999 Meals, But There's Room for 1,000 - An April 2016 Dining Report - Complete/New DR Link - 10/16

[kastoney]

Yayyy! Another trip report. Can't wait to hear about all the yummy things you all will eat!

Yeah, so glad you're here. Yummy things should be commencing again soon.

I totally want that drink that Casey got. Can't wait to read more!

It was a great drink. Definitely forward leaning for disney and something every should at least try.

FOOD!

I'm in

LOTS AND LOTS OF FOOD. WELCOME!!!!!!

Awesome! I've heard rumors they're changing the menu, and I will be very sad if it happens before I get to eat there :/

Well since you are there now, hopefully nothing has changed and you are dining and falafel and arepas as we speak.

Now these sound great - I love falafel, and an appetizer portion would be great!

Speaking of which, there were indeed pretty darn great.

The other thing on this menu that makes me happy. When we lived in Raleigh, there was a local place that made arepas and I have yet to find them in most other places. I love love love them! Glad to hear they were good Can't wait to read more!

They are definitely hard to find. We live right outside DC where there are tons of small hispanic restaurants, but I've yet to find arepas anywhere. Lots of papusas but clearly not the same ; )

You make the scary food at Skippers Canteen sound not so scary. I would definitely order the appetizers that you had. They look good.

Do you think you will ever stay at the Hyatt again? It looks like a nice hotel.

It is so not scary Sue, you should most definitely give it a whirl. The appetizers are pretty tame and absolutely perfect.

I think we'll definitely stay at the Hyatt again. We even considered it on our next trip because we got a great rate ($59) on our flight down but it doesn't get in until evening. Unfortunately I was out of Hyatt points and the best rate I could find was only $40 less than the Poly so we decided to just head straight there.

Hi Kari!

I'm really looking forward to your report; you're eating at a lot of my favourites

Great to see a rare review of Skippers' Canteen. Personally I think the inability to book in advance has contributed more to the restaurant being so quiet rather than the perceived exotic menu.

Hi party of 2 welcome to the food party for 3 You're probably right on the same day ADRs being the culprit. Of course it works great for us, but I do understand why its not everyone's stye

Skipper's Canteen always looks great to me. Especially the appetizers...although I think I will avoid the egg drop "tastes like the ocean" soup
Love how excited Casey gets to be at Disney and love the sparkly face paint. Boy moms LOVE anything sparkly since there is none in their lives

Good move on staying away from the ocean soup. After that comment I didn't even have the heart to try it.

Casey is definitely all girl. I'm sure I'd feel differently if she was a boy, but as a non-princess sparkly kinda girl she and I are definitely different. We should totally swap Casey for one of your boys one day ; )

Love the review of Skippers! That falafel looks right up my alley! Definitely going to have to have a meal here in August....I think I need a longer trip!

Yes, stay longer and just hang with our clan

Ahhhh!!!' I'm so late to this party!!!! I'm here and hungry for some food porn!

You are so not late I barely started and if the shoe was on the other foot I'd still be a month away. Hope your family is well!

 

[kastoney]

A Wild(erness) Meal
After lunch we spent some more time in the kingdom where Casey got to know Belle's Dad...


......And used her eminine wiles on the great goofini....


....Before a final MK snack was in order

Casey seemed quite enamored with her sparkly minnie snack, but being a marshmallow purist I was not a fan.

Soon thereafter it started to rain so after a quick, but wet ride on mine train

we got a text that our room was ready so to the Wilderness Lodge it was. We had booked a standard room and were prepared for the construction, and given both of those qualifiers were fairly pleased with our 5th floor room.


With all the tree clearing we even had a castle/monorail view


I'd say not bad for a standard, provided you didn't look down...


Wanting to keep it low key with Jason's 10K the next day we had made a reservation at Artist Point a few days before our trip.

As we contemplated our dining options, a drink was of course in order. Jason got some kind of merlot from the pacific northwest and I went for similar locale but a Gruener Veltliner.

