We’ve heard really good things about the food at the Landscape of Flavors food court at the Art of Animation Resort, especially about the vegetarian options. While we aren’t vegetarians, we do stuff as many vegetables into our regular diet as we reasonably can… even when touring Walt Disney World (and it can be difficult to get more than 1/2 cup vegetables with anything at Walt Disney World).
Anyway, we were at the Art of Animation so that we could get photos of the holiday decorations (did you see nick’s post?) and we had planned things so that it was time for something to eat. Now granted, this was mid-afternoon and not during a regular meal rush… maybe that was the problem… because the food simply was NOT good.
Tandoori Acorn Squash with Naan bread and 2 sides $8.49
The “main” was the tandoor acorn squash, actually, the two groups in line ahead of us ordered this too, so nora was expecting to get something fresh and amazing when the CM went to the back to get more squash. Where to begin with the flaws? 1) It was roasted with the skin on, great for presentation and it probably makes cooking it easier… it makes eating it very difficult because you have to remove the skin. It was bland, desperately in need of some salt or spice or herb or something.
We chose two sides and were surprised with we were offered an additional “starch”. Nora selected the multigrain rice – it was crunch, not like it had dried out, like it wasn’t cooked fully. Like the squash, it was bland. As nora has probably said before, you can’t really cook grains with zero salt (unless you’re going for plain steamed rice), grits need salt, oatmeal needs salt, bulgar needs salt, we don’t need to go on.
We ordered roasted cauliflower with tomatoes (we were expecting something like Sanaa’s roasted cauliflower, which we really like a lot) for the first side. Disappointing, flavorless… nothing more to say. Our second side was the spinach and paneer cheese (remember that we really liked the spinach and paneer cheese pocket during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival?), again disappointment. Nick was even incredulous that this was the same thing as the pocket from the South African booth at Food & Wine; well, it had the same components, but it wasn’t the same by any stretch of the imagination.
Lastly, what did we think of the tandoori naan bread… sigh, bland again.
So, our suggestion is to go to Sanaa and get the bread service, spend the extra $6 and get the Sanaa Vegetarian Sampler (note at bottom of post), and then let us know what you think.
full view of the plate, the serving was generous by vegetable standards, but it was pretty tasteless and disappointing by any measure
Sanaa Vegetarian Sampler – choice of two served with Basmati Rice or Five-grain Pilaf $14.99
- Mixed Seasonal Greens
- Stewed Lentils
- Paneer Tikka
- Vindaloo-style Vegetables
- Spicy Peas, Chickpeas, and Potatoes