I was in town for business. Â Stopped here for supper. Â Brisket sandwich was rubbery, fries average, beer was cold. Â I reached under my seat to pull it closer to the table and had to peel my hand off the bottom, it was so sticky. Â yuck! Â went and washed my hands. Â Not much in town but I'll find somewhere else next time I'm in the area.
Review Source:Would give 2.5 stars. We were there on a Saturday night at 6p. Place was about half full. $5.50 draft beers (ouch). Â Service was friendly but on the slower side. Food was mediocre. Burger was burned. Onion rings were greasy. Chicken was burned as well. The bathrooms were nice. We have friends that always stop here when they drive through so not sure if we caught them on a bad night or what. Â We'll be trying somewhere different next time we drive through.
Review Source:Good food, service, location.
Was in town snowboarding and found this place. Reviews in Yelp were pretty poor, but Virginia MN doesn't have many other options. The blu cheese burger was great, chicken strips were also great. Ribs were OK but I wouldn't get them again. Â
Service was really good. Other reviewers complained but my waitress was very friendly and attentive. Also attractive +1.
Overall pretty good food. I would stop here again. I only detracted a star because the place was pretty dirty and gross. The tables are vinyl and need to be replaced, floors are nasty etc.
Would have been a petty decent meal if they got our order right, smiled, remembered we were there and that we were paying customers. Â Yeah, but how was the food? Â Meh. Â Northwoodsy standard fare and some pretty good smoked brisket. Â Nothing special other than the SUPER service no one got....ever.
Review Source:Good:
- Great selection of bottled beers from various regions
- Fast service
- Very warm and comfortable (comparatively to the external, much cooler temperature)
Bad:
- The famed smokehouse pork ribs are much to be desired of. Â It's as if they cooked just one side, and poured BBQ sauce on the top and let it cook some more for a bit. Â The worst part to all of this was that the membrane from the underside of the ribs weren't even removed prior to cooking, which makes this quite a chore to eat given the bad texture and the membrane also destroys a lot of potential flavor this could have had.
The Sawmill was the location for our 30th Class Reunion in 2001, and we were very disappointed at that time. Â They had no air conditioning and temps were in the 90's, our party was located on the upper floor - even hotter, as I recall, the buffet menu consisted of mashed potatoes and gravy - ugh! Â However, it is located in our home town of Mt. Iron, and has experienced several changes of management over the past 10 years, so when the 40th came around, we decided to give it another try. Â Once again, we were extremely disappointed, but for many more reasons. Â
First of all, the price we negotiated for the buffet was $16 per plate, but the bill came in at 18.95 per plate! Â After complaining, they lowered it to 16.95. Â Whle the food was acceptable, the fact thatt they would not honor their negotiated price left a bad taste in our mouths!
Secondly, the party room on the top floor is open to the first floor, and between the buzz of conversation on both floors and the loud, head-banging music  that never stopped, we found ourselves shouting at each other to be heard.  Really tiresome by the end of the night.
Thirdly, only one person was assigned to tend the bar and handle the whole room. Â Drinks were served in plastic cups - how tacky! Â Plus, they did not have a fully stocked the bar, so any order beyond the basics, such as tonic water or call brand liquor, required our wait person to make a round trip to the downstairs bar, thus leaving us totally unattended! Â There were 42 of us - a decent number to keep a bartender busy full time. Â Her numerous trips to the downstairs bar over the course of the evening created a huge service gap. Â
All in all, the consensus is that our next gathering, in 2013, will be held at another venue. Â First time shame on you. Â Second time shame on us. Â Third time? Â We'd be crazy!
Ok, so, I'm driving through town and need to stop for lunch. Â I tell myself not to waste an opportunity! Â Why eat at one of the many chain places surrounding this place? Â Try someplace independent and local! Â So I did, and I spent almost every moment wishing I'd have gone to the Arby's across the street (I really am grossed out by Arby's usually). Â
To start with, the place has no A/C. Â Apparently they used to but when it broke the owners decided not to buy a new one (that's what the waitress said). Â It was 90 degrees outside when I stopped and it may have actually been warmer inside; it was completely miserable. Â To continue, I was not able to place my order for 30 min after coming in. Â I very seriously considered walking out after sipping my soda for half an hour waiting. Â There wasn't even a waitress around to flag down. Â Trying to be smart, I ordered the app sampler instead of a meal, thinking it would be faster to come out. Â No dice, it was another 20-25min. Â Everything was dark dark, like the oil was old or too hot. Â The french-fry-like-item was clumped together in one huge glob. Â The food was steaming hot, unfortunately it was too hot in the place for it to cool off. Â
I wasted over an hour sweating my proverbial balls off in this disappointment of a restaurant. Â In retrospect I wish I would have gone through any of the disgusting chain drive-thru's instead of stopping here.
The Sawmill has been my regular stop every time I find myself staying the night on the Range, which has been pretty often over the course of the last few years. Â I've taken to going to the Sawmill for dinner and a few brews whenever I spend the night, as I'm usually staying at the hotel across the parking lot. Â I've only stopped in once for lunch, but the experience was similar to every dinner I've had there minus the accompanying beer. Â Since I've usually found myself coming into Virginia later in the evening I've never actually been here during normal dinner hours, and I've never bothered to sit in the dining area, preferring the bar instead. Â There's apparently an off-sale liquor store attached to the bar, though I've not had the need to ever take anything away. Â The place has a warm feel to it, albeit a bit cavernous in the dining areas, and the bar seems to be fairly popular with both locals and fellow travelers from the nearby hotel. Â
The food at the Sawmill is pretty excellent across the board, though I haven't come close to making my way through the menu.  The last time I was there I saw they had an extra summer menu with a few interesting variations, but I'm a sucker for my regular choices and have a hard time varying from habit.  My top three: buffalo chicken wrap (as always), walleye sandwich, and the chicken wild rice wrap.  The walleye sandwich is one of the best I've had, not overly fried or greasy, with an excellent hoagie roll.  The chicken wild rice wrap is interesting in that is has a special sauce, kind of like a hollandaise, that complements the grilled chicken and wild rice very well.  There are also pizza and pasta options but I've never gone so far as to try any of them - maybe if I were with a couple of people or having a less impromptu dinner.  The kitchen closes at 10, and there have been a couple of times during the summer months that I've missed the cut-off and settled for a couple of beers in lieu of a proper dinner.  There was the option of frozen pizza, but I passed.  Prices are on the  high side, but given the quality I don't really mind it. Â
I like the beers on tap, usually opting for the Schell - last time it was the excellent Firebrick - and usually in 22 oz format. Â The only thing that keeps this off my four-star list is the bartenders can be standoffish, to the point where I've sat unattended for what seems like forever on an otherwise slow night. Â It's happened enough where I've grown to expect it. Â Other than that quibble I've got nothing bad to say about the place. Â I even caught a Cubs game on the TV the last time I was up, definitely a first as it's usually the Twins and nothing else. Â I'd give the place a solid 3.5 if I could. Â The Sawmill is pretty much a lock for favorite place up on the Range for dinner, and I've stayed at the nearby hotel purposely in order to take advantage of the proximity.
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