I'd never had a Gruener that wasn't from Austria before but this one was pretty on point. It was nice and crisp like i like, but also had some buttery chardonnay notes. Sorry I didn't catch the name, but it was a solid choice.

On our last trip to Artist Point we enjoyed some wonderful sourdough bread, but sadly the sourdough had somehow turned wheat today.

Not sure what the pacific northwest angle on this one was and I desperately missed the sourdough, but at least copious amount of good, salty butter could make up for it.

Thankfully the bread didn't matter too much as we'd ordered the Washington State Crispy Oysters for our appetizer.

Don't adjust your screen these are as big and plump and juicy as they appear. These are obviously fried Washington oysters with Wild Ramps, Thai Chili Aïoli, Fermented Garlic, Fennel, and Sorrel. I'm a huge oyster fan and while I typically prefer them raw when on the half shell these were AMAZING!!!!! In addition to be huge bundles of briny goodness, they were exceedingly crispy, and had just a hint of spice thanks to the thai chills. But the real star of the accompaniments was the fermented garlic, which added a umami type flavor similar to soy sauce. Utter oyster perfection!

For his entree Jason had trouble deciding and ultimately went with two appetizers. The first one was the Delta Asparagus Salad with Wild Mushrooms, Berkshire Prosciutto, Sherry-Mustard Vinaigrette, and Greens.

This was clearly visually stunning but as those who have dined with me before can attest, I loathe mushrooms so no taste for me. But per Jason it was delicious, beautifully presented, and loaded with mushrooms to keep me at bay

His second choice was the Farm Egg Pappardelle with Wild Boar Bolognese, Porcini, 18-month-aged Cow’s Milk Cheese, and Wild Greens.

Are you sensing an anti-Kari over mushroom tone here? If you answered yes you are correct as I deemed Jason's meal to be otherwise known as...Kari keep your grubby paws of my ode to all things mushroom. Clearly didn't try this one either. So per my wonderful hubby who would never order such things as a slight to me, he expected this to be more ragu like but the pasta was perfectly made and cooked and the mushroom/boar sauce had amazing creamy flavor.

Because I was ordering a dish I didn't think would be plentiful, Casey got a rare meal to herself. Being the part Italian girl that she is (which she insists on telling us is why we can't understand what she says) she went with the Pasta with good ole marinara sauce.

She liked the "little ears" aka orchetta this was served with and ate a decent amount. Desperate after being locked out of Jason's meal I tried it and you'll be shocked to know it tasted like tomatoes and pasta. Clearly not homemade, or even in the realm of my amazing family recipe, but the kiddo enjoyed.

And now to the entree I could actually eat.

This is the Seared Sea Diver Scallops with Squash Purée, Brussels Sprouts, Salsify, Pickled Mustard Seeds, and Blooms. I'm a sucker for all things scallops and these did not disappoint. The scallops were perfectly seared and more importantly huge!!!! The sweet potatoes were creamy and decadent (clearly no cream was skimped upon here) and the Brussel sprouts were charred to perfection. While this will be eclipsed later in the week by another scallop dish, that should not take away from how good it really was.

Full at this point there was no way we could turn down one of our favorite disney desserts, the famed artist point cobbler.

This was a blend of equally sweet and tart blueberries, blackberry, and raspberries, topped with buttery cobbler topping, and a scoop of raspberry ice cream. While it will never taste as good as the club level version we once had sitting on our balcony overlooking bay lake, it hit the proverbial spot.

After dinner we posed for some pictures, before settling up.



Bet ya can never guess who took this one??????

This was another great meal at Artist Point. While I've never been truly blow away by anything here, the amazing oysters we had tonight changed that. The rest of the food is all well done and while not overly inventive, always executed to perfection. Our server was friendly, though per my notes a bit of a close-talker (name that Seinfeld reference). We seemed to have to wait a while between each portion of the meal, but that just gave yours truly more time to drink. We'll undoubtedly return again and with our tables in wonderland card we saved $35.19.

