I keep trying this place every few months, since they opened, hoping it will somehow get better.....it didn't. I like the location, the open kitchen/dining room, and the street life/view - it's a fun place. But, the food standards are just plain LAZY. Ordered the hummus platter - I liked the pickles/peppers/asparagus in addition to the nice warm pita triangles. The Hummus was a fine puree, a bit loose and watery, but was decently flavored.
For my entree - I ordered the 1/2 slab of ribs. My other tablemates ordered a pizza and a veggie burger. The food arrived super quick, which made me a bit suspicious. Sure, the ribs are always cooked ahead of time, and my oversauced ribs were a bit overdone. Not dried out, but overdone as to where one could shake the slab, and the entire side of meat would fall off - kinda like overcooking pasta. But, the ribs were pretty good flavor wise, and they had plenty of meat on the bone [before it fell off]. My sides were an utter disappointment. The cornbread muffin was straight out of the box - dry and no cornbready texture, it was a yellow cupcake. The dollop of cole slaw was at a unnervingly tepid temperature, and half liquid mayonnaise - blech! The crusher was the Onion Rings. How do you fugg-up Onion Rings? Ironwood's got the technique down. They must have been leftovers from the previous night, because they were like rubber bands entombed within a oil soaked twice deep fried batter. I've rarely seen such a sad onion ring. I complained and they did bring out some freshly deep fried ones that were barely acceptable, but really, opening a box of Gordon Food Services frozen onion rings is not going to win any accolades - dull and lifeless flavor from what is normally such a delicious side. For the prices Ironwood charges, one should really expect more than pre-made Frozen food. Lazy Ironwood, Layy-zeee!
My tablemate's veggie burger was OK for a pre-made patty microwaved to perfection [?], but the squeeze bottle streak of guacamole on top of the patty was a head scratcher - why not real pieces of fresh avacado? Oh yeah, you can't buy those frozen and pre-made..... The pizza resembled a pizza, but was a curious mix of wet and watery in the center, and the Crust looked as if it were already pre-cooked a day previously, topped with toppings then thrust back into the wood fired oven to melt the cheese - Not the way to make a wood fired pizza. I surmise that the prep cooks wood-fire a batch of blank pizza crusts, then as the orders come in, they top them and heat em up - very fast, but even Domino's doesn't do that.... A goopy flavorless mess - I was embarrassed for the wood fired oven. The pizza could be so good with that oven, if the management really cared about standards. The one saving grace was the cold beer that thankfully provided some relief from the tedium of the cuisine. Thank you beer!
I really want to like Ironwood, but the food continues to disappoint. This place is hoppin' on the weekends and always has a good crowd. I'm sure I'll get dragged back here again, but I'll make sure to eat beforehand. Perhaps the management's food standards don't really have to be up to snuff, as long as this restaurant remains a popular place to see - and be seen at. That only takes you so far, and I'm done with this trip - adios Ironwood!
http://www.ironwoodgrillplymouth.com/
