Yes, It IS About the Food OR Two Foodies Do WDW From Table To Table--TR About This Page:

[His Drewness]

And finally, to complete the menagerie we got a great Hermit Crab towelie



Always a fun surprise on the trip never knowing what we would find each day.

[SuperDave]

Too bad about your experience at HBD. I've had some nice meals there and some mixed ones as well. It does need some improving to keep up that signature status!

Love the towel figures from your room!

[lauriep]

Good to hear from you, Drew! I guess you made it through the week of overtime and hope you're not too tired. Love those towels. The only one I've seen before is the butterfly!

[chezp]

Oh wow, those towel animals are absolutely amazing! I've never seen such an array of animals!

[Cam22]

What a great collection of towel critters!

[SheLovesAriel]

I'm jealous. We tipped mousekeeping every day and never received any extra magic - always the Mickey ears towel.

[Colexis Mom]

Great towel animals!

[Her Dotness]

In what would prove to be a blissful contrast with dinner at Artist Point, lunch at Rose & Crown delighted us again, first with our cheerful server and then with delicious food. Never having been to the British Isles, I've no idea how authentic the food is, but we've certainly enjoyed it.

I began lunch with a much-needed pot of Twining's Earl Grey tea, a longtime favorite. I'd rather it had been looseleaf, but their bagged Earl Grey isn't at all bad and definitely better than any stateside brand I've tried. But for possibly a black currant-flavored blend, Earl Grey is probably my favorite tea. I simply can’t understand anyone who hates it which apparently a lot of people do from what I‘ve read. Anyway, the Earl Grey was thoroughly satisfying and helped reduce the impact of occasional cold air blasts as servers went in and out the side patio doorway which was about ten feet from our table.

Appetizers were definite comfort food. For me, a creamy potato-leek soup, while Drew had the meat pie. Sorry, no photos, as we dug in without thinking of picture-taking first.

Nothing detailed to remark about the soup other than its being subtly flavored, hot and speedily eaten. I don't handle 40-degree days in Florida at all well; temps that low there are punishment, so comfort food was required, although perhaps I needed Mary Poppins to scold me into stiffening my upper lip and carrying on without whinging (as the British term it).

That soup was a great start to lunch as was the meat pie Drew had, he said.

I was being gluten-bad with my main course, fish and chips, which fulfilled my every expectation and then some. Both were perfectly cooked, the fish being particularly fresh-tasting and flavorful with a deliciously light batter. With malt vinegar liberally sprinkled and plenty of Rose & Crown’s housemade tartar sauce, I was well satisfied.



Drew had corned beef on toast with slaw and Irish cheddar. An excellent corned beef, he said, and a most enjoyable combination with compatible flavors and the slaw’s crispness for contrast. A fried pickle and housemade chips accompanied.



And then, it was time for the obvious dessert choice--Sticky Toffee Pudding with vanilla custard and butter-rum sauce. There is really no describing it other than with terminology befitting a porn board. Seriously, it is THAT good.



So, yes, Sticky Toffee Pudding is reason enough in our books to make Rose & Crown a must-do even if it weren’t for the fact that everything else there is nearly as fabulous. Do try it if you never have.

[Her Dotness]

I began having qualms about Artist Point upon our check-in.

The receptionist was friendly and welcoming but appeared to have difficulty locating our ADR. Dinner at Roaring Fork QS would not have been an adequate substitute, that’s for sure, and we certainly were not eager to try garnering a last-minute ADR somewhere, anywhere on a 40-degree night. Walking across the WL lobby from the elevators was as far as we wanted to travel. After several anxious minutes which had us concerned it had somehow vanished from the system, she finally found it. Not an auspicious start to my birthday dinner, that’s certain.

Directed by the receptionist, we proceeded up the ramp to the host station where I thought it peculiar that three CM’s were just standing around cheerfully chatting. I wondered why three people were needed here but thought perhaps the restaurant gets busy enough after 7:10, our ADR time, that that many would be needed soon.