Up next, Jason + Star Wars 10K = Bloody Mary for Kari



​

 

[ArielSRL]

That cobbler sounds amazing!

 

[Wood Nymph]

My six year old granddaughter played Maurice at ETWB. It must be a good role for girls.

Did you hear any noise from the trucks in the early morning hours? Your fireworks view must have been pretty good.

I love how your DH made sure he had plenty of mushrooms in his appetizers. Maybe he is just taking the opportunity to eat the food that you don't like and probably don't serve at home. My DH hates lots of normal foods like chicken, strawberries and tomatoes so I take every opportunity I can to eat them when we dine out.

My husband likes the scallops at AP. They change their menu a lot. It seems like it is different every time we eat there.

 

[liamsaunt]

We really loved those oysters too. The sauces with them were amazing. Glad you enjoyed them.

 

[ALEXandFAB]

With all the tree clearing we even had a castle/monorail view

Definitely a GREAT view for a standard room!

Farm Egg Pappardelle with Wild Boar Bolognese, Porcini, 18-month-aged Cow’s Milk Cheese, and Wild Greens.

This looks AMAZING.

 

[partyof2]

Those oysters look amazing! I'm not a fan but I've never seen any like that before, I'd definitely try them. Your entree looks amazing too.

I'm a mushroom lover so I'm sure Jason's food would have been a hit with me too.

A pity about the slow service, a big bug bear of mine.

 

[Elevationist]

On our last trip to Artist Point we enjoyed some wonderful sourdough bread, but sadly the sourdough had somehow turned wheat today.

Not sure what the pacific northwest angle on this one was and I desperately missed the sourdough, but at least copious amount of good, salty butter could make up for it.

I know you're waxing poetic about the MIA sourdough, but I think this bread looks AMAZEBALLS. (But that could just be a side effect of not have eaten any bread at all for the last 5 months...)

Thankfully the bread didn't matter too much as we'd ordered the Washington State Crispy Oysters for our appetizer.

Don't adjust your screen these are as big and plump and juicy as they appear. These are obviously fried Washington oysters with Wild Ramps, Thai Chili Aïoli, Fermented Garlic, Fennel, and Sorrel. I'm a huge oyster fan and while I typically prefer them raw when on the half shell these were AMAZING!!!!! In addition to be huge bundles of briny goodness, they were exceedingly crispy, and had just a hint of spice thanks to the thai chills. But the real star of the accompaniments was the fermented garlic, which added a umami type flavor similar to soy sauce. Utter oyster perfection!

Christ, why am I not eating this right now??? These looks soooo delicious!

His second choice was the Farm Egg Pappardelle with Wild Boar Bolognese, Porcini, 18-month-aged Cow’s Milk Cheese, and Wild Greens.

Are you sensing an anti-Kari over mushroom tone here? If you answered yes you are correct as I deemed Jason's meal to be otherwise known as...Kari keep your grubby paws of my ode to all things mushroom. Clearly didn't try this one either. So per my wonderful hubby who would never order such things as a slight to me, he expected this to be more ragu like but the pasta was perfectly made and cooked and the mushroom/boar sauce had amazing creamy flavor.

This is an APPETIZER?! Oh man... I know what I would be ordering! Artist Point has been on my bucket list for years, but I just couldn't squeeze it into my upcoming Foodapalooza trip. (Though now you're making me want to study my itinerary, and try again...)

And now to the entree I could actually eat.

This is the Seared Sea Diver Scallops with Squash Purée, Brussels Sprouts, Salsify, Pickled Mustard Seeds, and Blooms. I'm a sucker for all things scallops and these did not disappoint. The scallops were perfectly seared and more importantly huge!!!! The sweet potatoes were creamy and decadent (clearly no cream was skimped upon here) and the Brussel sprouts were charred to perfection. While this will be eclipsed later in the week by another scallop dish, that should not take away from how good it really was.

I love scallops, especially big ol' ones like these! And brussel sprouts, too! SO YUM!

