Woody Creature Comforts
WC3 serves food with taste and purpose
By Daniel A. Shaw

Woody Creek is best known as the funky home of the late Hunter S. Thompson and the Woody Creek Tavern. It’s time to add the Woody Creek Community Center, aka WC3, to that short list, thanks to a welcoming, laid-back vibe and some spectacularly good down-home food.

Where the Tavern invites patrons to bask in kitsch, banter with the waitresses and celebrate something—anything—with a lively meal and a few margaritas, the WC3, right next door, is a quieter place to grab a quick bite solo or with a friend or unwind with laptop and latte.

The WC3 also is a nonprofit, established to serve the people of Woody Creek. Locals can come in for free wellness checks; the center helps out Woody Creek residents in need; a gallery space in back hosts local artists, and the entire space is available for rent for all kinds of events.

But first and foremost, it is a gathering place earning unexpected culinary cachet. The WC3 is cozy, comfortable and delicious, thanks in large part to Woody Creekers Kris and Martin Cooney. Kris runs the business end of things, and Martin, a master stone carver by day, prepares the food. Sales of that food, of donated used books and of retail specialty items help fund the Center’s good work. And what food it is!

The lunch/dinner menu regularly sports five kinds of curries, ranging from scorching chicken vindaloo to fruity, mild Persian lamb. Chili con carne is blessedly simple and features local grass-fed beef with a gentle kick. Paninis (including a lavish turkey pesto moz zarella), soups and salads round out the selections. All are made daily

to order are priced at or near $6.95. Order it at the counter from Kris or Julie or whoever’s there that day, and they’ll bring it to your table, which, if the sun’s shining, should be outside on the patio.

The curries, soups and stews are available pre-packaged to take home. And speaking of taking home, Martin makes some of the best pizzas anywhere, boxed up fresh or frozen and ready to cook.  You can even buy a pizza stone, which he highly recommends.

“What we’re trying to do here is bring back the old quality cafeteria, where there are no pretensions about the service,” says Martin. “We just want to give people really good food, and do it in a way that makes it not a lot more expensive than eating at home. In small towns the local places should be really good. But too often they’re not. They rely on the Sysco truck. We’re making food the old fashioned way—simmering our own sauces, doing what all restaurants used to do.”

There’s a vision at work here, and it’s a unique one in this valley.  “We’ve tried to create a menu that’s all our own,” says Kris, “and to give people what they really want.” On that note, a “Locals’ Favorites” section on the menu features robust filé gumbo, a rosemary lamb ragout and that chili. It will change with demand.  “The food varies,” adds Martin, “but it’s all authentic. We roast whole turkeys, and I carve them by hand, for our sandwiches. I get tamarinds and simmer them for the chicken vindaloo. I make my own curry mixes.”

The Cooneys ran a pseudo-English pub in Portland, Oregon, where they met (“I was the token Englishman,” notes Lancashire native Martin). Then they opened a pseudo-Portland coffeehouse in London.  “We thought London needed a bit of cheering up,” he laughs. “London had these grim, Orwellian cafés run by tyrants.” It lasted four years.

The WC3 should last a lot longer than that. Anyone can become a member for $35 a year, and that entitles you to discounts on food and to the ability to purchase alcohol—not to mention making you an honorary Woody Creature. A month’s trial is $10. Or check out one of the summer events. WC3 is showing every World Cup game from June 11–July 11 on a giant projection TV, and you don’t have to be a member to buy alcohol during a special event.

Full breakfasts are on tap for the summer, including egg/English muffin sandwiches, bagels and pastries and rumble strips—grilled tortillas stuffed with your choice of ingredients. Organic coffee is available all day.

“You come here because you can eat good food at a good price in a nice place,” sums up Martin. “It’s grassroots.” And that’s Woody Creek.

GO FIND IT !
Wood Creek Community Center (WC3)
2895 Upper River Road, Woody Creek
(970) 922-2342
www.woodyc3.org