Heading to the northern climes once again – and hoping to score some good scenery (like fall colors) – we stopped off in a medium-sized city for the night: Marshfield, Wisconsin. There, we had dinner at Lumberyard Bar & Grill.
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Some Brief History
Marshfield’s roots date back to 1872. I am told that the city began when a railroad from Stevens Point (WI) to Lake Superior needed a supply depot. Marshfield was chosen for that. The rest, as they say, is history. Business and industry quickly followed.
In a city of around 20,000 residents, there were about a dozen hotel choices (we have listed a few at the end of the review.) Although I suspect it was due to a large and well- staffed and equipped hospital (started as St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1916) also located there, the number of hotel choices seemed a bit of overkill… Interestingly, Lauren had a number of relatives – Ives family – from there, including a great uncle).
Restaurants
When she could be found… the hotel clerk was a bit cranky, but did mention several restaurants with “good food”. One of her suggestions was a place on the main drag (Central Ave) called Lumberyard Bar & Grill. We decided to give it a go. The parking lot suggested the choice was sound. (You may recall that I have in the past stated that a full parking lot is a good sign – this one looked to be about 80% full.)
Indeed, the number of tables available at the time matched the available number of parking lot spaces. Even so, we were seated immediately after entering. The Lumberyard appeared to be a sort of sports bar; it looked to seat ~ 100 or so. The walls provided eight rather large TV screens, each displaying a football game. I suspected that could have been the reason for an almost-capacity crowd at 6:00 on a Sunday evening.
The Menu
I have seen Chinese restaurants with fewer menu items… That was a bit worrisome, as I wondered whether the kitchen could provide quality to match the menu quantity. After all, with more than 20 different choices for appetizers alone, I was a bit concerned about the quality thing… I gave up trying to count the total number of menu items.
Lauren finally decided on a “Mediterranean Flatbread” (with chicken, baby spinach, tomatoes and cucumbers (cucumbers, REALLY? Never seen cucumbers on flatbread…) on a fete cheese spread , topped with shredded parmesan. the description stated: “Brought to you on a large serving board”. Definitely not all that appealing at the table. I chose a rather basic “Chicken Sandwich” (described as a grilled chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, red onion and mayonnaise). no imagination whatsoever. It was served on a rectangular metal tray, topped with a red and white checkered paper. The mayo was unceremoniously slapped into a small ramekin to be applied by the diner… Worthy of some note however, was that the sandwich came with a pickle spear and “unlimited fries”. (They were actually much better than the sandwich. But, how many French fries can one eat?) Prices were reasonable: the flatbread was $16 and the chicken sandwich was $13. Plating was, disappointingly, second class.
Servers, Service & Food
Obviously – at least from my humble point of view – and contrary to the opinion of the hotel clerk – Lumberyard should not be considered a fine dining venue. And that’s OK. Also, I would have liked to see some kind of uniform (no matter how simplistic) on the servers and hostess. Blue jeans and T-shirts are not that impressive – although they did accompany quite well the sour looks on the faces of most servers, and the hostess.
Speaking of service, it was in fact prompt and the food was hot when it arrived at the table. That’s a definite plus. However, the crust on the flatbread was not at all crisp. This was likely from the juice in the uncooked tomatoes and the cucumber pieces. The heat from the oven simply added unneeded juice. And even with a generous slice of red onion, my chicken sandwich was very unimaginative and quite blah, flavor-wise. Even a sprinkle of seasoned salt would have helped greatly.
Final Thoughts
As a candidate within the “Bar & Grill” category, Lumberyard can almost be allowed something of a free pass. But it just didn’t seem like the employees were happy to be there. Cleaned silverware (at least it was metal flatware and not plastic!) was stored on a table behind us and wrapped into napkins by servers. This task needs to be done somewhere other than a prominent location in the dining room.
Excessive noise resulting from flatware, metal trays and other items being tossed – literally – around the kitchen area was loud and distracting. The acoustics in the dining room were poor and only increased the overall noise level.
Lastly, like car mirror dice, plastic flamingos and dashboard hula dancers, the metal trays that ap’s and dinners were served on just don’t do it for me. Just a hair shy of kitschy. Last time I saw those trays was in a fraternity house dining room in college. Overall? Score Lumberyard with 3 Zins — tops. Pretty sure I’ll be back in Marshfield again, but next time, I’ll look for someplace with slightly higher standards.
The Lumberyard Bar & Grill is located at 1651 N. Central Ave in Marshfield, WI. Their website is not secure, so we won’t link to it here.
Additional Resources, Links & Related Products
- Visit Marshfield – official website guide with ideas for shopping, dining and local attractions
- Images of America – Marshfield by Kenneth J Wood (Amazon book)