 

[disneyAndi14]

The scallop dish looks so good. I do love mushrooms so your husband's appetizers looked wonderful as well. Your room view is nice as well, we have never stayed at Wilderness. It is on our list for sure!

 

[hokieinpa]

I'm here and I've realized the problem with your dining reports is that my food wish list keeps growing. I was content to skip by Skippers Canteen (haha, right?) in October, it's on my list now. And I just need to find a time to squeeze it in. Appetizers seem like the way to go here!

Glad Casey enjoyed her day - face painting and even sweeter than normal marshmallows and all!

Love your review of Artist Point. Those oysters sound amazing. I love friend oysters, the crispier the better. And I'm just going to agree to disagree on the mushroom front. Everything sounds like it was wonderful!

 

[ariane37]

You lucked out with your view from WL (at least straight-on)!
I'm a big fan of cobbler and the one from AP looks heavenly.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Wow! Your room at WL looks so nice! I only stayed there once, many years ago, and remember it being so dark. This is WAY better! Dinner at AP looks great too. Similarly, I've only been there once as well - have to fix that!!

Looking forward to more. I don't even like bloody marys but it sounds a lot more fun than a 10K!!!

 

[DLFan123]

How beautiful were those scallops? And the oysters sound delicious! We've been talking a bit about trying Artist Point someday, and I'm sure we will.

How cute is Casey with Goofy?

Looking forward to hearing which scallops eclipsed these...I too get pretty excited about a good scallop dish...

 

[Leshaface]

we decided to take a page out of the @Leshaface playbook and stay the night at the Hyatt at the Orlando Airport. Even better I had lots of Hyatt points so our stay was free.

Yay! Doesn't it just feel so much more relaxed staying here before the trip?

Very pretty!

After a quick spin on the world of tiny children

Having no idea what Am, Basha, or Ambasha are

And another

Ooh that drink looks delicious! Too bad there's no vodka or rum in it though

Now for our meals. First a look at some of my favorites. There is that one and that one oh and that one over there.

Oh geez, you going to become a Skipper now?!?

It looks good, but you're right, needs more cheese.

Strangely my kid who would eat a box of salt if I let her claimed this was too salty and said it tasted like the ocean so she wouldn't eat it.

I love how amazing her palate is already at such a young age Good job mom and dad!

but if this is what the land of the zika virus tastes like bring it on.

What may is the menu change I've heard is looming, but hopefully they keep the originality and just add some plain items for the non "adventurous" crowd

This is very disappointing. The MK is 99% non-adventurous food and people are complaining that this is way too different?! SMH. I hope they don't change the menu but rather add some 'boring' food to the menu.

Never seen that one before!

Hey, i'll take that view, despite what's going on down below.

As we contemplated our dining options, a drink was of course in order.

You'll be happy for me. I had my first glass (or two!) of wine last Saturday My girlfriend invited me over to her house and she opened up a nice Cab from Pride Winery in Napa and boy was it juicy and perfect!

These look fabulous! And your description is so perfect, it's like I can taste them without tasting them!

I loathe mushrooms so no taste for me

This still makes me so sad that you're at AP and can't have one of the best Soups on the planet!

She tried!

While I've never been truly blow away by anything here

Annnnd this is because you don't like Mushrooms Kari!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

we got a text that our room was ready so to the Wilderness Lodge it was.

With all the tree clearing we even had a castle/monorail view

I'd say not bad for a standard, provided you didn't look down...

I've never been to Wilderness Lodge, but I would love to stay there someday. I need to convince my wife, since she's not into the "woodsy" theme at all. That's a fantastic view though! I wouldn't mind at all. I would rather see the castle/fireworks and put up with a few AC units below than anything else.

This was a blend of equally sweet and tart blueberries, blackberry, and raspberries, topped with buttery cobbler topping, and a scoop of raspberry ice cream.

