Artist Point: Dinner Review

Abby Earl roughs it at Wilderness Lodge's Artist Point

- Abby Earl, February 9, 2011

Since I live only four hours north of Disney World, it's easy for me to drive down there.

And that's what I did one Saturday last December to meet my friend, Mark, who was flying in from Missouri. After we had settled into our room, we took the bus over to the Magic Kingdom so I could buy a new Tables in Wonderland card.

Then, with my crisp, new 20% discount card in hand, we hopped the boat over to Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Artist Point.

Wilderness Lodge was the only deluxe resort I've never visited and so I was extra excited.

Abby Arrives at Artist Point

We were still quite early for our 5:45 PM ADR at Artist Point. To fill the time, we explored the Lodge. Around 5:15 PM I noticed they had begun seating people so we checked in and were seated immediately, even though the restaurant officially doesn't open until 5:30 PM.

Artist Point has a nice rustic elegance. The feel I get from it is 'romantic candle-lit dinner in the woods'. But with climate control.

Our server Kristen greeted us as soon as we sat down. We were her first table and her only table for the first half of our meal, and so we got fantastic service. Kristen was eager to help with suggestions and anticipated our needs well. If you plan to eat at Artist Point, I highly suggest asking for her.

Mark and I took a long time with the menu since neither of us had been to Artist Point before.

Mark started with a glass of wine which appeared on our receipt as 'K Smith Merlot', but I can't find anything similar to that name on the restaurant's wine list. Whatever it was, Mark liked it.

Bread and Appetizers

After we placed our orders, Kristen brought us Artist Point's Bread and Butter with Black Sea Salt. It tasted like sourdough, but it wasn't as good as the sourdough at California Grill.

For my appetizer, I chose the Roasted Baby Beets with Fine Herbs Goat Cheese, Blood Orange Vinaigrette, and Petit Greens. It came with red and yellow roasted beets on top of yummy soft goat cheese mixed with herbs. I loved getting a bit of beet and cheese and then dragging it through the vinaigrette.

There was also some unusual salt on the dish. The crystals were large, transparent, and metallic silver in color. The salt had a mineral-like taste that went well with the earthy beets. And I loved the crouton on top - delicious dipped in some of the goat cheese! Overall, a very good appetizer.

Entrees

As soon as I had finished my beets, Kristen arrived with our entrees.

Mark had the Char-Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Idaho Potato-Gruyere Bar, Seasonal Roots, and a Pinot Noir Reduction. It was tender and cooked to a perfect medium, just like Mark ordered it, but I've had better steaks at Flying Fish, Citricos, and California Grill.

The Pinot Noir reduction was a particularly tasty sauce for the meat - sweet and earthy. The root veggies were good but nothing to write home about. I didn't really care for the potato dish which was like a gratin but the potatoes weren't cut thinly enough.

Overall, Mark's dish was OK, but I wouldn't recommend it. Mark seemed more impressed by it than I did, but he really only judges by the meat!

For my entree, I had debated between the Cedar Plank Salmon and the Char-Grilled Buffalo Striploin Steak with Black Diamond Mac n Cheese, Cider-Glazed Brussel Sprouts, and Syrah Gastrique, finally choosing the latter. Unfortunately, I soon came to regret my decision.

The buffalo had a great flavor, but it was tough - because, I think, it's buffalo. Buffalo meat is very lean and doesn't have the fat content of beef, so it doesn't work well as a steak. I hadn't thought about that when ordering it. They did cook the meat medium-rare, as I had ordered it, and the Syrah Gastrique tasted great, but the meat was just too tough to enjoy as a steak. I think I'll stick to buffalo burgers from now on.

The other disappointment was the Mac n Cheese. The cheese sauce was very thin, watery, and lacked flavor. It was also served lukewarm, not hot. I ate a few bites and then ignored it.

The brussels sprouts in the cider-glaze were quite good, but there were only about four of them on the plate.

My entree was a disappointment.

During our meal, we talked a bit with the people seated at an adjacent table. One of them had ordered the Cedar Plank Salmon and it looked fantastic. She told us it was excellent, too. I really wish I had gone with the salmon.

But I wasn't ready to give up on Artist Point before dessert. In this I was alone, because Mark chose another glass of 'K Smith Merlot' as his dessert.

Dessert

While I was debating over dessert, Kristen brought us a surprise: two little glasses of 'Magicale Brachetto' (Rosa Regale), each with a raspberry. Magicale Brachetto is a red sparkling wine from Italy, very sweet, but delicious if you like dessert wine. Mark tasted it and then let me drink the rest of his since he doesn't like sweet wines.

The wine paired very well with my dessert: Valrhona Chocolate Terrine with Amarena Cherries and Salted Hazelnut Brittle.

Even though I'm not that big on fruit-based desserts (which accounted for three of the four desserts on the menu), Artist Point returned to my good graces with this one. It was sooo rich - just the the way I like my chocolate, coffee, and men. The terrine was thick and fudgy with a strong, deep chocolate flavor. I loved it! The cherries were delicious when eaten with a bite of the chocolate - really tart and sharp. I liked the salted hazelnut brittle with some of the chocolate, as well. Their salty, nutty taste created another flavor contrast with the chocolate.

With dessert I ordered a cappuccino which was very tasty and gave me the caffeine I needed for the Magic Kingdom's Extra Magic Hours that night.

Abby Departs Artist Point

Overall Artist Point was good but not great. There were some very decent 'ups' in the appetizer, dessert, and service, but the entrees were lacking. Despite my disappointment, I would return here and give Artist Point another chance to shine.

Abby Earl is a student living in North Florida. As a child, she took frequent family vacations to Walt Disney World. After snubbing Disney in her teen years, her affection for the mouse returned and she is now a seasonal pass holder.

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