to trying more of their menu on a second visit.
In her previous life, Sarah, a Palm Beach County Native, spent ten years working in various high-end eating establishments around South Florida. She is currently a fiction thesis candidate in the MFA program at Florida International University where she also teaches creative writing and rhetoric. If that is not enough, Sarah is also the owner of Cakes by Sarah, a local custom cake shop. Sarah lives in Lake Worth with her husband and two beautiful boys. “Food, fiction, and family are my life.”