You can’t walk into a North Woods Inn without wondering about its history. The first one opened in Monrovia in 1958. It’s gone now, but it set the look the chain still wears: a log cabin under snow, with hunting trophies, Tiffany-style lamps, big portions of steak and seafood, and peanut shells on the floor that you were encouraged to toss.

When the 210 Freeway came along and wanted that land, founder John Clearman had a simple answer. The freeway could have the land, but it wasn’t getting the restaurant. He had the building taken apart and moved to San Gabriel, log by log. Now that’s commitment.

The San Gabriel location opened in 1966 at Rosemead Boulevard and Huntington Drive, and it still has the old-timey details: logging wheels that once hauled timber out of the North Woods behind oxen, and a sign mounted on a slab cut from a thousand-year-old mammoth redwood. Covina followed in 1967 at 540 N. Azusa Avenue, and La Mirada opened in 1989 and brought the brand to Orange County.

Walk into any of them and you don’t need a plaque to tell you there’s history. The heavy logs, stained glass, dim lighting, old paintings, and peanut shells on the floor say it all. Please don’t change a thing.

A Long-Overdue Celebration

My birthday was at the end of July, so what took so long to celebrate at North Woods Inn? Well, it was worth the wait.

You’d suspect North Woods Inn is a prime rib and steak kind of place. You’d be correct. But with my recent bout with gout, fish was my new school of thought. There are plenty of choices: scallops, shrimp, mahi-mahi and salmon.

Now, you know me. I’ve been preaching for 20 years: Don’t eat seafood on Sundays or Mondays. My theory has always been that you want seafood when the restaurant has received its freshest deliveries. Is my rule scientifically proven? Probably not. But after more than 20 years reviewing restaurants, I’m sticking with it.

So what did I order? The salmon. On a Monday.

I hoped for the best and, Ding Dong, as Tim Conway would say, did they get it right. They hit an Ohtani home run.

Our server was Vicente, and in a world where casual service sometimes gets a little too casual, he was top ten in professionalism. Water? Yep! Napkin fell on the floor? Boom, a fresh one appeared. Very impressive. You know me, I tell it like it is.

I’m not exactly sure what they did to that salmon, but borrowing from Jack Nicholson, it was As Good as It Gets. Moist, flavorful and cooked just right.

Hot food hot, cold food cold. Another Peter Dills gospel, and the kitchen delivered.

Of course, maybe everything tasted a little better because another restaurant icon and his wife were paying for my meal: friend Robin Salzer and Ann-Marie Villacana-Salzer, local Pasadena-area influentials.

Robin went steak on me, certainly the traditional move at North Woods Inn. His lovely wife, Ann-Marie, duplicated my order right down to the baked potato.

Before the entrées arrived came one of the real reasons people have been returning here for generations: the cheese bread and those famous salads. The cheese bread is dangerous. You tell yourself, “Peter, don’t fill up on the bread.” Then you eat another piece. And another.

The green salad with bleu cheese dressing and that unmistakable red cabbage salad are as much a part of North Woods Inn as the steaks. And yes, the peanut shells were still on the floor. I loved it.

The Clearman’s Secret: Cheese Bread Spread

Every Clearman’s has a secret weapon, and it’s the spread they put on the bread. They use margarine instead of butter because it holds up better under the broiler, and the blend includes garlic, molasses and a few other seasonings. Broil it to golden and crisp, and you get that sweet-and-sour aroma that tells you exactly where you are. It got so popular that they started selling it in grocery stores so you could take it home.

Why North Woods Inn Endures

I don’t need North Woods Inn reinvented with brighter lights, trendy furniture, smaller portions and a chef explaining the “concept.” The concept works just fine.

Service was spot-on. Friendly, attentive and there when we needed something without hovering. You know my rule: friendly, not fawning. North Woods Inn got that right, too.

I’ve said for years that some restaurants you just have to know what to order. I’m not sure I’d ever ordered the salmon here before. I’ve always thought steak, prime rib, cheese bread and those salads. Well, add the salmon to my list.

Restaurants spend a lot of money trying to become the next hot thing. North Woods Inn figured out something else a long time ago. Sometimes you don’t need to change. You just need to keep doing what people love.

And sometimes the best thing you discover at a steakhouse is the salmon. Even on a Monday.

Multiple North Woods Inn locations are still going strong in 2026, and that tells you plenty about the people who keep coming back, from longtime regulars to first-timers.

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