bleeps
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2003
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(Links to my other recent reviews from this same trip [with more to come!]:
Monsieur Paul
Rose & Crown
Tutto Italia)
San Angel Inn
Kouzzina breakfast
Kona Cafe breakfast
Coral Reef lunch
Mama Melrose lunch)
We have been dining annually at Artist Point since our first WDW, 10 years ago; we keep returning for the food, the ambiance, the service, and frankly for the excuse to make the trek over to Wilderness Lodge. We stayed there once, during the holiday season, and absolutely loved it, but with DS now 15 years old we spend more time at Epcot and DHS, so we stay at YC/BC these days -- but we always pine for the Lodge. If you are even half considering an ADR at Artist Point, I urge you to do it for the overall experience -- and of course for the great food!
(In a neat twist of fate, the CM who served us our very first time at Artist Point also turned out to be our server, this trip, at Yachtman Steakhouse! Her name is Yun and her level of service really is so remarkable that I remembered her 10 years later. More when I get to my Yachtman review!)
So back to Artist Point. This restaurant features the foods/wines of the Pacific Northwest, in keeping with the theme at the Lodge. They've done a lovely job over the years, and our meal was delightful -- although we wonder if perhaps they are getting a little stale. We have essentially the same meal each trip and while the food is excellent, we do feel like we've "done" it and this one *may* come off our must-do list for a while (although we'd miss making the trek over to the Lodge, so we'll see...).
One of the interesting things about this restaurant is that it is, we think, more beautiful while the sun is still up. All the publicity shots show diners at a window, looking out at the waterfall that is part of the Wilderness Lodge pool (in fact, we actually got *that* table this time and were delighted). While the sun is still up, the views really make the room. Once it is dark out, however, we feel the space can feel a little cavernous and uninteresting. Not a reason NOT to eat here, but a good reason to go on the early side (although the benefit of June was that we had sun up at 7:00). We were seated immediately upon arrival.
As usual, I forgot to take photos of the bread service, but the sourdough rolls were warm and fluffy. My only disappointment here is that I really do enjoy good wine with a special dinner, and have always had great luck either with my DH's suggestions or the server/sommelier (when there is one). However, once he knew I was going to have the salmon, the CM really pushed the pinot noir flight (3 small pours of 3 wines) and the wines were entirely unremarkable. For pinots, they were extremely thin and mediocre. I would gladly have paid $10 more for a better flight, or I wish I had let my DH choose (HIS wine was spectacular).
Kind of telling that the tasting notes give so little info about the wines (no year, for example) but are filled with wine fluff. I'd definitely skip this flight.
But on to better things! My appetizer, as usual here for me, was the mussels:
Kettle-steamed Penn Cove Mussels - Cioppino/Nage house made soughdough crostini and frying pepper aioli. OK, I was a little lazy and decided to rely on All Ears menus rather than keeping my own notes; sorry about that. I want to say that while this looks like what the menu says, I want to say that it had an Asian kind of coconut milk/lime sauce. I polished them off; it was too hot out to think about ordering their famous portobello soup (which I would have been tempted to order in another season -- I've had it before an enjoyed it immensely).
DH went with:
Mixed greens, walnuts, figs, asiagio cheese. Luckily for me, he doesn't care for nuts in food so I got the walnuts. Good, fresh, crisp greens and carefully dressed.
DS went with his standard cheese plate:
It's not totally crisp, but here's the card of descriptions:
The cheddar was the standout for him. He's very adventurous and loves good cheese; he was a little put off by the lavender in with the camembert, but loves honeycomb so that was the saving grace.
For entrees, both DS and DH went with
the buffalo steak, medium rare. It had a nice sear, and the potato/veg combo it sat on went very well. They both look forward to this treat -- again, typically what they order. It was great to see that both steaks came out exactly as ordered.
And of course that leaves me with the salmon:
Cedar plank roasted, served on these crunchy little rolled "cigars" with a meaty, mushroomy filling. (Another place where I shouldn't have counted on All Ears, since this isn't remotely what is described there -- the little sides do change seasonally). I'm not sure that these were vegetarian and I seem to recall being a little surprised -- surely if you don't eat meat, they could change up this presentation. They were an interesting contrast to the salmon, and I could imagine an entree, actually, built around them. I got the salmon medium rare, which meant that the center was still quite pink (the way I like it), but the CM was careful to ask how I wanted it and they will cook it all the way through if you prefer it that way. I cook and eat a lot of salmon at home, but the quality of this fish and the cedar plank roasting definitely creates a restaurant-special dish.
Dessert? Why yes, please. DH got his favorite
Artist Point Cobbler - Seasonal berries and housemade ice cream. One year when he ordered this (2010?) it was a heavy, dense, inedible mess -- the crust was huge and overwhelming. I assured him that recent reviews here had been good, and he was thrilled to be back to the cobbler of his dreams.
DS and I both went with
Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee - with chocolate hazelnut biscotti. Exactly what you would expect, and the biscotti were crisp and just the right amount of sweet. Made me sorry I don't drink coffee after dinner any more, as they would have been perfect dipped in a hot cuppa.
Our CM was fine, but not particularly memorable (other than steering me wrong on the pinot flight).
All in all, if this is a place that you love then you can be assured that the kitchen continues to produce its classics spot-on, with fine seasonable accompaniments. If you've never been and you enjoy the look of the menu options, I would definitely recommend it -- totally worth the trip (and definitely leave time to explore the Lodge and grounds!). For us, while it was all just lovely, it is getting just a little too repetitive. Of course my family has a hard time actually giving up old favorites when the time comes, but I think we'll give this a rest next time so that it doesn't feel same-old, same-old.
