Even though I am giving Baxter's on Cedar, 3 stars, let me say, that I want to be giving it closer to 4 stars, but my overall experience with this restaurant, leaves me unable to quuuuuite, push it to 4 stars, it's somewhere closer to 3.7, if I could put that, haha. Anyway...
Around 3:00pm, I was looking for a great spot to sit at a bar, to order a glass of wine and a light appetizer. I found Baxter's on Cedar, on Yelp and enthusiastically wandered over from my B&B to give it a try. Upon first glance, it did appear pretty busy for this time of day, which was a good sign to me, at me first. There was only one couple at the bar though, so I thought nothing of, saddling up to order.
I loved the decor...lots of brick and outdoor texture, with fresh flowers on every table. However, the moment I sat down, I felt tension from both the man behind the bar and what I quickly observed to be another man, that was the only other server in the restaurant. I did not get a very welcomed feeling, at all. They both appeared agitated and hurried. The man behind the bar, barely looked at me, as he slid a wine menu my way, after I sat there awkwardly, for several minutes. When I caught his eye again, I ordered the Duckhorn Decoy Chardonnay. I was never asked if I would like to see a food menu, as he frustratingly slammed and washed cups and plates around, behind the bar, with a scowl on his face. A few minutes later, after spotting the menu's off to the left of me, I popped up off of my stool, and cheerfully said that I was just going to grab an appetizer menu, real quick. When I sat back down, with his head down, not even looking up at me, he muttered, "I could have gotten it for you!", obviously annoyed. But I honestly, did not feel comfortable to ask him for a menu.
I ordered the Baker's Dozen, Shrimp in the Raw, with housemade cocktail sauce and then proceeded to wait for 20 minutes, for it to arrive. My wine glass became empty in that time and it wasn't until I caught his attention again, by announcing that I would like to order something else, that I ordered another glass, this time, a Pinot Grigio, as they no longer carry the Sauvignon Blanc. I have to say though, that the shrimp were perfection. I wasn't expecting them to be warm (as the usual shrimp cocktail is chilled), but it was really delicious that they were warm, as they were able to soak up the sauce. They were plump and pink and juicy, Gulf Shrimp.
Now, let me just describe the atmosphere of the service, from the perspective of someone that was sitting at the bar, near the kitchen and privy to hearing everything. The male server (his name is Nikia (sp?) I know his name, because the man behind the bar, barked it at him several times), was completely overwhelmed for the entire hour that I was there 3pm-4pm, as was "the man behind the bar". They were both grumbling complaints under their breath and stomping around. Nikia actually said "Fuuuuck!" multiple times, within my ear shot and one time, when someone at a table with a large party, requested more ketchup, I distinctly heard him mutter, "fuck you!", as he rushed by me. That, is just not okay. I got the feeling that they were not expecting to be as busy as they were, at that time and were not prepared to handle the volume that they were hit with.
So, here is the thing...I made the decision to come back to Baxter's later in the evening, for dinner! Why? Because the entree menu looked divine, my shrimp had been perfect and I surmised that they would probably be more appropriately staffed and less disheveled for dinner service. And I was mostly right, about that assumption.
I arrived at 7:30 and headed straight for the bar. The restaurant was full and there was a wait outside. The same staff from earlier, were all there, plus a few extra's. "The man behind the bar", was still in his position and Nikia, actually recognized me from earlier and said, "welcome back, darling!", as he whirred past me. I preferred this greeting, over the other one!
After some observation, I realized that "the man behind the bar", was actually probably one of the owners, which surprised me, given the treatment that I had received before.
This time he kept my water refilled (earlier in the day, I was never even offered water), during dinner and gave me the recommendation, of a Merlot, when I inquired as to which red, I should order. I was between the pork chop and the halibut that was on special and he recommended the halibut. The halibut was very fresh tasting and perfectly cooked, with a nice crust on the outside and tender and flaky in the middle. It came on a bed of just 'meh', rice pilaf-ish type stuff and alongside perfectly cooked asparagus. The thing that kind of ruined it for me was the berry sauce it was covered in. It just didn't blend well; both were tasty on their own, but not together.
Overall, my experience here, had high's and low's. I would probably try it again, but not on my very next visit to Sandpoint. read more