My Review: Woodlands
Inspired by the chaos created by our loyal Disher who reviewed Woodlands, I headed over a little while ago for lunch. Here is my quick take.
It’s pretty, inside and out. Clean lines, warm wood floors, upholstered high-backed booths, and walls of stacked limestone. The dining room surrounds the bar and at 1:00PM, the place was about half full. Our waiter was very friendly and seemed a true professional. Our drinks, iced tea ($2.50) and water were delivered immediately and our orders were taken. We started with bubbling hot spinach artichoke dip ($8.00) served with lovely crispy flat bread. Ate it all. Then the waiter came back and asked us what we’d ordered for our entrée. No problem, we ordered the kobe sliders ($11.00) and mahogany chicken ($13.00). We waited about 15 minutes before he came back and asked us if we had ordered a cheeseburger. No, the “kobe” sliders. Three minutes later, the correct order arrived. The bread on the sliders was nice, but the “kobe” meat was dry despite the fact that it was drowning in sweet barbecue sauce. (Why bother with the “kobe” if you’re gonna smother it? IJS.) The skin on the chicken wasn’t crispy, it was all rubbery—I showed it to Timmy and he said it looked like a part(s) of his body that I will not print here. The dark meat was moist; the white meat was dry. The accompanying fingerling potatoes, which they gladly substituted for the mashed, were nice as were the julienned vegetables. With a tip, our lunch came to $44.00. There was no valet. If I lived down the street, I’d probably go back to try some of the other items on the menu—desserts “sounded” good–but I don’t. BTW, they only offer sweet potato fries which irked my friend. All-in-all, I was not impressed. Next.
10 Comments to “My Review: Woodlands”
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The loyal Disher can take a lesson from you on how to write a lukewarm review that doesn’t sound like the acting out of a spoiled teenager.
Sounds like another log on the fire that drives my friends to ask when I’ll open my own restaurant. I will hear it from them again soon.
Nancy, I agree with your “beef” on using Kobe when it will be drowned in sauce. Kobe should not be masked at all with extra sauces or overseasoning. I’m not willing to spend 30-200% more for Kobe beef, if it’s going to be served as a sauce with beef added for texture.
Is the kobe beef ground beef? If so doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of having kobe meat? I mean massaging cows for tender beef I get. But when you pulverize it and grind it you are breaking down the proteins anyway (tenderizing). Then, put it on a bun with veggies, sauce, and possibly cheese? Steak I get, but what is the point of a kobe burger anyway? Can one really tell by tasting alone, the difference between Grade A and Kobe when used as a burger?
I tried the sliders - only managed to down one of the three. It’s just oversauced brisket on a bun with nothing else - who cares if its “kobe beef” - didn’t taste like Kobe and bordered on being tough. BTW, what’s up with “kobe” (note the little k), is it the new “Black Angus” - a meaningless distinction dreamed up by some marketing type in NYC? Woodlands’ chef needs to try a slider at the Porch and figure out how its done.
The first time I had Kobe beef was at the former Citizen, and Chris Ward was working that evening. It was high quality stuff, and priced accordingly (if memory serves $20 per ounce), from a new producer in East Texas. You could visually see the difference, the delicate layering of fat within the tenderloin that was for all purposes, raw, and sliced paper thin. It needed nothing, sauce or accompaniments, to be a perfect dish.
I went for the second time a few weeks ago and I’m here to tell you, short ribs is where it’s at. So good, falling apart juicy good. I had the lava cake again which is still divine and the calamari again which is still delish. Can’t wait to go back for a third meal. Maybe lunch next time.
The white grape martinis and their asain calarmari is all I need. Service is top notch and you can tell they want to get to know their regulars. Don’t know what it says about me, but when they see me come in, they immediately pull out a chilled martini glass.
The white grape martinis and their asian calarmari is all I need. Service is top notch and you can tell they want to get to know their regulars. Don’t know what it says about me, but when they see me come in, they immediately pull out a chilled martini glass.
I have been impressed with the food and especially the service on all of my 4 visits. If your food arrived as ordered in less than 30 minutes, I don’t understand what you are nit-picking about. Sometimes, weekday lunches in a new restaurant can be a hectic affair.
I firmly agree that the sliders need work, or possibly removal from the menu. Woodlands is overall very nice, and in fact a great addition to the neighborhood. It sure beats the Wendy’s.
I went with a friend Thursday night - my take is that the atmosphere was good and the waiter was good. We had 2 salads and a crab cake appetizer. Appetizer was marginal and the salads were average.