Mike told me that he was going to take me out for my graduation, and asked if the California Grill was ok. I had been hearing so many good things about Artist Point that I asked if we could go there instead. We made a priority seating for a Thursday evening, and had no problem getting the time we wanted even only a couple weeks ahead. Mike mentioned my graduation as I told him they did nice things for special events. I was very excited about going, and we got to the Wilderness Lodge early to walk around, as its one of our favorite resorts (even though weve never stayed in one!). We checked in a little early, around 5:45 for a 6pm PS, but were seated immediately.
Even though there were plenty of window seats available, we were seated in the center of the room. We were ok with it as we justified it to ourselves as there wasnt much of a view besides the trees, though I wish now that I had asked for a window seat. Our server came over and took our drink order and asked us why we had chosen Artist Point, and we had a nice conversation. He returned with a different server, and told us we would be having server #2 instead. We were again disappointed, as our first server was very friendly, and the second I dont know, seemed anxious, wasnt very friendly, and gave the same spiel to every table around us made it seem a bit impersonal. I ordered a wine flight ($18.00), and he did suggest some wines I ended up liking, but they were brought out all together, instead of with the individual courses which I would have preferred, especially as it says at the bottom of the menu that the wine would be paired with your food courses. The wines that I was served were all from a winery near Seattle that Ive visited called Chateau Ste. Michelle, and were a Johannisberg Riesling, a Riesling, and a Chardonnay. Theyre all affordable, so I was able to find them easily in my grocery store this past week. Mike ordered his usual diet Coke ($2).
We were brought out bread, sourdough, with softened butter. The bread smelled like sourdough, but didnt taste like it. It was very good anyway, especially with our soup that would come later. Mike contemplated the Chefs Northwest Selection, which included the Portobello soup, a choice between two salads, a choice of the buffalo, beef tenderloin, or salmon, and a choice between two desserts. He wanted to try the venison spring rolls, though, instead of a salad, so decided not to. We both ordered the Smoky Portobello soup ($6.00). This was excellent, the best part of the meal! There was homemade croutons, chives, a cream sauce, and chive oil on top, and the garnishes worked wonderfully with the soup. The chive flavor was just perfect, I raved about it to Mike. As I said before, the bread went very well with this soup, and we hoped no one cared as we dipped our bread.
For our next course I ordered the frisee salad ($7.00). I wanted order the beet salad, but the server suggested the frisee salad instead. It had grilled apples, a nicely sharp Tillamook cheddar on top, candied walnuts, and an apple cider vinaigrette. Frisee is a curly, bitter lettuce, and the rest of the salad went well with the taste of the frisee. The grilled apples were different, a great grill taste at first, and then the sweet apple. There werent enough walnuts for my taste, though. It was a good salad, but not great. I wish I had ordered the beet salad, which I was told came with red and yellow beets and goat cheese. Instead of a salad, Mike ordered the venison spring rolls ($8.00). They came with a great dipping sauce, but both of us decided that there was nothing special about the rolls themselves. There was nothing inside except for the venison (we were expecting vegetables), and they didnt taste much different than beef. There was a very good Asian vegetable slaw on the side, though.
For our main courses, I chose the Hatfield pork chop ($24.00) and Mike ordered the buffalo sirloin ($3.00). I ordered my pork medium-well, and Mike ordered his buffalo medium-rare. I had read the menu ahead of time, of course, and was excited about the Tillamook cheddar macaroni and cheese that came on the side of the pork chop. I was extremely disappointed at what it actually was. It was plain penne pasta with a Maytag blue cheese and crumb crumble on top. I dont think there was any cheddar cheese anywhere in the pasta. The blue cheese crust was good, but difficult to eat as the crumbs went everywhere, and the pasta was very bland and slightly overcooked. The pork chop was better than Id had elsewhere on property, but still under-seasoned and overcooked. I have yet to find good pork on property, and its frustrating to me. I would definitely not order this again and wished I had ordered something different. Mikes buffalo was cooked correctly, on the other hand. He said there was a strong gamey taste, though, and while he liked it enough, also wished he had ordered something different. He adored the side dish, the sweet potato hazelnut gratin, and the caramelized onions on top of the sirloin. I tried both of the vegetables and really enjoyed them. I found the recipe for the gratin and will even try it at home sometime.
