I've eaten at every single restaurant in Woodland. Really. Every single one. Seriously. When a new place opens up, I'm there- if not on opening day, at least in the first week. I've been everywhere...except for one place.

I've never eaten at Morrison's Upstairs. I've eaten at the damn China Smorgi (once)...but I've never been to Morrison's. I don't know why- I just haven't gotten there.

I could go in and write a review, but I wanted to do something a little different...

I thought it would be interesting to WORK at Morrison's. I wanted to see what really goes at restaurants in Woodland. So I e-mailed Liz from Morrison's (an InsideWoodland subscriber, so I had her address), and I told her my idea. Surprisingly, she liked it.

So next we had to decide what I would do: be a waiter? A cook's assistant? A bartender? Wait..bartender? Hmmm...that sounds good. Almost glamorous! Yes, that is what I wanted to do- tend bar at Morrison's on a Saturday night.

So I came in on a Saturday night, ready to work my shift from 6:00 to 9:00. I was prepared to do some serious work. I knew I would have to start at the bottom, so I was ready to get my hands dirty.

(As always, I suggest you hit 'F11' to make this story fill the screen)

When I told them I didn't drink, they said: "But you've got red hair!"

This is James (left) and Jason. James was the 'real' bartender the night I was there, and Jason is the barback. They had just finished tapping a keg and the thing exploded everywhere- so they were covered in beer.

Jason, who is 21 has been working at the bar for about a month. He likes it because, "I get to work, and be in a social scene at the same time."

James told me that the most popular drinks they serve are the Long Island Iced Tea and margarita. The most popular beer is the Bud Light on tap. (Which is also the cheapest beer.)

Katie, the bar waitress is 21 years old, has red hair, and is really nice.

There was a constant stream of food that would show up on this counter...it was all good.

Now that I've been at the bar for a while, I figure it is time to start talking to some of the customers, take some pictures, and figure out what people are doing.

This is Sean. He sat at the same seat in the bar the entire time I was there. I swear to god, he must have a bladder of a water buffalo, because he was drinking but he never moved. But I'm not exactly sure what he was doing there- at one point he was reading a newspaper- not the best way to pick up chicks.

So I decided to do an extensive interview:

Well, that was my first interview, and I must say it went really well. So it filled me full of confidence and gave me a renewed enthusiasm for my job as a bartender, working at Morrison's, and interacting with people. With newfound gusto I threw myself into my work.

I got my cholesterol tested a week later. It was at 256. I will be cutting out fried cheese for a while.

The chicken (big things on the far left) was really, really good. Cheese sticks are always a favorite of mine and I enjoyed those. The little taquito things were good, more flavorful than I expected. Fried zucchini might be the only vegetable I eat all week so it was good to see that on the plate. But I didn't know what the longer things were- (Put your mouse on the picture to see descriptions) they looked like taquitos, but had something else inside, until I find out what they are, I'm not sure how I feel about them. Possibly they were egg rolls, or pizza sticks or something. Yes, now that I think of it, probably some sort of pizza stick. Whatever the hell a pizza stick is.

A few of the drinks they make at Morrison's. The Mudslide, Banana Royale, Cosmopolitan, and the Blue Abyss.

This is Ray (left) and Mike. They were at the bar drinking some Long Island Iced Teas after playing golf out at Wild Wings. Mike won by three strokes, even after spotting Ray 9. "So I beat him by like.....twelve!" (or something like that!)

Morrison's was actually their third drink stop- first they went to Kenny's, where Ray bought a pitcher of beer. Then they went to The Stag, and finally ended up at Morrison's. By the time I talked to them, Mike was pretty convinced he was a professional golfer. He figured that Ping would pay him $500 if I took a picture of him wearing the hat. He had one quote: "Ping Baby!" Ray on the other hand said, "Those chicks at the end of the bar are pretty."

Here are the 'chicks at the end of the bar' and the guys they came in with. Chuck, Sandy, Gloria and Mike. Sorry, but I forgot who was who. But I can tell you that the two who are seated are married...and they first met each other at the Morrison's bar- 13 years ago. They are still regulars every Saturday night.

What are you drinking? "Vodka and Water - light."

This is called the Blue Abyss. But to Ray and Mike, maybe it should be re-named, "Blue-Haired Abyss."

Here are two girls, Anika and Kristen who are really nice! They were hanging out at Morrison's, starting their night out. They figured they would also end up at Kenny's and Tony's. Anika is originally from Huntington Beach, but now lives in Woodland. Kristen lives in Davis.

InsideWoodland: "What do you like about Woodland?"
Anika: "It's an easy-going environment."
InsideWoodland: " But what does it need?"
Anika: " We need a more diverse scene..more people."

Both of these girls work at Wild Horse Golf Course in Davis. I said, "Wow...I don't really see many young, good looking girls working at golf courses." Anika said, "Well, I hire them that way."