One led us to our table, mentioning as we arrived at it that our server would be Bob, one of Artist Point‘s best. He appeared shortly and welcomed us adequately, seeming fine thus far. That would change in short order, although I’m not sure it was entirely his fault.

We ordered our meals and quickly got the appetizers.

I had a crab cake which was decent despite being buried under a pile of unnecessary stuff. “Dungeness Crab, Blue Crab, and Alaskan Cod, Stone-ground Mustard Rémoulade, Crispy Slaw, and House-smoked Bacon” was the description.



See what I mean by a pile of stuff atop it? If you can spot the crab cake beneath all that, you’re doing better than I could without shoving things around.

I have no idea why Artist Point’s chef thinks a crab cake needs anything but crabmeat perhaps topped with watercress or maybe arugula for some color and flavor contrast. Bacon? HUH??? Who needs bacon when you presumably order a crab cake because you really like crab? Unless, as I strongly suspect, there was somewhat more cod than crab. Crab cake, a good crab cake = crabmeat with maybe a smidgen of Old Bay Seasoning or cayenne and some binder, usually bread crumbs, if the chef isn’t skilled enough to make a 100% crabmeat one hang together.

Interestingly, I used to get entirely-crabmeat ones in a chophouse in Wichita, Kansas several years ago. You wouldn’t think a Central Kansas restaurant could do a halfway decent crab cake, but that one was superlative. Artist Point’s, flavorwise and with all the other stuff on it--third-rate in comparison.

Drew had the onion tart, described as “House-made Tart filled with Roasted Onions and Celeriac Purée, Red Watercress Salad, and Cranberry Gastrique.” He blanched a bit at the idea of celeriac or celery root until I told him it has a mild celery flavor.



And then, the fun began when we were barely halfway finished with our appetizers and here came our entrées. Oh, well…that happens sometimes, so we quickly shoveled in the last several bites so the CM had somewhere to set our entrees since he appeared intent upon doing so whether we were ready for them or not.

(Sorry about quoting the menu descriptions extensively, but I really didn’t feel inclined to attempt my own recollection of the ingredients of each dish. Thinking about it to any extent just gets me angry again at what a miserable evening it was on the whole.)

Drew had the “Roasted Berkshire Pork Loin, Smoked Gouda-Herb Polenta, Baby Heirloom Carrots, Lima Beans, Cipollini Onions, Washington State Apples, and Port-Pomegranate Reduction” which he said was really good, particularly the onions. He even ate several of the lima beans which he won‘t ordinarily touch.



Mine was “Grilled Filet Mignon, Butternut SquashPurée, Marble Potatoes, Roasted Pearl Onions, Forest Mushrooms, Truffle Aïoli, Horseradish Cream, and Cabernet Au Jus.”



Too many strong flavors competing, I thought upon reading the description, as well as making a somewhat too-busy combination visually. It actually proved to be a surprisingly pleasant dish with a very nicely done filet.

Shortly thereafter, we seemed to vanish into thin air as far as Server Bob was concerned. We watched him go back and forth between other tables and the kitchen but had no luck whatsoever hailing him to get more water or anything else. He seemed to glance in our direction without seeing us at all and then would turn back into the doorway apparently leading to the kitchen.

Despite the fact that there was a food-bringer, there seemed to be no one designated to refill water and other beverages. We saw no one doing so and really needed more water midway through the meal. Never got it.

Oddly, there was a youngish man wearing a preppy-looking blue blazer and gray slacks standing across the room from our table, hands crossed in front of him, gazing blankly into midair with a half-smile. We concluded he might be the restaurant manager when he appeared to direct two female CM’s to prepare a table not far from ours for a large group. Anyway, we observed them quickly doing that and then wandering about aimlessly as if uncertain where to go or what to do next.

Finally, one walked briskly away toward the back of the dining room while the other brushed a hand at the surface of another table, looked briefly in our direction, and then slowly went from one table to the next trying to look busy as far as we could tell. If that man was the manager, he certainly didn’t seem to have a concept of effective dining room management, because more than these two CM’s were wandering around not appearing to know what they should be doing. Clearing tables so that the primary servers weren’t obliged to do so might have been one thing for them to do, but none of them seemed to think that part of their job description from what we saw.

