In November Scott, Dan and I gathered for our monthly Dinner Club outing two days before Parker was born. It was my turn to review and I chose the original location of Wood Ranch in Moorpark. It was my last day of work before taking a month off and the location is right next to my office. It was also the second day of the worst cold I have had in several years. Was it H1N1? Maybe. Needless to say I was not on my A game at all. It was my C – game at best. I honestly don’t remember much other than the food seemed acceptable (a nice fever was keeping my taste buds distracted). I remember not liking the ambiance. It felt like someone took an old bank, did some basic remodeling, decided to save money by not adding any windows, and put a new sign out front.
Flash forward to last Friday night. Corine, Brody, Parker, Breanne, Sylvia and myself headed for Wood Ranch Agoura. I charged my phone camera ahead of time with the intent of making up for November’s experience.
I was fresh, full of energy, light on my feet and ready to rumble… and starving. The 20 minute wait wasn’t taxing at all and even provided some entertainment that I know Dan would have loved: A woman rushes past me from behind.. fast enough she feels the need to use my waist to steady her progress as she races by. She is frantically gathering hostesses and waving her arms while she explains something that I can’t quite hear. I look behind me and see what I assume is her 12 year old son sitting on a bench with one leg stretched out on the seat next to him. He seems fine. The woman rushes back to him and, almost angrily, tells him that they have to cancel dinner because she has to take him to the hospital. “The hospital? Why?” The boy asks. Now I see there is a cloth napkin on his leg. It’s a thin napkin and there’s no blood seeping through. The mom responds in a manner completely absent of calmness, “Because you need stitches right now!” I look back to the napkin…. Nothing. Now the boy, who had been totally calm, places his hand on the napkin and starts to hyper ventilate. She grabs him up and races out the door. Fascinating, but I digress.
Once seated we do everything by the book. Giant plate of onion strings? Check. Salads to start with? Check. The server (her name escapes me but we’ll call her Jane) is strange. She’s really into being a server. As in over the top.
Jane – And what can I get you?
Gregg – I’ll do the ribeye. Can I get grilled onions with that?
Jane – Absolutely. That’s a really good decision.
Gregg – And I think I’ll start with a salad with Ranch.
Jane – Really excellent choice.
Gregg - Thank you?
She may have been a little odd but she was dialed on the job. She never missed a beat and everything was seamless. The ambiance and the food was first rate. The experience reminded me of why Wood Ranch truly is one of the top restaurants in our little corner of the world. I could go into descriptions of each dish but I don’t think I could do them justice. In the half dozen times I’ve been here since we moved I still haven’t met an item I didn’t love.
Parting thought… Should I be concerned that my pee smells like oil after indulging in a hearty helping of onion strings?
