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Artist's Palate
(Photos below)
This terrific little counter service eatery is located in
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, Disney's newest
resort and a part of the Disney Vacation Club. At opening, SSR
only had this restaurant, though as of January 2006 an
announcement has been made that the Turf Club, a bar near
Artist's Palate in SSR, will become a table service restaurant
in the near future (it already serves snacks such as
sandwiches). But enough about "other"
restaurants--let's take a closer look at Artist's Palate!!
This is definitely an "upscale" counter service
establishment. A display kitchen, not unlike the setup at Sunshine
Seasons in The Land pavilion at Epcot, makes all three
meals, including many really yummy items!! Breakfast includes
all the usual suspects, including eggs, waffles, breakfast
flatbread, and related dishes, while lunch and dinner features sandwiches,
wraps, and my favorite--flatbread pizzas. Most of the
food here is made to order, so you receive a pager to alert
you when it's ready to pick up. The food quality is
surprising--you're likely to be pleased by the good
taste.
This is something of a "hybrid" establishment, as
the eatery and gift shop are rolled into one, with a single
bank of cash registers ringing both food items from the
restaurant as well as gift items and necessaries from the
store. To purchase food from the kitchen, you place your order
at the food counter, where you're assigned a pager and given a
order ticket. The order ticket is used by the cashier to ring
up your bill, then the receipt is stapled to the cash register
tape. When you're paged, the food counter attendant verifies
that you've paid for your order by checking the receipt and
order slip. It's a lot easier than it sounds--trust me!!!
This venue also sells and services the refillable mugs. At
$11.99 each, this is an incredible bargain if you like to have
access to plenty of fluids. Artist's Palate honors the Disney
Dining Experience card, both for food items as well as the
refillable mugs, so be sure to show your card each time you
eat here if you have one.
The atmosphere here is lively and tasteful. True to its
name, Artist's Palate has lots of artwork on display, and as a
special treat for youngsters (and others!!), there are
tabletop easels in the dining area with blank paper and
crayons--available for anyone to use, and very handy to have
around for when that "one little spark of
inspiration" washes across you!! Indeed, I was inspired
here myself--I drew a stunning, albeit a very
"interpretive"--portrait of Former Disney CEO
Michael Eisner (I had just returned from Disney-MGM Studios,
having visited Walt Disney: One Man's
Dream, which features a
newly-revised finale movie). Hmmm....better not quit my day
job to become an artist--YET!! A nice touch is the
"Artist of the Day", where someone's drawings are
selected for posting on a large floor easel by the entrance.
Outside view of Artist's
Palate--the pool is directly opposite this facade
Part of the foodservice area with
ceiling light detail shown
Ceiling in the dining area--notice
the paintings mounted high above the doors and windows
In the dining area with a view
through the door leading toward the check-in area. A corner of
the gift shop area is also visible to the left of the
doorway
A "scan" of the display
card for Artist's Palate in the rooms of SSR
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