Our server told us that I would receive a special complimentary graduation dessert at this point, and I asked Mike to ask our server (Im shy and hate asking questions sometimes) if it could be the Chai Tea Cheesecake ($7.00). Our server said that it was usually the berry cobbler ($12.00) but that it would be no problem to switch. Mike ordered the flourless chocolate cake ($7.00) at my suggestion, as I had had a divine flourless cake at Tchoup Chop. I also ordered a glass of Iniskillin ice wine ($12.25), which I had a Le Cellier and loved. The cheesecake was a small round piece with a great nut-filled crust on the bottom, and according to the menu, hazelnut brittle, orange marmalade, and caramel sauce. I love chai tea, and was eagerly anticipating the cheesecake. It was good, but not great, and tasted more like pumpkin cheesecake. The orange marmalade and caramel sauce didnt have much of a taste to them, just sugary. Again, I wish I had ordered something different, perhaps just had the berry cobbler that everyone raves about. Mikes flourless cake wasnt anything like any other flourless cake that Ive seen. It actually looked as if it contained flour. It had a raspberry sorbet on the side, and curls of chocolate and a fudge sauce around it. Mike says that the best part was actually the chocolate curls and fudge sauce, and that the cake wasnt great. A recurring theme, he wished he had ordered something different. My ice wine was good, though, as I dont think they can mess that one up!
Regarding the Chefs Selection, the table next to us ordered it and the portions for the soup, salad, and dessert were all smaller than ordering them individually. I think its better to order the dishes separately, as you wouldnt be saving any money on this plan, if thats your goal.
I was looking around at the scenery in the beginning of the meal, and all of a sudden smelled Rome burning, from Spaceship Earth at Epcot. I noticed it was the cedar planked salmon it smelled EXACTLY like Rome burning! We even went to Epcot a couple days later to smell it again.
Overall, we were disappointed in Artist Point, as you can gather from the review. We expected so much more. Maybe our expectations were too high? But I dont think so, from the prices. We enjoyed Le Cellier much more than Artist Point, and kept comparing the two during the meal. Our service was just ok, as I noted above we didnt quite like our server, and he kept forgetting Mikes diet Coke refills. I have also never noticed anyone so eager to bring out more bread! Logistics-wise, besides the lack of soda refills, service was prompt. We may go again just for the soup and maybe to try out a different dessert. But I dont think well ever have a full dinner here again.
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Even though there were plenty of window seats available, we were seated in the center of the room. We were ok with it as we justified it to ourselves as there wasnt much of a view besides the trees, though I wish now that I had asked for a window seat. Our server came over and took our drink order and asked us why we had chosen Artist Point, and we had a nice conversation. He returned with a different server, and told us we would be having server #2 instead. We were again disappointed, as our first server was very friendly, and the second I dont know, seemed anxious, wasnt very friendly, and gave the same spiel to every table around us made it seem a bit impersonal. I ordered a wine flight ($18.00), and he did suggest some wines I ended up liking, but they were brought out all together, instead of with the individual courses which I would have preferred, especially as it says at the bottom of the menu that the wine would be paired with your food courses. The wines that I was served were all from a winery near Seattle that Ive visited called Chateau Ste. Michelle, and were a Johannisberg Riesling, a Riesling, and a Chardonnay. Theyre all affordable, so I was able to find them easily in my grocery store this past week. Mike ordered his usual diet Coke ($2).
We were brought out bread, sourdough, with softened butter. The bread smelled like sourdough, but didnt taste like it. It was very good anyway, especially with our soup that would come later. Mike contemplated the Chefs Northwest Selection, which included the Portobello soup, a choice between two salads, a choice of the buffalo, beef tenderloin, or salmon, and a choice between two desserts. He wanted to try the venison spring rolls, though, instead of a salad, so decided not to. We both ordered the Smoky Portobello soup ($6.00). This was excellent, the best part of the meal! There was homemade croutons, chives, a cream sauce, and chive oil on top, and the garnishes worked wonderfully with the soup. The chive flavor was just perfect, I raved about it to Mike. As I said before, the bread went very well with this soup, and we hoped no one cared as we dipped our bread.