Good job Anika...keep up the good work- we appreciate it. We really do. I wish more places had hiring policies like that.

$9.95 for what they describe as: Six large prawns served with cocktail sauce & lemon.

I don't usually like shrimp-cocktail. But Morrison's serves 'Prawn Cocktail.' I will tell you without a doubt, this was the best shrimp/prawn cocktail I have ever had. It if was always this good, I would order it from more places, but some restaurants serve that crap that looks more like krill than shrimp. This stuff was really good.

Living in sin has it's rewards.

Here we have Butch and Tanya. They were at the bar for a long time before I could talk to them...because they were so damn lovey dovey. I tried to catch their eye a few times, but there was no way to get their concentration off of each other. Besides, Tanya probably just thought I was checking her out...which I was.

I told James the bartender that I was having a hard time breaking into their conversation. He said, "Just wait until they get a couple or 3 drinks in them.." Sure enough, after about 30 minutes, they finally broke eye contact with each other, and I went over to talk to them.

One of the first things I said was, "wow, it was really hard to break in over here." Tanya said, "we're in love...."

Daniel, and Dani. They are both in a band named Deciembre Gris.
They're both friends of James, and just came in to hang out for a while.

Daniel just graduated with a journalism degree from UC Davis, and he is looking for a job with a newspaper. I asked him what he thought about Woodland: " I've lived here since I was 7 years old. I love it, and I hate it. You don't realize how nice it is until you go away." I have heard that from a lot of young people that I've interviewed.

Dani was born and raised in Woodland. I asked him what he does for a living. "I am the singer of the Greatest Rock n Roll Band." (Deciembre Gris...) " About Woodland he said, "As a young kid I used to hate Woodland, now I appreciate it." "We have toured all around the world, in Europe, Mexico, everywhere. I like to come back home and chill." Dani and I started to talk about music for a while, and he asked me what type of music I listen to. He said, "You know, for someone your age, you listen to shit."

Sabrina and Donald - at a bar with a camera. Who the heck would bring a camera to a bar?

Sabrina was actually wearing her pajama bottoms (with shoes) and Donald was wearing the Santa hat, so I figured they were doing something interesting. They were. They had come into the bar for a quick drink before going out to get a Christmas tree. "We videotape getting our tree every year. There are no pictures of us on Christmas day- just us picking out the tree." I asked them what they do for a living- Sabrina is a care-giver for the County. Donald say, "I'm the lowest form of scum...see if you can guess."

Lawyer - of course.

When they aren't out chopping down Christmas trees, they like to watch Jackass and shop at the Dollar Tree.

But- these two offered me food! (Roll your mouse over their picture). I stood there talking to them, and eating prime rib. Very nice. We talked about restaurants a little bit more, Donald said, "There are 7 restaurants in this city- 3 of them are Denny's."

The prime-rib appetizer is great. I've eaten it three times, and not only is it a fantastic appetizer,
but it is damn good prime-rib all on its own. I ate it with my fingers. $12.95 for what you see here.

• Sabrina and Donald never made it to the Christmas tree farm, they were still hanging out at Morrison's when I left at 10:30
• I've cut out a lot of fat from my diet, and I've lost 7 pounds in about two weeks, but I think it takes a long time to lower blood cholesterol.
• I went back to Morrison's bar a few days later. Sean was sitting in the same seat...doing the same thing, but he remembered who I was.
• If you haven't done it already, check out the exciting party game.
• I still haven't eaten at Morrison's Upstairs.
  

