Dinner at Artist Point, Wilderness Lodge

Sad to say… we were once again disappointed by dinner at Artist Point. We had such high hopes after the marvelous Wine Luncheon here in February.

We each had a glass of wine with our appetizers and nick & I ordered the wine flights paired with our entrees – but we didn’t order a glass of Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir wine during our visit. After the luncheon in February, we expected to see a wide selection available – alas, we were wrong – the selection was pretty much what we can get at Publix.

We started with the Artisanal Cheese Selection. It was good and we enjoyed it… nothing that really stands out though.

Rogue River Creamery Cave Man Blue, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company Hudson Valley Camembert, and Beechers Flagship Reserve Cheddar

I had a glass of the Montinore Estate Gewürztraminer, Willamette Valley – it was okay, nothing fantastic. Nick ordered the Mercer Reisling, I thought it was sour and he said it was just middle of the road.

Nick ordered the cedar plank salmon and the Oregon Pinot Noir Flight (Sokol Blosser, Solena, and Willamette Valley Vineyards). The accompaniments to this were bright and fresh. The salmon was good, not outstanding (yes, recurrent theme with tonight’s dinner). I’m still not sure what “root spinach” is… maybe it’s baby spinach grown hydroponically and the roots are still attached.

Nick’s Entree – Wild Columbia River Cedar Plant-roasted King Salmon with Rainbow Cauliflower, Root Spinach, Lemon-Butter Sauce, Applewood Bacon Jam, and Short Rib Strudel

Rainbow Cauliflower, Root Spinach, Lemon-Butter Sauce, Applewood Bacon Jam, and Short Rib Strudel (the accompaniments to Nick’s salmon)

Lisa & I both ordered the chicken dish. It had quite a bit of black pepper under the breading, so I didn’t offer nick a taste. There was nothing WRONG with it, there just wasn’t anything very good about it. I had honestly hoped for more than one small sprig of broccolini though.

Nora’s Entree (and Lisa’s too) – Slow-Cooked Crispy Ranch Chicken – Loaded Mashed Potato, Carmelized Broccolini, Honey Mustard Emulsion, and Poblano Ketchup

Andy ordered the buffalo steak. I think he may have been the most pleased with his dinner.

Andy’s Entree – Slow Roasted Buffalo Strip Stead with Truffle Macaroni & Cheese, Rainbow Chard, and Blackberry Pinot Noir Reduction

Truffle Mac & Cheese

It’s not that there was anything wrong with dinner. Well, I take that back… for the prices being charged (and yes, I know it’s Walt Disney World and that things are pricey) and since we know that the kitchen can do much better – the dinner was wrong (the service was pretty doggoned poor too). We were all disappointed – nick & I had talked about how great the luncheon was and EVEN THOUGH we’d been disappointed the last time we dined there with Lisa & Andy, we thought it was worth another try.

Artist Point is not going on our list of preferred restaurants. We may give them a shot once a year, but I surely hope that it will be better next time.