For our next course I ordered the frisee salad ($7.00). I wanted order the beet salad, but the server suggested the frisee salad instead. It had grilled apples, a nicely sharp Tillamook cheddar on top, candied walnuts, and an apple cider vinaigrette. Frisee is a curly, bitter lettuce, and the rest of the salad went well with the taste of the frisee. The grilled apples were different, a great grill taste at first, and then the sweet apple. There werent enough walnuts for my taste, though. It was a good salad, but not great. I wish I had ordered the beet salad, which I was told came with red and yellow beets and goat cheese. Instead of a salad, Mike ordered the venison spring rolls ($8.00). They came with a great dipping sauce, but both of us decided that there was nothing special about the rolls themselves. There was nothing inside except for the venison (we were expecting vegetables), and they didnt taste much different than beef. There was a very good Asian vegetable slaw on the side, though.
For our main courses, I chose the Hatfield pork chop ($24.00) and Mike ordered the buffalo sirloin ($3.00). I ordered my pork medium-well, and Mike ordered his buffalo medium-rare. I had read the menu ahead of time, of course, and was excited about the Tillamook cheddar macaroni and cheese that came on the side of the pork chop. I was extremely disappointed at what it actually was. It was plain penne pasta with a Maytag blue cheese and crumb crumble on top. I dont think there was any cheddar cheese anywhere in the pasta. The blue cheese crust was good, but difficult to eat as the crumbs went everywhere, and the pasta was very bland and slightly overcooked. The pork chop was better than Id had elsewhere on property, but still under-seasoned and overcooked. I have yet to find good pork on property, and its frustrating to me. I would definitely not order this again and wished I had ordered something different. Mikes buffalo was cooked correctly, on the other hand. He said there was a strong gamey taste, though, and while he liked it enough, also wished he had ordered something different. He adored the side dish, the sweet potato hazelnut gratin, and the caramelized onions on top of the sirloin. I tried both of the vegetables and really enjoyed them. I found the recipe for the gratin and will even try it at home sometime.
Our server told us that I would receive a special complimentary graduation dessert at this point, and I asked Mike to ask our server (Im shy and hate asking questions sometimes) if it could be the Chai Tea Cheesecake ($7.00). Our server said that it was usually the berry cobbler ($12.00) but that it would be no problem to switch. Mike ordered the flourless chocolate cake ($7.00) at my suggestion, as I had had a divine flourless cake at Tchoup Chop. I also ordered a glass of Iniskillin ice wine ($12.25), which I had a Le Cellier and loved. The cheesecake was a small round piece with a great nut-filled crust on the bottom, and according to the menu, hazelnut brittle, orange marmalade, and caramel sauce. I love chai tea, and was eagerly anticipating the cheesecake. It was good, but not great, and tasted more like pumpkin cheesecake. The orange marmalade and caramel sauce didnt have much of a taste to them, just sugary. Again, I wish I had ordered something different, perhaps just had the berry cobbler that everyone raves about. Mikes flourless cake wasnt anything like any other flourless cake that Ive seen. It actually looked as if it contained flour. It had a raspberry sorbet on the side, and curls of chocolate and a fudge sauce around it. Mike says that the best part was actually the chocolate curls and fudge sauce, and that the cake wasnt great. A recurring theme, he wished he had ordered something different. My ice wine was good, though, as I dont think they can mess that one up!
Regarding the Chefs Selection, the table next to us ordered it and the portions for the soup, salad, and dessert were all smaller than ordering them individually. I think its better to order the dishes separately, as you wouldnt be saving any money on this plan, if thats your goal.
I was looking around at the scenery in the beginning of the meal, and all of a sudden smelled Rome burning, from Spaceship Earth at Epcot. I noticed it was the cedar planked salmon it smelled EXACTLY like Rome burning! We even went to Epcot a couple days later to smell it again.
Overall, we were disappointed in Artist Point, as you can gather from the review. We expected so much more. Maybe our expectations were too high? But I dont think so, from the prices. We enjoyed Le Cellier much more than Artist Point, and kept comparing the two during the meal. Our service was just ok, as I noted above we didnt quite like our server, and he kept forgetting Mikes diet Coke refills. I have also never noticed anyone so eager to bring out more bread! Logistics-wise, besides the lack of soda refills, service was prompt. We may go again just for the soup and maybe to try out a different dessert. But I dont think well ever have a full dinner here again.
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