However, the lengthy wait for Bob to reappear so that we might order coffee and dessert was enlivened by the oldest boy of a family of six near us. Granted, the family also appeared to be enduring quite a wait, but this kid who looked to be at least 10 or 11 was squirming as one might expect of a five-year-old in that situation.

Then, he propped himself up on his kneecaps on the chair with legs folded behind him so that his toes were poised against the backrest. Parents oblivious. Had I even attempted such a position in any restaurant at that age, I’d have been hustled out immediately for a thorough talking-to of the “what’s-wrong-with-you” variety. This boy perched that way for some time until he got tired and sat down properly again. Oh, well…no accounting for indifferent parenting, but we both were astonished that anyone would let a kid as old as he behave so in such a nice restaurant.

We soon became far more annoyed when Server Bob went to their table, advised the parents about alcohol options, and then began chatting exhaustively with them about FastPasses and various Disney attractions after having taken their order. Nevermind that we both were staring fixedly at him after miserably failing to attract his attention to order dessert. Maybe setting ourselves on fire would have done it, but by that point, I doubt it.

Eventually, he showed up at our table and at least had the grace to apologize for the delay when I said, “We were hoping to be able to get dessert.” (You can imagine my tone, I'm sure.) It was now after 9:00, so I decided to cut my losses and ordered the cheese selection to go. Neither of us recalls what Drew had for dessert. We just wanted to get out of there, go back up to our room, and try to forget it all happened.

But, naturally, after dessert there was another long wait to get our dining plan credits and smaller than usual tip accounted for. A wait enlivened by a second floorshow--this time quite literally--after the large group occupied the table about 15 feet behind my chair.

I didn’t catch the performance of Booster Seat Bronco Boy until I noticed an odd expression on Drew’s face which inspired me to ask what he was staring at. He told me to turn around and look. Although the boy appeared to be scarcely four-years-old if that much, no one prevented him from getting off his chair, placing the booster seat on the floor, and then proceeding to bounce it up and down with a thunkity-thunk back and forth the full length of the table for 5-10 minutes.

We were beyond relieved when finally able to head for the exit ramp whereupon we discovered not only the three CM’s merrily chatting again but also the receptionist who had come up from her stand to join them. That the latter felt guilty at getting caught where she wasn’t supposed to be was comically evident when she began exaggeratedly tiptoeing down the ramp ahead of us. As if we wouldn’t notice her ridiculous behavior or might think it as amusing as the Monty Python Silly Walks, maybe? And that was pretty much the capstone for the worst management we’ve ever had the misfortune to experience in a signature or any other Disney restaurant. Consequently, we are completely disinclined to give Artist Point another chance ever.

[Cam22]

We've always enjoyed R&C. Luke almost always gets the fish and chips, but I've tried something different every time and it has all been good. So sorry about the service at Artist Point.

[lauriep]

Bad, bad, bad experience at AP. Every time I've been there service has been perfect and the ambience in the room is elegant and quiet. That's why I've always liked it. The combination of bad, inattentive service and just plain weird behavior is unsettling!

[chezp]

So sorry about your experience at Artist Point. It's just unforgiveable to be waiting that long to order dessert and it's such a shame that happened.

[Her Dotness]

NEXT--Tutto Italia, a magnificent lunch featuring Dot not only eating olives but actually enjoying them, an experience Drew will have with salmon at V&A's. (You know it's a great restaurant when you find things that you ordinarily won't touch enjoyable.)

Captain's Grille, redux

And then, Yachtsman, glorious Yachtsman.

Yes, things are looking up somewhat...

COMING SOON--Be Our Guest dinner and the grand finale, Victoria & Albert's Chef's Table

[Colexis Mom]

Great meal at R&C! Sorry about the service at AP!

[mcc0313]

Sounds like a wonderful meal at R&C, we always find something good on the menu. I am so sorry about Artist Point, while the food sounded delicious the service sounded like a total fiasco....so surprised at this as we have always had wonderful meals at Artist Point with great service.