When Woodford Food and Beverage opened last year I, along with half the city, went there in droves. And I dined there three times before even writing my first review. But it wasn’t until yesterday, Sunday, that I had brunch there for the first time.
It’s a great looking room with its wall of windows and the attractive bar for extra dining
Besides the restaurant’s high energy (translate: a noisy room but not in a bad way), the food by chef Courtney Loreg is exceedingly good–very competently prepared classic dishes. It’s not the kind of cooking that will ever garner a James Beard award. That’s because it’s meant to be a neighborhood eatery to serve locals great roast chicken, classic steak frites, a mounding burger, delicious deviled eggs and lots of other dishes that define the culinary nomenclature of inspired American cooking. However, a year later and the restaurant’s menu remains virtually unchanged. That’s a slippery hole that many restaurants dig for themselves. It basically put Roustabout, among other factors, out of business. But I don’t think the same will happen at WFB because the menu is so likable and approachable. To wit–it was packed at brunch, and on recent attempts to have dinner there I was met with the SRO of a successful, popular restaurant.
