Restaurant Review: Lodge
My friend Meredith and I decided to go to Lodge in our Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg one night last week to celebrate a cool restaurant not being on the cool-saturated Bedford Ave. She’d been there once a year ago for brunch and wasn’t impressed, but she left deciding that she wanted to come back and try more of the dishes, so I’d say it was a success.
deviled eggs with plenty of chives
• I’m so into the fact that deviled eggs are a popular thing right now. These were probably the best I’ve had lately thanks to their extreme chiviness. The added texture was a welcome treat, too.
pulled pork
• This was less like pulled pork and more like pulled pork soup. I’m the kind of girl who likes a little Kansas City in her barbeque, so I wasn’t totally averse to the extra sauce, but this would’ve overwhelmed someone who prefers their sauce as a mop or a side. The meat was just the right amount of fatty, and there was still plenty of burnt-end flavor, but I’d probably tell them to make it not-so-sloppy next time.
Brussels sprouts with MUSHROOMS
• Why are there mushrooms in my Brussels sprouts?! And why are they not mentioned on the menu?! Neither Meredith nor I were very pleased with this, especially since little burned Brussels sprouts bits look like mushrooms, and I accidentally ate one. Not that it tasted bad or anything, because mushrooms are actually kind of delicious, but I don’t eat them because of their ugliness.
gouda mac & cheese
• Just look at that flaky topping. This more-mac-than-cheese tasted slightly bacony to me, but there was no bacon to be found in it, so maybe they used a smoked gouda that deceived me. This was meant to be a side dish but more than served as Meredith’s main, so A+ for value.
It’s a very neighborhoody kind of place, with a family at one table and a group of twentysomethings celebrating a birthday at another. It’s on a quiet but not uninhabited corner, and the people-watching–guessing whether a girl actually liked the rumbly 50s-era car her date was driving, a Satmar Jew looking completely lost for five minutes but unwilling to stop anyone for help–from walls of solid glass was top-notch. The service was totally unpretentious and even verging on friendly, my giant bottle of pear cider was only $10, and they were playing Spoon on the overhead speakers. Sold.
318 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211 (map)
10 Comments
Heesa Phadie
Word up! I would have ordered practically the same thing…from the extreme chivie Deviled Eggs right on down to the mac & cheese. These are some of my favorite things…I love me some Brussels sprouts and I’d probably even still like the mushrooms. And goodness…that bacony M&C looks to die for.
My only additional comment (and I bet you can guess what’s coming), where’s the cussing dessert? You better have hopped over to Two Little Red Hen’s or Laboratorio….gawd….I so wish I were in NYC…I hate you.
plumpdumpling
If you want great sprouts, check out Prime Meats. Those were the best I’ve had in the three years since I first tried the things.
“cussing dessert” made me laugh. Would you believe that I went home and had a scoop of peanut butter for dessert? Fortunato Brothers? is right down the street from my apartment, and they have, like, 20 flavors of gelato with names written in Italian so you have to ask the girls behind the counter what every single one is. I love that. And yet–peanut butter.
Tracey
PEAR CIDER?! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
plumpdumpling
Cider as in beer. So you wouldn’t like it.
Actually, have you tried Woodchuck and Magner’s? They’re so sweet they make me forget that they’re beer.
Bachelor Girl
Oh, but I would. I discovered Woodchuck recently, and I ’bout HURT MYSELF on it.
plumpdumpling
Yes! I love how everyone always makes fun of Woodchuck, but cider is the only beer I’ll drink, so I’m always bringing it to parties, and it’s always the first thing to disappear. It’s like people think it’s okay as long as they’re not the ones buying it. But it’s delicious!
I’ve also grown to like Magner’s and Original Sin, if you ever have a hard time finding Woodchuck.
Kim
I always read this blog at that part of the afternoon where I’d consider eating office supplies I’m so bored-hungry, and I would just like you to know my mouth ACTUALLY waters almost every time. And then I have to drink my weight in black coffee to keep myself out of the dumpster chips or the (pretty crappy) bakery next door.
Anyway, I love that brussel sprouts are trending so hard right now, because they are delicious. I have made them with mushrooms before and enjoyed them (I mean, nothing is better than bacon in sprouts, of course, but still) so I bet I would enjoy those.
Also, those deviled eggs look like dreams come to life.
I’ve never been a hard cider fan, but pear does sound intriguing …
plumpdumpling
A pretty crappy bakery is still an awesome bakery! You’d be amazed at how many week-old cupcakes I’ve eaten out of the office refrigerator at 3 p.m. out of boredom, and anything at your bakery has to be better than that.
Why are Brussels sprouts so trendy? Is it part of the hipster culture of everything-I-hated-as-a-kid-is-now-cool?
And why are you not a cider fan? Are you one of those cocktail-only girls?
Bachelor Girl
Deviled eggs, pulled pork, brussels sprouts, macaroni and cheese and cider? Sounds like a perfect meal to me.
plumpdumpling
Sometimes I feel bad that I hardly ever crave, say, Chinese food. But why would I when traditional American stuff is so awesome?