Clarion River Woodland Lodge

Valentine’s Day weekend 2015, about a month ago, my fiancé and our friends made reservations at the Clarion River-​Woodland Lodge for our friend’s birthday celebration. Based on reviews of the new ownership, we decided that this might be a nice place to stay. When we arrived, it was truly beautiful, although the weather was close to –15 or so. Snow glistened on the trees, the windows of the lodge were large, allowing the warm golden glow of lights to flood the snow. At dinner, half of my table ordered the «ginger sauce scallops with risotto». What arrived for us was a dish of some cooked, and some totally RAW scallops. They were sitting in a soup of soy sauce! Not just as a garnish, but all of us legitimately had pools of soy sauce without a trace of ginger. Our risotto sat in this salty, fishy pool as well. The risotto wasn’t able to be eaten in place of the raw scallops because the rice was undercooked and chewy, not creamy as risotto is supposed to be. Then for our friend’s birthday, he and his wife asked for a cake. They brought out cupcakes and proceeded to throw it on ALL of our separate bills! The birthday cupcakes were the couple’s idea, they made it clear they wished to pay for everybody’s. Our waitress walked way, did NOT take the cupcakes off of everybody’s bill. Luckily, because we were staying the night, we each had a $ 60 meal credit. Even with our waitress’s terrible attitude, raw food, and her utter refusal to take the cupcakes off of our bills, we left her a very good tip. We decided to go to the bar for a few drinks. My fiancé and I ordered 2 mixed drinks each, and he ordered 2 beers while I ordered 1. Our bill came to $ 72! We were charged for drinking 4 doubles EACH and the right amount of beers. It came to $ 60 for 4 mixed drinks that we didn’t even drink. We have gone out all over Pittsburgh and have never once even spent that much while drinking three times as much! Our friends drank 2 mixed drinks each before dinner and 10 beers after dinner, and their bill totaled $ 20! This is NO JOKE! This cannot be made up! I sadly paid with my debit card, thus I was unable to get my money back at the time. The woman at the front desk was very shocked at our check. What makes the whole scenario peculiar is that the same waitress we had for dinner was the same early 30s, straight long-​haired brunette woman who rang up our dinner bill and also the same woman who rang up our bar bill. The rest of the night was enjoyable back in our rooms where we had a smörgåsbord of alcohol that we obviously should have just drank from the get-​go that came to half of what we paid for 9 drinks at the bar. It was made enjoyable solely because the décor in the place is very nice, and our company was fantastic. The beds were comfortable and it’s actually enjoyable without TVs so you’re able to enjoy the gorgeous snow-​covered pines out of the back window. But, the icing on the cake was the next morning when we went to pay for our room. Our brunette waitress who overcharged us the night before even after a fabulous tip for raw food, didn’t log our payment for our dinner with the dinner credit. It appeared as if we were waiting to pay on the dinner bill still along with our room and had it stapled to our payment information! This woman’s nerve has completely blown mine, my fiancé’s, and our friends’ minds! After proving that we had indeed not only paid for the dinner but paid way more on our bar tab than should ever be necessary anywhere and a large tip, we paid for our room and left. Our friends were more upset than we were, as this had been their idea, their plan, for all of us to enjoy a birthday/Valentine’s Day weekend together. They vowed to never go back, even though they were seriously undercharged and didn’t go through anything my fiancé and I had to endure, it was just the principle that respectable businesses don’t do that to honest-​paying customers who expect a rustic, beautiful, superior-​quality stay at a beautiful lodge in Cook Forest. After months of failed attempts to speak with the owner, we will clearly never return.

We were first and foremost delighted to learn that the Clarion River Woodlands Lodge with Restaurant and Pub reopened! As regular visitors for the last twelve years to the establishment in its previous incarnation as Clarion River Lodge, we admittedly had a sentimental attachment to the place, and we always found it an ideal place to get away and unwind for a couple of days.
It’s true that the place, as of this writing (March 29, 2015,) is still a work in progress, but due to the tender loving care of its new owner, the innkeeper/​chef, and other staff we met this week, it shows great promise. No two rooms are furnished exactly alike, and several have unique wall-​paintings and other accoutrements. There are, blessedly, no televisions in the rooms. Instead there is quiet, privacy, and a forest view right out the window.
Best of all, there are some things about the Clarion River Woodlands Lodge that are already state-​of-​the-​art. First of all, the Woodlands Restaurant has never been better. The chef-​and-​innkeeper, Shawn Russell, offers a nicely varied menu of appetizers, salads, main dishes, and desserts, much of the fare being locally sourced. The first night we had brie in beggar’s purses to start with, and then the Woodlands salad (with delicious local pea sprouts and the chef’s own dressing). I segued to the chicken, which was stuffed with a subtle preparation of garlic and herbs, and served over couscous and fresh green beans; my partner had the homemade pasta, filled with fresh mushrooms and spinach, which again was quite delicate and worth paying careful attention to for the carefully balanced flavor palette. This was accompanied by a very reasonably priced merlot and homemade cake for dessert.
Surprisingly, the menu we were handed the second night was actually a variation on the first one, and we both opted for the bolder fare that was on offer. The artichoke dip was our appetizer, and we learned from other guests dining there that night (all of whom also ordered it) that it’s famous in that neck of Cook Forest. I had the Greek salad, with a robust orange-​flavored dressing and feta cheese, followed by the Delmonico steak (from a local ranch), done to a medium-​rare tee, barely requiring a knife, and served in a Burgundy reduction. My partner had the Milanese chicken, which was new to that night’s menu. This time we had a cabernet sauvignon as accompaniment, but just couldn’t find room for dessert, in spite of the fact that there was cheesecake.
But the best thing about our stay and our meals was the staff themselves. Mr. Russell spent some time talking with us about the dishes he was preparing, the origin of the ingredients, and some of the history of the Lodge itself. He took the time to recommend places to visit during our days in the forest, and in general treated us, we felt, more like guests in his home than as mere customers. Jill, who saw to breakfast our last morning in the Lodge was equally warm and fun to talk with.
This place is such a rare combination of first-​rate cuisine and unpretentious hospitality that we are bit torn. On the one hand, we would be delighted to see it take off and become a highly successful business; but on the other, we would hate to see it lose an iota of the local friendliness and sophistication that seems to go missing from similar inns that get a bit homogenized by success. The Clarion River Woodlands Lodge is unabashedly local and run by creative, intelligent, friendly people. We’ll be back as soon as we can think of the slightest excuse to go out into the woods again!

My lady and I just had a wonderful dinner at the CRWL. The appetizer, salad, entrée, and dessert was top-​notch! Kudos to Shawn, the Chief Chef!