My wife and I tried the Woodshed for the first time this past weekend for our anniversary based on comments on this page. It was a mixed experience but I want to be fair and provide both the good and the bad.
The good:
-we sampled the raw bar with oysters and shrimp cocktail...EXCELLENT.
-Out waitress was attentive and knew everything on the menu very well. Its clear the owners take care to bring their staff up to speed on their entire menu.
-The drinks were perfect. I like a good martini and my wife tried the blueberry lemonade drink and both were well crafted.
-The restaraunt itself was very welcoming and had a very unique feel to it.
-our desserts were very tasty. My wife had the "creme" dish and I had the chocolate mousse pie. I think we were pushing it having dessert with so much food.
The "not so" good":
-the prices were very steep even for one of the nicer restaraunts in the area. While we weren't there to pinch pennies...I think many will frequent the restaraunt less often due to prices and that may cause some struggles to keep the place going...especially in the off season.
-The meat: my wife ordered the pork chop and I ordered the lamb chops. Neither of us are picky and will not complain if the tempurature of the meat misses by a bit. Understanding that both cut were very thick and can be a challenge for inexperienced chefs because of it....my lamb chop was raw (not under cooked but deep purple raw). I sent it back (which I will only do if things are really bad) and it came back well done (I ordered medium rare). I ate the chop because I didn't want my wife waiting all night for me to get the right tempon my chop. About 1/4 way through my wifes pork chop...she sees her chop is also raw in the middle (a HUGE health risk with pork). She was going to cut around it but I told her it was dangerous and to send it back. It came back the second time...still raw so she sent it back again. By the time her chop arrived for the third time, I was done eating.
Having said this, I know mistakes happen. It certainly wasn't the waitresses fault and her tip didn't reflect that. The chef made 3 mistakes but I've worked my share of kitchens and understand how hard it can be to get the temp right on a thick cut of meat....but he did "miss" 4 times on one table of two. I was most disappointed that, in an establishment of this caliber, the manager didn't drop by to say a few words. While we weren't expecting a comped round of drinks or dessert...this is common in high end restaraunt when they don't live up to the billing. I was more expecting an indication that management cares about the quality of food going to the table for a $200 bill for two people.
A huge ovation to the waitress, the bartender and the person running the raw bar. You folks knocked it out of the park. As for the rest...my last visit to the Woodshed. You could have killed my wife with raw pork and nobody but the waitress seemed to care. A true disappointment to a perfect start.
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