Willow Ranch

"Keep driving and don't stop with this place. This is going to be a harsh review. So I decided after three years of driving by to try this place and wow, what a disappointment. I ordered their famous "Plow Boy" and a couple of beef ribs to go to sample what they have. I could already feel disappointment when I was handed the bag and it felt like nothing was in the bag for $32 plus tip. I opened the container with the two beef ribs ($16!) and was met with the overpowering smell of burnt plastic (not from the container) and tried a little nibble of the meat and it tasted like chemicals and burnt plastic. Completely inedible. I also noted that there was virtually NO meat on the ribs and what little there was was burned to a crisp. Now the sandwich, I partially dissected half of it to taste the pastrami and brisket but couldn't find any brisket! What was there was completely underwhelming and nothing close to an enjoyable sandwich. The fries were cold and soggy. I called the store and spoke to a gentleman who was pleasant on the phone and listened to what I said about my meal and said they "would make it right" and remake my meal the next time I was there. He said he was making note of the offer. A few days later I stopped by and explained my situation to the one person working and she seemed perplexed at my story. Supposedly no evidence was found of my meal remake and the manager was 30 minutes late coming to work so several calls were made to find out what to do with my meal remake. 20 minutes later she got the approval to remake my meal and what did I get? The same awful sandwich with no brisket, no fries (what happened to my fries?), and two beef ribs devoid of any edible meat albeit not as plasticy tasting but still have an odd chemical flavor. I tried removing the meat from the bone and had about 2 ounces of meat (see pics) which would be $8 an ounce or $128 a pound!)m. The sandwich was no better with salty dry pastrami, salty bacon and no signs of brisket. It was awful. Between the food and the service on the second visit I'm pretty sure I will continue driving past this place."

"Amazing and kind team here! Some great service, and family feel! We were happy to discover this spot, and it will surely be one of our go to CA road-trip spots. We got the Willow cheeseburger, and the shredded bbq chicken on a French roll. We did regular fries and garlic fries. Everything was good! Bbq chicken and garlic fries were great in fact! The bbq sauce is tasty! The burger was solid, and reminded us of a great school lunch burger. Simple, and solid with fresh ingredients. I have an allergy. This required our burger to have the special sauce on the side (so my partner could enjoy…). We chatted with the server, and she was awesome and understanding. In the rush of the kitchen, they forgot about the request, and they put the sauce on the burger. If I wasn’t allergic, we would have just eaten it…but we asked for replacement so I could eat it. The server and hostess team were awesome. Very helpful, understanding, and prompt in remedying the issue. Do not be turned off by the directions to exit the 5 to another highway; the restaurant is just off the 5 like a normal exit! Also, don’t be discouraged by the rougher road and parking lot…the restaurant is clean, welcoming, and charming. There is an outdoor patio which is great too! Dog and kid friendly!"

"This restaurant pleasantly surprised me! It's in the middle of nowhere on I-5 so I really did not expect much but their food was really really good. I also liked how clean and cute the inside of the restaurant was! Plowboy sandwich was everyone's favorite Service was really good, and their portions are huge!! Everyone got to take food home. They have their own parking lot too! Definitely returning to this spot."

"This little roadside cafe left quite a bit to be desired in the pulled pork sandwich. The meat tasted microwaved but it was saved by the BBQ sauce which was excellent. The fried chicken salad was pretty good and the service was great as our waitress was very friendly."