As you walk down Calendar Avenue in LaGrange, you will run into the currently under construction Wooden Paddle restaurant. The Wooden Paddle is a restaurant based in Lemont; however, owners Jonathan and Brianna Cowan are planning to open a new location in Downtown LaGrange. 

The building is 98 years old and has never been a restaurant, therefore, it has been harder than expected to get the restaurant up and running. It was originally supposed to open in the spring of 2023. Currently, the owners are waiting for a liquor license, and they are hoping to open in early March, according to the LaGrange Patch website. 

Walking into the Wooden Paddle in Lemont, the first thing we noticed was the cramped and loud atmosphere. However, the LaGrange location is supposed to be larger than the Lemont location, so hopefully, this will not be a problem. 

We made a reservation for 8 p.m., but we were not seated until 8:20 p.m. It was clear this was a popular restaurant in Lemont, as every table was full. Even though the restaurant was very busy, the food came out extremely quickly and the service was pretty good. 

As we looked around, it was obvious that customers mainly ordered the pizzas. We ordered the Buzzkill pizza ($20), which exceeded our expectations. With crispy pepperoni, red chiles, and sweet honey, there was a perfect balance of flavors. The only negative to the pizza was that the crust was flimsy, but it was a small price to pay for this delicious pizza. 

The next thing we tried was the Chicky Chicky Parm Parm ($20). The first problem with this item was that it came in a small round dish, making it difficult to cut. The texture of the chicken was chewy and the burrata on top did not mesh well with the rest of the dish. The basil and garlic burrata made this a nontraditional chicken parmesan. Despite this, we enjoyed the crispy crust of the chicken and the red sauce.  

The “Hail Yes!” Caesar Salad ($12) was a great dish to pair with the pizza. The lettuce was fresh and lemony, while the garlic breadcrumbs added a great texture to the salad. However, we thought the salad needed more dressing, so it could have more Caesar flavor. 

Finally, we tried the N’djua Vodka Pasta ($23). The dish had a good kick to it; however, it did not taste like a traditional vodka pasta dish. The main flavor was butternut squash, which threw us off, and it needed more sauce. This pasta should not be called vodka pasta.  

Overall, we would highly recommend the pizzas and enjoyed the salad, but the other dishes were not our favorite. This restaurant was a good mix of casual and fancy, making it perfect for the LaGrange Area. The Cowan’s have been giving updates on the LaGrange location over their YouTube channel @wooden.paddle. The LaGrange location is 23 W. Calendar Avenue. The Lemont location is 212 Stephen St., Lemont. Definitely go try the Wooden Paddle in LaGrange once it opens.      

3.5/5 paws