Taste of Disney

Following our happy hour at the Old Faithful Club lounge, Paula and Hunter headed out to the Polynesian to meet Brenda and Michael for dinner at ‘Ohana. I however am still holding a grudge against ‘Ohana due to a server incident which occurred in 2007, so I passed and instead chose to stay right there for dinner at the Wilderness Lodge’s signature restaurant…

 

This turned out to be a very good decision. Although I missed having the great company of Paula, Brenda, and the guys, otherwise my dinner here was wonderful. And so without further ado, I present to you my review of Artist Point.

 

Immediately after checking in at the desk I was seated at a two top table by one of the large windows overlooking the restaurant’s outdoor terrace.

 

My server kindly offered to take my photo when she saw me photographing my food.

Despite the fact that it was about 6:30 (prime time dinner hour), most of the surrounding tables were empty…

 

 

 

 

I have to admit that I had mixed feelings regarding the restaurant’s lack of customers. While I thoroughly enjoyed having a quiet and relaxing meal with very attentive service (which is not the usual experience at Disney World), I was also a little sad that this great restaurant seemingly does not have as much customer support as the other 7 signature restaurants that I visited on this trip. I’m hoping that it was just an off night, because I would be very sad to see this restaurant close due to lack of patrons.

But moving on now to my beverage, which could have easily been chosen from this menu, as several of the cocktails sounded really good.

 

 

However, I had already had a glass of wine at the lounge and planned to try some of the cordials there later so I went with a non-alcoholic beverage…

 

 

Though the iced tea was not served with simple syrup here like at YSH or Cali Grill, it was still of the “freshly brewed” variety and was served with a Mickey straw…which always makes drinks taste better, right?

The plastic stirrer/skewer for the lemon wedge was shaped like an arrow and has the Wilderness Lodge name printed on it…

 

 

Next came the complimentary bread service…

 

Which consists of the same delicious sourdough bread that was served at the OFC lounge…

 

 

…but this time it was even better because it was served with butter topped with black sea salt.

 

Olive oil (with perhaps fennel??) was also served but I didn’t touch it because I much prefer butter with soft breads. Now when I’m eating crusty Italian bread and there is a shaker of parmesan cheese on the table, then I’m all over the olive oil.

Now let’s take a look at the Appetizers which I had to choose from…

 

However, once again there was no need for me to look at the menu because I already knew exactly what I wanted…

 

Smokey Portobello Soup with roasted shiitakes, chive oil, and topped with sourdough croutons – $10.00

When I last had dinner at Artist Point in March 2013, I was rather disappointed with the portobello soup. Not only was it served in what seemed like a tiny bowl…

 

…compared to my previous experiences, but it was also way too salty. Here is the LINK to that review, in case you are interested in reading it.

But I’m happy to report that they have changed back to the larger bowls and that this serving of the soup was perfect and it is again my favorite Disney World soup!!

So my meal was off to a great start…

 

 

…but would the greatness continue with my entree?

From this menu, I chose their signature entree…

 

Cedar Plank-roasted King Salmon with Fregola Pasta, English Spring Peas, Peppadew Peppers, Cipollini Onions, Pea Nage, and Sun Dried Tomato and Cabernet Aioli – $37.00

And a closer look…

 

Just as my salmon entree had been on my other three visits to Artist Point, this was again perfectly cooked and quite delicious. I can’t think of any restaurant (on or off Disney property) that does a better job of preparing salmon. I’m not always a fan of salmon, as it can often be slimy if undercooked, dry if overcooked, or just too fishy tasting for my liking, but this has never been a problem at Artist Point…knock on wood “plank”.

Oh, and the accompanying pasta dish was very tasty too, I might add.

Now for dessert, or at least the dessert menu…

 

Though I love the Artist Point cobbler, sadly I had to pass on dessert. I was pretty full already and I really wanted to try some of the desserts that would be offered later in the Old Faithful Club lounge. Plus I had heard that a cobbler of some sort was usually one of the OFC desserts.

And so, that concludes my Artist Point dinner review. To this point of my trip, it was my favorite meal. Would it maintain that status for the remainder of the trip or would there be another meal in my near future which would top it? Stay tuned to find out.