yuck
When I went into Northwoods restaurant in Crescent City, CA. I noticed that the air was a bit muggy and the waiters were far too relaxed for my tastes. I was seated by a girl named Sarah, and she had no clue what she was doing. I was finally directed to a poorly lit table in the back. I looked over the childlike menu, it was paper that had been poorly laminated... hello? Did I step into some cheap pizza diner? Oh no, I didn’t... the prices were far too much for this type of setting. But I decided to let my waitress and the cook prove me wrong. My order was taken about 20 minutes after I had gotten there by an airiest girl who seemed more interested in the group of guys that had just walked in than in me, her customer. She was very relaxed, used slang, and very distant. So much for a nice night out. My food arrived after I heard her name called by the cook over and over again... Charlie, Charlie... i can only guess that was the reason for my food being so mushy and lukewarm when I recieved it. It took all night of me trying to get her attention again to get a refill on my water. She came with the check halfway through my meal, so at least I knew she didn’t mind me leaving. I paid with a credit card, and their machine kept messing up, so it took about ten minutes just to get me paid.

Side note: the food was not worth the price. I ordered and consumed one of the worst steak Diane’s I have ever tried, along with one of the most stale and hard baked potatoes ever. I do have one good thing to say, though. I had an amazing salad that I assembled at their salad bar.    [01 Feb 2004 22:47:43]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: salad bar

     ­Cerette Meitzer, Beverly Hills, Ca.   

Terrible!
On our way to the Redwood National Park in northern California, we stopped at a very nice looking, apparently brand new inn called the Light House Inn. We made the mistake of asking the desk clerk to recommend a nice restaurant, and he replied "Well, I REALLY like the Northwoods Restaurant" (next door), and he handed us a coupon entitling us to a FREE shrimp cocktail with each dinner entrée. We should have immediately ignored the concierge’s advice as it was obvious he was promoting a "neighbor". But we bit.

When we entered the Northwoods Restaurant, it didn’t “feel right.” The place was very busy (with a lot of rowdy, undisciplined kids - typical for California), but was warm and humid, and appeared to be dirty. But, we were tired and hungry, so decided to order.

Our server was named Jose and appeared to be harried, but was friendly enough. My wife ordered the $18.95 Stuffed Snapper (even after being warned that it took 25 to 30 minutes to prepare). I ordered the $15.95 Sautéed Oysters. Jose accepted our free Shrimp Cocktail coupons and invited us to visit the salad bar.

Surprise . . . the circular salad bar was GREAT! Huge assortment of FRESH veggies, melons, meats, cheeses, pickles, eggs . . . you name it. We were feeling better about the Northwoods Restaurant!

When we returned to the table our free Shrimp Cocktail had been delivered. I couldn’t believe it. The cocktail was prepared by simply dumping some tiny CANNED shrimp into a bowl. Elizabeth refused to eat it.

We patiently waited 35 minutes for our entrées to be delivered. They looked GREAT. The presentation was good. Elizabeth said that her Stuffed Snapper was “good.” My Sautéed Oysters were barely warm. As a cold, raw oyster eater . . . I ate them anyway.

We theorized that my oysters sat in the kitchen for 30 minutes while Elizabeth’s 35-minute-to-prepare Stuffed Snapper was prepared. When Jose finally returned, I complained about the oysters. He deducted $5.24 (one-third of the entrée price) from the bill and apologized.

With the credit the bill came to $31.82 (excluding a down-graded gratuity).    [02 Jul 2006 08:53:41]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: None

     ­Chuck and Liz from Maryland