We were EXHAUSTED. We all were hungry, but DS was HUNGRY. Tired, hungry DS is CRAN-KYYYY. A little cry-y.
He was SO unhappy with the fact that we were leaving the room to go eat dinner.
It wasn't until we were about to check in for our 7:35 PM ADR at Artist Point that it dawned on me. We TOTALLY could have ordered room service. It would have used the same number of credits, it would have INCLUDED gratuity, and we could have stayed in our room.
At the same time, I was turned off by the thought of uncomfortable dining; our room was something of a mess, because we were in the process of packing, it was our last night in WDW...we were already at the restaurant. We had all changed for dinner. We just went ahead with our dining plans at AP.
We waited for the briefest time before being seated.
I can't really offer too much commentary on the restaurant itself. I believe we were seated in the least desireable area with respect to a view. It was immediatly to the left when you enter. There was a wall that blocked the access to the kitchen. It was the end for a long bench that served as booth seating for several WIDELY spaced tables (especially compared to Chefs). Our table was sandwiched up against this wall providing one sided access to the booth. DS crawled on the bench and laid down. I sat next to him.
DH sat in a chair across the table.
We interrupt this dining report to give you a GREAT picture resource...I didn't take ANY pictures of the restaurant itself. In my search to find some to reference here, I found a website, which has some FABULOUS pictures! All the pictures of Artist Point posted here are from that website. Something here on the Dis keeps blocking the website links. It's suite disney dot com, with no spaces. Check it out...and now back to our dining review.
Our table was the half booth one on the right.
Which you can see, from comparing these pictures, is right at the entrance to the restaurant.
Our server Kyle was willing to be more entertaining. He was a smart young man though. He recognized that our table was not in the mood for fun and games. Our table was TIRED. Yes, we were at the end of our vacation. Yes, we were entitled to be this tired. Yes, it would be best for you to turn on the charm at that table with all the pretty young ladies.
And he did. LOL.
I was so happy to see the bread! It was WARM spongy sourdough bread. The warm really stood out. I don't think any other bread was served as warm.
The butter cracked me up. It was the first thing all week that LOOKED like cheesecake!
We all went to town on the bread. Meanwhile, Momma was looking at the menu and trying to decide on the best course of action to redeem our last night in Walt Disney World. We were all feeling the end of a week long Disney vacation.
DH and I were sold on entrees based on Kyles recommendations. The cedar plank salmon, which is a specialty of the house. He HIGHLY recommended it because they currently had Copper River Salmon. He said that they are able to get the Copper River salmon for only 3 or 4 weeks a year. It was something special. Also, the buffalo tenderloin. Cooked medium-rare or rare to ensure tenderness, because it did get tougher the longer it cooked.
DS was having a hard time. He didn't know what he wanted. We could decide. Parents? You relate to a night like this?
I asked Kyle if the kid's pasta could come out quickly. Like with our appetizers? No problem. Fine. Kid macaroni and cheese for an appetizer. Kid salmon for an entree. Not that the macaroni and cheese would COUNT as an appetizer, we would pay OOP for those noodles.
They were different, DS said. But good. DS likes saucy noodles, and these were saucy. I took a taste and I think DIFFERENT is because they weren't overly CHEESY. It was more like cheese had been added to a white sauce. Not like nacho cheese had milk added to make a cheese sauce.
Still feeling somewhat veggie depraved, DH and I both wanted a salad. But there were some tasty options here. We settled. One salad, Mixed Greens with roasted pear and champagne vinaigrette, Black Diamond cheddar and candied hazelnuts.
Which satisfied that need for salad. A nice combination of flavors. We enjoyed this one. And one order of venison pot stickers.
Not like any pot stickers I've had before, where the outer wrap completely enclosed the filling. Wow. SOOOOOO good. The dipping sauce was flavorful without being too salty. Not easy to do with a soy based sauce.
The noodles were GONE. The bread basket had been refilled. DS was goofy again! Oh yay! We had allowed too much time to pass without food. I was happy that AP had a menu we could work with to get yummy food in a little tummy FAST.
Because it was time to wait.
DH and I had an entire conversation about how this had also happened during our other late dinner.