	From:  Sean - Date: 18-Dec-05
	Another fantastic profile of Woodland (KEEP THEM COMING). And guess what? I just bought a Diciembre Gris CD.
	From:  peggy gedatus - Date: 18-Dec-05
	great job again.
	From:  Hays - Date: 18-Dec-05
	I really enjoy yor stories and photos.
	From:  Cory - Date: 19-Dec-05
	Karl, you do such a great job - it's really been too long between stories. I have eaten both up & downstairs at Morrison's & I have never been disappointed with their excellent food. Since I went to school with Jim, I would love to see an interview & a review of Morrison's Upstair...how did Jim get into the restaurant business - didn't seem he was heading in that direction in high school. Also, went to school with Kenny of "Kennys" would love to see a story on him too. Thanks again, Karl - I recommend your sight all the time.
	From:  John - Date: 19-Dec-05
	hey karl. once again a fab interview. i know a few of those folks in the pics. yet i am dismayed...... where was Phil!?!? anytime anyone asks "where is the best place to a get a drink?...... i steer them to Morrison's. if i may suggest another haunt to interview...... if you havnt yet...... China First! should get a rip roaring review i have found excellent service there. Nancy is so sweet. i will ask her.... "have i had mixed vegetables& snow peas shrimp before?" and she will say.... "17 time"... "is that a fact?" "yes" she knows....... you need to go full time on this insidewoodland thing karl ; ) john thebigmodernrush@aol.com Merry Christmas!
	From:  Cindi, from South Africa - Date: 19-Dec-05
	Once again, a superb interview. You sure get up to some interesting things in Woodland. What is your day job?
	From:  Christy - Date: 19-Dec-05
	Great interview! I am one of the other bartenders on Wednesday and Friday night. You should definately check out our Friday nights we get pretty busy. And those long taquito things are chicken quesadilla rolls, good dipped in ranch. Hope to see you back there again soon!
	From:  Matt Rexroad - Date: 20-Dec-05
	Karl -- excellent job. The amazing thing is that I think I know six different people in your pictures. I hope Tanya didn't go bowling after her drinks. She can get a little out of control.
	From:  Shari Jones - Date: 20-Dec-05
	Where has this site been all my life???? Great story!!! I will now be a regular reader. Thanks!
	From:  Allie - Date: 20-Dec-05
	Katie is my old baby sitter's daughter!
	From:  Jason - Date: 21-Dec-05
	Karl...this site rocks on a massive level. The article's top notch man! The interviews kick ass man. Damn it man, I wan't to write with you. The mystery "long things" are Morrison's answer to egg rolls and they suck when you have to dip them in ranch dressing or salsa. It's a bad party when you order a sampler and they're out of sweet and sour for the egg rolls. OH WAIT! No. Upon further inspection(and reading Christy's post) I realize that those are the quesadilla rolls. I've never been too sure about those either. A bit chalky in texture that walks hand in hand with an incredibly unfamiliar taste. I miss the egg rolls though.(with the sweet and sour) Good game capitain!
	From:  Wanda Jones - Date: 21-Dec-05
	Fantastic review, Bob and I have been there a few times and we love it.We love the owners too. Keep up the good work, we look forward to these articles. Bob was born here and I have been here for 50 years.
	From:  Leana - Date: 30-Dec-05
	Loved the Morrison's article - it made me hungry!
	From:  Jessica Friedman - Date: 03-Jan-06
	I like your website. A lot. Thanks for doing this.
	From:  Darlene - Date: 06-Jan-06
	Hi, I'm the momma of Katie. i love to go in and eat my dinner downstairs and get the best service in the house, that would be Katie. Everyone that works at Morrison's downstairs is good, the drinks are good, the service is good, and the food is yummy.
	From:  Lu - Date: 13-Jan-06
	I have known Katie since she was about 5. It was a little strange to go in to Morrison's and have her serve me a cocktail. They sure grow up fast, sigh....
	From:   - Date: 24-Jan-06
	do you have Kings games on your big screen?
	From:  Becky - Date: 24-Feb-06
	I enjoyed your article. I have been to Morrison's once - a bunch of us went there after our class reunion party shut down early and Jim kept open late just for us [pays to have graduated with the owner ;) I plan to return - some day - I live 300 miles away :D
	From:  Nice writing! - Date: 25-Feb-06
	I just read your article, linked from a /. comment you made (CID 14799860). It reminds me of Durango, CO. I just moved here after living in S. CA, Tucson, AZ and Chicago. Small towns definitely rock! Only thing left to say is that I feel guilty after reading the somments. Reading the article, I was thinking that Katie girl is really hot! Next thing you know, there's comments like "She's my daughter" and "I've known her since she was 5". I'm the Devil. :(
	From:  LaNee - Date: 28-Mar-06
	Okay, so everyone needs to go in and see KATIE WEBER. She's the best cocktail waitress EVER. (and she's hot..) So go see KATIE :)
	From:  heather - Date: 03-May-06
	there are other places in Woodland with hot bartenders who serve awesome drinks...You should check out K.C,Val, and Portia at The Stag!
	From:  Sue Barbano..co-chair Wood.Library Rose Club Tour - Date: 10-May-06
	Just want to tell you guys that you did a super job for the box lunches we ordered for our Woodland Library Rose Club Garden and Home Tour for 2006. We had lots of positive feedback on how great they were! Thanks!
	From:  constance beener - Date: 18-Oct-06
	Hey. I went to Morrisons and Todd wasn't working in the bar anymore. I miss Todd.
	From:  Johnny_Cakes - Date: 15-Dec-06
	you start out by saying that you have eaten at every place in town. then you say you have never eaten at morrisons upstairs. make up your mind please.
	From:  Jen - Date: 06-Jul-07
	HILARIOUS! I think i enjoyed it so much because I know half the people you talked to.
	From:  Becki - Date: 19-Nov-07
	I have to say the Morrison's Bar does make one of the best Lemon Drop drinks that I have had through the states. Also, I would place the Morrison's Deli on my Top 10 List of Deli's, which competes with Chicago and Rochester NY
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