Looks really good. Now, I'm just curious and perhaps not refined enough to have had such a dessert, but what do you do with the flowers? Are those edible?

 

[kastoney]

That cobbler sounds amazing!

It so is!!!! They mix the fruits up depending on the season, but its always perfection

My six year old granddaughter played Maurice at ETWB. It must be a good role for girls.

Now that you say that i think a girl has played Maurice when we've been there too. Casey as always was quite pleased with herself.

Did you hear any noise from the trucks in the early morning hours? Your fireworks view must have been pretty good.

Yeah, we heard them backing up a few mornings but nothing too invasive. Worst part was all the smells from the smokehouse that kept making me hungry ; )

Fireworks views were great (so great we even passed up cali grill to watch them from our room). I'll have some pics in a later post.

I love how your DH made sure he had plenty of mushrooms in his appetizers. Maybe he is just taking the opportunity to eat the food that you don't like and probably don't serve at home. My DH hates lots of normal foods like chicken, strawberries and tomatoes so I take every opportunity I can to eat them when we dine out.

Oh he is definitely taking the opportunity. Whenever I'm traveling or working late, he and Casey always make it a point to order mushroom pizza!

My husband likes the scallops at AP. They change their menu a lot. It seems like it is different every time we eat there.

Yeah I've found they change it a lot too, which in my book is a good thing since so many others stay static

We really loved those oysters too. The sauces with them were amazing. Glad you enjoyed them.

You too. They were absolute perfection.

Definitely a GREAT view for a standard room!

It was great, as long as you didn't look down!

Those oysters look amazing! I'm not a fan but I've never seen any like that before, I'd definitely try them. Your entree looks amazing too.

I'm a mushroom lover so I'm sure Jason's food would have been a hit with me too.

A pity about the slow service, a big bug bear of mine.

Yeah oysters are definitely an acquired taste. I remember hating them in my 20's but eventually discovered the yumminess of fried ones and then made my way to the raw. These babys were definitely some of the best I've had.

I know you're waxing poetic about the MIA sourdough, but I think this bread looks AMAZEBALLS. (But that could just be a side effect of not have eaten any bread at all for the last 5 months...)

Good on you for no bread in 5 months. Do I get credit for not having it in the last 5 hours ; )

Christ, why am I not eating this right now??? These looks soooo delicious!

Christ, why are we both not eating it right now. All I need is a big ole glass of white wine and those oysters and life would be pretty darn perfect.

This is an APPETIZER?! Oh man... I know what I would be ordering! Artist Point has been on my bucket list for years, but I just couldn't squeeze it into my upcoming Foodapalooza trip. (Though now you're making me want to study my itinerary, and try again...)

Yeah, it was a pretty good sized portion for an appetizer. He contemplated just getting it, but was glad he added the salad too. You should definitely get to AP some day, but wait until all the construction is gone so you can enjoy the lodge in all its glory

I love scallops, especially big ol' ones like these! And brussel sprouts, too! SO YUM!

The bigger the better!!!!!!!

The scallop dish looks so good. I do love mushrooms so your husband's appetizers looked wonderful as well. Your room view is nice as well, we have never stayed at Wilderness. It is on our list for sure!

Yeah Jason's food did look great, just that whole mushroom thing I will never get over.

I'm here and I've realized the problem with your dining reports is that my food wish list keeps growing. I was content to skip by Skippers Canteen (haha, right?) in October, it's on my list now. And I just need to find a time to squeeze it in. Appetizers seem like the way to go here!

Glad Casey enjoyed her day - face painting and even sweeter than normal marshmallows and all!

Love your review of Artist Point. Those oysters sound amazing. I love friend oysters, the crispier the better. And I'm just going to agree to disagree on the mushroom front. Everything sounds like it was wonderful!

You should definitely try and add Skippers to your solo trip if you can. We obviously loved it and I have a sinking suspicion a certain 3 boys may not be fans on future trips.

 

[kastoney]

You lucked out with your view from WL (at least straight-on)!
I'm a big fan of cobbler and the one from AP looks heavenly.

