Pulled Pork At The Redwood
By Steve Barker
October 10, 2007
I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries ($10), my girlfriend ordered the special, which was a Swiss cheeseburger with sweet potato fries ($7.50), and we ordered hushpuppies to share ($4).
I placed the order at the bar because it didn�t seem as though there was a waiter making rounds. There was just one bartender and one cook/server working. The two seemed to be handling the crowd well. Everyone had a drink in front of him or her, and the quiet female bartender even asked a drunken Yankees� fan to settle down when he was blabbing on about the game, making everyone uncomfortable.
The décor at the Redwood has a Northwest-hunting feel to it. The bar is lined with shotgun shells, and the bathrooms are wallpapered with vintage hunting targets. The limited space is used well, managing to squeeze in a pinball machine and two videogames, a shooting game called Buck Hunter where you shoot deer with a plastic rifle, and my favorite, Golden Tee, a golf simulation game, which gives you something to do while you wait for your food. The service was so quick, though, that we wouldn�t have been able to enjoy a full game.
The pulled pork came open-faced on Texas toast. You get your money�s worth with this one. Also, make sure you have extra napkins. The sweet potato fries were good too. They�d be great at the end of a long night of drinking to soak up the booze. My girlfriend liked her burger. It came with crisp lettuce and two slices of fresh tomato, but what really pulled the burger together was the Redwood Whip, a creamy chipotle sauce that seems to be an ingredient in most things on the menu.
The Redwood Whip was the dipping sauce for the hushpuppies. Even though it�s a great sauce it wasn�t enough to save the dish. The hushpuppies were dry and tasted as though they had been sitting around for a while and were just nuked in the microwave before being set down on our table. I would not order them again. Maybe at midnight after five hours of drinking they�d taste better.
If you don�t plan on having a meal while enjoying a few beers, free peanuts are offered, and you are encouraged to throw your shells on the floor. There is also a selection of typical, bar side-orders if you just feel like munching with some friends. The deep fried Twinkie caught my eye, but there was no way I could have eaten one after such a huge meal.
The drink selection is basic and reasonably priced. $2 Buds, $3.50 wells, and $5 shots of generously-poured Jager. Sorry hipsters, no PBR.
The Redwood is located at 514 E. Howell Street.