Monsieur Paul
Rose & Crown
Tutto Italia)
San Angel Inn
Kouzzina breakfast
Kona Cafe breakfast
Coral Reef lunch
Mama Melrose lunch)
We have been dining annually at Artist Point since our first WDW, 10 years ago; we keep returning for the food, the ambiance, the service, and frankly for the excuse to make the trek over to Wilderness Lodge. We stayed there once, during the holiday season, and absolutely loved it, but with DS now 15 years old we spend more time at Epcot and DHS, so we stay at YC/BC these days -- but we always pine for the Lodge. If you are even half considering an ADR at Artist Point, I urge you to do it for the overall experience -- and of course for the great food!
(In a neat twist of fate, the CM who served us our very first time at Artist Point also turned out to be our server, this trip, at Yachtman Steakhouse! Her name is Yun and her level of service really is so remarkable that I remembered her 10 years later. More when I get to my Yachtman review!)
So back to Artist Point. This restaurant features the foods/wines of the Pacific Northwest, in keeping with the theme at the Lodge. They've done a lovely job over the years, and our meal was delightful -- although we wonder if perhaps they are getting a little stale. We have essentially the same meal each trip and while the food is excellent, we do feel like we've "done" it and this one *may* come off our must-do list for a while (although we'd miss making the trek over to the Lodge, so we'll see...).
One of the interesting things about this restaurant is that it is, we think, more beautiful while the sun is still up. All the publicity shots show diners at a window, looking out at the waterfall that is part of the Wilderness Lodge pool (in fact, we actually got *that* table this time and were delighted). While the sun is still up, the views really make the room. Once it is dark out, however, we feel the space can feel a little cavernous and uninteresting. Not a reason NOT to eat here, but a good reason to go on the early side (although the benefit of June was that we had sun up at 7:00). We were seated immediately upon arrival.
As usual, I forgot to take photos of the bread service, but the sourdough rolls were warm and fluffy. My only disappointment here is that I really do enjoy good wine with a special dinner, and have always had great luck either with my DH's suggestions or the server/sommelier (when there is one). However, once he knew I was going to have the salmon, the CM really pushed the pinot noir flight (3 small pours of 3 wines) and the wines were entirely unremarkable. For pinots, they were extremely thin and mediocre. I would gladly have paid $10 more for a better flight, or I wish I had let my DH choose (HIS wine was spectacular).
Kind of telling that the tasting notes give so little info about the wines (no year, for example) but are filled with wine fluff. I'd definitely skip this flight.
But on to better things! My appetizer, as usual here for me, was the mussels:
Kettle-steamed Penn Cove Mussels - Cioppino/Nage house made soughdough crostini and frying pepper aioli. OK, I was a little lazy and decided to rely on All Ears menus rather than keeping my own notes; sorry about that. I want to say that while this looks like what the menu says, I want to say that it had an Asian kind of coconut milk/lime sauce. I polished them off; it was too hot out to think about ordering their famous portobello soup (which I would have been tempted to order in another season -- I've had it before an enjoyed it immensely).
DH went with:
Mixed greens, walnuts, figs, asiagio cheese. Luckily for me, he doesn't care for nuts in food so I got the walnuts. Good, fresh, crisp greens and carefully dressed.
DS went with his standard cheese plate:
It's not totally crisp, but here's the card of descriptions:
The cheddar was the standout for him. He's very adventurous and loves good cheese; he was a little put off by the lavender in with the camembert, but loves honeycomb so that was the saving grace.
For entrees, both DS and DH went with
the buffalo steak, medium rare. It had a nice sear, and the potato/veg combo it sat on went very well. They both look forward to this treat -- again, typically what they order. It was great to see that both steaks came out exactly as ordered.
And of course that leaves me with the salmon:
Cedar plank roasted, served on these crunchy little rolled "cigars" with a meaty, mushroomy filling. (Another place where I shouldn't have counted on All Ears, since this isn't remotely what is described there -- the little sides do change seasonally). I'm not sure that these were vegetarian and I seem to recall being a little surprised -- surely if you don't eat meat, they could change up this presentation. They were an interesting contrast to the salmon, and I could imagine an entree, actually, built around them. I got the salmon medium rare, which meant that the center was still quite pink (the way I like it), but the CM was careful to ask how I wanted it and they will cook it all the way through if you prefer it that way. I cook and eat a lot of salmon at home, but the quality of this fish and the cedar plank roasting definitely creates a restaurant-special dish.
Dessert? Why yes, please. DH got his favorite
Artist Point Cobbler - Seasonal berries and housemade ice cream. One year when he ordered this (2010?) it was a heavy, dense, inedible mess -- the crust was huge and overwhelming. I assured him that recent reviews here had been good, and he was thrilled to be back to the cobbler of his dreams.
DS and I both went with
Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee - with chocolate hazelnut biscotti. Exactly what you would expect, and the biscotti were crisp and just the right amount of sweet. Made me sorry I don't drink coffee after dinner any more, as they would have been perfect dipped in a hot cuppa.
Our CM was fine, but not particularly memorable (other than steering me wrong on the pinot flight).
All in all, if this is a place that you love then you can be assured that the kitchen continues to produce its classics spot-on, with fine seasonable accompaniments. If you've never been and you enjoy the look of the menu options, I would definitely recommend it -- totally worth the trip (and definitely leave time to explore the Lodge and grounds!). For us, while it was all just lovely, it is getting just a little too repetitive. Of course my family has a hard time actually giving up old favorites when the time comes, but I think we'll give this a rest next time so that it doesn't feel same-old, same-old.
The one you had was quite interesting. 
We just discovered yesterday that a restaurant near us at home serves buffalo so we're making plans to try it out; DS says the place will have a high standard to meet, since he'll expect it to be as good as AP!