We were entertaining ourselves with the activities on the kids menu. It was the same one from the Brown Derby, but it worked to pass the time. What things can you find that you can see RIGHT NOW that begin with B or J? It was entertaining to do this twice in one day and see how the list compared. Bread. Butter. Buck. Now we had a chance to look all around the room.
I remember high ceilings with exposed beams. And beautiful artwork. HUGE artwork. Which it would have to be because it was hung so high on the walls.
And finally, our dinner arrived. This time, after devouring a plate of noodles, the smaller serving of salmon was just right for DS!
The Copper Creek salmon was presented with ceremony. A separate CM followed Kyle to the table with the salmon on a cedar plank. Kyle placed the plate with the nest of veggies before me and the other CM placed the salmon onto my plate. The weird shaped green things were squishy and weird. I don't know what they were. And I didn't eat more than one. The veggies were done well, in that they were a nice al dente.
The buffalo was a feast for the eyes...
And the palatte. The cherries on top were a great complement. And THESE were more YUMMY potatoes. These DID have goat cheese. Wow. DH and I could have licked the plate clean.
This was the first meal where I felt like I shouldn't order dessert, but did anyway. I had eaten too much bread. And all those potatoes. And I couldn't resist. I ate potatoes off DS's plate, too. I just had to taste the rosemary creme brulee though.
Rosemary? For a dessert dish? Yes, for turkey. But dessert? Really? Somehow, it worked. I wouldn't want to eat it rosemary flavored creme brulee all the time, but this was a nice finish to this particular meal.
DH's dessert was HUGE. The cobbler. Seasonal berries and housemade black raspberry ice cream.
I often confuse a cobbler with a crunch. Traditional cobblers have biscuit like dough placed like cobblestones on top of a fruit, or fruit combination, and is baked altogether. This dish had a cobbler-like biscuit, but was surrounded by fresh fruit. It was very tasty. The housemade ice cream was super yummy. DH also enjoyed some coffee with his dessert.
The kid desserts didn't appeal to DS at all. He declared that he was full. Funny thing about DS and full. He is if the food isn't appealing. I've seen full change in the blink of eye at bedtime. I wasn't REALLY full, I just didnt' want any more of THAT.
Kyle decided that we HAD to try to this specialty dessert. He brought it out complements of the house. Double Chocolate Cheesecake with vanilla shortbread, raspberry coulis, Grand Marnier mousse, and candied orange.
And DS almost ate ALL of the chocolate! It was yummy.
The bill, closed out at 9:18 PM:
Buffalo Sirloin 46.00
KM Salmon 11.00
Salmon 48.00
House Salad 10.00
Venison Spring Roll 11.00
AP Cobbler 10.00
Creme Brulee 10.00
Coffee 2.19
Total: $157.83
The OOP price to restore DS's mood:
Mac n Cheese $7.46 after tax
Artist Point was one of THOSE meals. You have to deal with an overtired, overhungry child. I can say that it was probably the BEST location for one of those meals to occur. We had the same overtired, overhungry kid on our arrival night on our first visit to WDW. Boma didn't work as well. Too busy. Too loud. The food too unfamiliar to offer comfort. You'd think the buffet would be best, fast food into the kid. But the environment was too stimulating.
We were tucked away in AP. We were totally isolated from other diners. So it was quiet for us, but I can't vouch for the entire restaurant. The AP food was excellent. The kitchen was slow, but I have to wonder if that's just the norm for dining later, since it also happened at Chefs.
I would return to Artist Point, especially if I were staying at WL, or FW or CR, since they are just a boat ride away.
However, the menu here wasn't anything out of the norm of our regular diet. DH is a hunter and so venison is in the freezer. Bison is a wonderful meat, available at my local grocery store, and I will splurge and get it about once a month. With other signature restaurants to try, I would aim for the new. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again before trying others.
If you are looking for an excuse to visit WL, I would certainly recommend eating at AP so that you can come and check out WL. WL is lovely. If you had a window seat at AP, you would probably have a lovely view. The water feature at WL is lit at night.
Courtesy of the Dis:
And you're so quick to. One holiday weekend gets me totally behind!
Just point me in the direction of that last desert, the banana one? WOW.... Looks incredibly good! we bake bananas when we go camping, with brandy and whipped cream.. this would have been our choice. We ALMOST ate here unexpectedly this trip! But I will fill you in.
