Wood Inn — Restaurant in Carthage

I stopped in for the first, last and only time this September with a friend and coworker of mine who's new to the area. We sat at the bar just long enough to order beers before heading to the back to shoot a couple games of pool. As we were playing, we saw a small group of people walk up the stairs to the small balcony/loft area above. I didn't think anymore of it until we started to leave after finishing our beers and our second game of pool, when I told my friend to hold on a second while I checked it out. As I said, I'd never been there before, so I was curious to see the layout upstairs. I walked about halfway up the steps before turning around, because all of the lights were off, and it appeared as though it was being used mostly for storing musical equipment, with only a table or two and a handful of chairs/stools scattered across the floor.

As we were walking out, I was stopped by a woman whom I'm guessing to be the manager or shift supervisor, who was as abrasive and confrontational as she was severe-looking. She was about 50, tall for a woman, frumpy, brassy, unnecessarily loud, war paint caked on over a badly cracked face, hair dyed unconvincingly jet black with noticeably greying roots, and dressed as if she truly believed that one can remain Forever 21... I'm sure you know the type, but I thought I'd paint the picture anyway. Quite pathetic.

Anyway, she asked me very stridently what I was doing upstairs. I calmly replied that it was my first time at The Wood Inn, and that I was just having a look around. Unimpressed with my answer, she repeated her question again before elaborating that the upstairs was off limits to customers and that I didn't have any business wandering up there. I figured this wasn't entirely true due to the presence of the tables and chairs, but didn't want to escalate tensions by pressing the issue. Just as calmly as before, I responded by explaining that I deduced as much when I saw the clutter on the floor and that all the lights were off... Hence why I turned around halfway up the stairs. I apologized for the trouble, explaining that it was an honest mistake, and that I didn't think it would cause any issues considering we had just watched two couples walk upstairs no more than a half hour earlier while we were shooting pool and heard them walking around overhead for at least a few minutes before coming back down. She abruptly cut me off at that point and insisted that no one had gone upstairs. It was then that I realized there was no reasoning with her, and that she was simply looking for an argument with a couple of unfamiliar faces that she felt didn't belong there... A mindset not at all uncommon in small, rural towns. I wanted to tell her that if it meant that much to her to keep outsiders from wandering upstairs, maybe she should consider putting up a sign or roping off the stairway. I let it go though. That would have made too much sense. She would have just told me to mind my own business and not to tell her how to run her bar or some such nonsense bravado.

But wait! There's more! The plot thickens. As my buddy and I were finally leaving, some young guy with milk still on his breath (who had just overheard the whole exchange while sitting at the bar) called us "faggots", trying in vain to instigate a fight. I must admit that I did consider it briefly, but decided it wouldn't be worth the legal trouble that would all but certainly follow. Besides, he was just a barely legal, mouthy little punk who looked softer than sponge cake, but was clearly trying to put on a convincing tough guy facade for the benefit of the cheap little redhead he had with him. I sincerely hope she was impressed. It certainly wasn't an Academy Award-winning performance, but if it got him what he was after from her, then good for him. Glad I could help. What floored me more than anything he said was the total silence and indifference of my honky tonk special behind the bar. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. Real hospitable crowd there at The Wood Inn. Classy people and a...

Arrived right at lunchtime (noon). We ordered Mozzarella Sticks, which are GIANT/Jumbo 4 pc. cheese sticks w/Marinara super delicious. The pub was about half packed. We then ordered the Tenderloin Horseshoe and the Turkey Pony. My husband ordered sweet tea, he got unsweetened no biggie. His horseshoe meal came out as a pony, which was how it was wrote on our check.

The restrooms have no handicap rails, so if you have a physical disability that you need a wheelchair, cane, walker, or crutches, it may be difficult to move around in.

Great seating areas in sections. Good service. Friendly customers. Delicious food. Definitely worth trying atleast once in your life. I am a sucker for pub/grill foods....

I am not from Carthage and the people in the know say the Wood Inn is one of the better places to eat in town. It was typical bar food but fast and reasonably priced. The Wood Chips were good. I had the fried chicken salad - it was okay. My friend, who has enjoyed their sandwiches many times was disappointed in the choice of bread. In the past she had a hoagie roll and today, the sandwich had regular white bread. Due to the lack of choices in Carthage, I will probably...