A friend of mine has some great work in a successful group show at Like the Spice gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After attending the opening last Friday we all decided to go out to dinner somewhere nearby. Luckily, there were a number of good restaurant choices in the more or less immediate area. At first we stopped at the festive Taco Chulo, but we were too hungry for the 30-minute wait. So we ended up at Lodge, which had an interesting looking menu and was able to seat us immediately.
The interior, as the name might lead you to suspect, is faux-rustic, all wood paneling and antler light fixtures. The large space is divided in two; the bar space was completely empty, but the dining room was full save for one table that seated the five of us perfectly. The empty bar was a puzzlement until I studied the arrangement of the furniture, which, though it is a large space, doesn’t seem to be equipped to hold more than a dozen people.
The waitress took our beverage orders and then a while later came back and explained the many specials in excruciating detail, a process that took much longer than it needed to. We don’t need to know the precise plating of every dish, just the major components will do, thanks. I ordered the gouda mac and cheese (a side) and wanted a side vegetable to go with it. I asked the waitress which she thought was better the toasted brussel sprouts or the lemon and garlic mushrooms. She said brussel sprouts, rather unequivocally. I love crispy brussel sprouts, so I followed her advice.
For an appetizer we had an artichoke dip that was possibly the best i have ever had. It wasn’t too mayonnaise-y or liquidy, but very thick and chunky. It isn’t much to look at and I’m afraid the photos don’t do it justice, but everyone at the table loved it.
Unfortunately much of the rest of the food was not as winsome as the appetizer. Many dishes suffered from under-salting, including my brussel sprouts, which also were not crispy as the “toasted” in the title implied, but actually seemed braised, served in a pool of the presumed braising liquid. They were also very undercooked; I hardly nibbled them. The grilled whole trout was also under-seasoned, and the shrimp hush puppies that came with it were lacking the shrimp. The sweet potato fries were overcooked to the point of being mostly inedible.
The cheeseburger was deemed well-cooked and tasty. The cod with a cauliflower puree, spinach, and bacon–a special–was another standout. Everyone loved the mac and cheese that I ordered. I liked it, but wasn’t as completely won over by it as the others. I love macaroni and cheese and the flavor was good, so I admit I ate all of it, but the texture was a little too thick and sticky for my taste. If I ate there again, I would instead try something meant to be an entree than cobble together sides to form a meal. But whether or not I go again is in question. Based on this experience, I think I might instead give Taco Chulo a try. I assume there is a reason for the wait for a table.
Lodge
318 Grand St (at Havemeyer)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 486-9400
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