Yeah I really did enjoy the view. Jason on the other hand was not a fan of all going on below us, but for the rate we were paying I though we did quite well.

Wow! Your room at WL looks so nice! I only stayed there once, many years ago, and remember it being so dark. This is WAY better! Dinner at AP looks great too. Similarly, I've only been there once as well - have to fix that!!

Looking forward to more. I don't even like bloody marys but it sounds a lot more fun than a 10K!!!

Yeah I can see how WL can skew dark, but I think the white bedding and all the light helps to change that.

Anything is more fun than a 10K in my book ; )

How beautiful were those scallops? And the oysters sound delicious! We've been talking a bit about trying Artist Point someday, and I'm sure we will.

How cute is Casey with Goofy?

Looking forward to hearing which scallops eclipsed these...I too get pretty excited about a good scallop dish...

Yeah the scallops and oysters were both really good. AP has a lot of seafood options, and of course the mushroom soup they are known for, so I think you two would definitely like it (and the one that eclipsed it)

Yay! Doesn't it just feel so much more relaxed staying here before the trip?

It really did. May do the same thing on our August trip, but right now the rate is a not much less than the Poly. Gonna keep an eye on it though as it certainly took some of the chaos from the day away.

Ooh that drink looks delicious! Too bad there's no vodka or rum in it though

That's what Casey said

Oh geez, you going to become a Skipper now?!?

I know not so punny but I couldn't help myself.

I love how amazing her palate is already at such a young age Good job mom and dad!

Why thank you. We are definitely lucky that she eats so well. Funny story on Friday night we went to Trader Joes to get something for dinner and she wanted to be the chef for the night. She picked out arugula, tomatoes, olives, fresh mozzarella, and some pesto chicken and made us some delicious salads for dinner. I had to do the grilling, but she assembled the salads and mama just had to keep an eye on the salt she added cause she really would add the whole thing!

This is very disappointing. The MK is 99% non-adventurous food and people are complaining that this is way too different?! SMH. I hope they don't change the menu but rather add some 'boring' food to the menu.

Yeah MK is definitely the worst when it comes to plain food. As long as they add and don't subtract it will be fine in my book.

You'll be happy for me. I had my first glass (or two!) of wine last Saturday My girlfriend invited me over to her house and she opened up a nice Cab from Pride Winery in Napa and boy was it juicy and perfect!

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So happy for you and I'm sure it tasted like the best wine ever!!!

This still makes me so sad that you're at AP and can't have one of the best Soups on the planet!

Oddly Jason has never ordered the soup either. Not sure why as it is right up his alley, but no chance in h*ll I'd ever let it grace these lips.

I've never been to Wilderness Lodge, but I would love to stay there someday. I need to convince my wife, since she's not into the "woodsy" theme at all. That's a fantastic view though! I wouldn't mind at all. I would rather see the castle/fireworks and put up with a few AC units below than anything else.

I'm the furthest thing from a woodsy girl and want to part of communing with nature, but despite the wilderness name the lodge to me is much more peaceful and serene than woodsy.

Looks really good. Now, I'm just curious and perhaps not refined enough to have had such a dessert, but what do you do with the flowers? Are those edible?

That's a good question, I honestly don't remember. I think they were edible and Casey likely tried one, but ya got me on that.

 

[musicalgirl2010]

I always love your dining reports! Can't wait to see more!

 

[Kari0180]

Following along, love your reports, can't wait to read more!

 

[princessemsmom]

Enjoying your report so far! We just returned from our 10 day trip and had similar dining options. I look forward to reading your thoughts

I went out of my comfort zone this trip and tried lots of yummy adult beverages - I usually stick to champagne/prosecco, but could not resist the Sunken Treasure while laying around Stormalong Bay! And hello La Vie En Rose - where have you been all my life?!? We immediately went to the liquor store once we got back to NYC and bought all ingredients and along with the handy Vitamix brought a little Epcot home!!!