Lodge Bread Company
Cinnamon Roll
Chocolate Chip Miso Cookie and Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie
Nut Butter and Date Syrup on Whole Wheat Sourdough
Avocado and Radish on Country
Cinnamon Sugar on Country
Cultured Butter and Jam on Country
Gaining a lot of attention from its inception with a “Do one thing, do it right” concept focused around making Los Angeles’ very best Artisan Breads, Lodge Bread Company was selected as the first of three stops with a local friend and personal Chef, the results across-the-board excellent with the team surprisingly willing to tell their tricks of the trade.
“Bigger than a breadbox,” to borrow an old adage, but certainly snug with just a few tables lining the narrow interior plus a few extra seats at the bar, Lodge Bread Company sits on the far end of Culver City’s expanding dining corridor and featuring a well-culled menu of Baked Goods and Loaves the ‘hipster’ dismissal “Expensive Toast” espoused by critics may at first seem appropriate, but a closer look will show prices to be not far-off from the average breakfast pastry elsewhere while the commitment to quality is advanced several fold.
Taking an approach that entailed most everything offered, a daily egg special and smoked salmon eschewed for sweeter things, first tastes of Lodge’s bread is striking in the robustness of its crust surrounding soft wisps of sourdough – the starter really the store’s only secret weapon as the bakers discuss everything from proteins and water content with great openness to those willing to inquire, their passion and knowledge never in doubt.
Starting savory with robust Country Bread, the mellow sours and bitterness a fine pairing to crushed avocado and a veil of radish that may have benefitted from something pickled or perhaps a touch of salt, further tastes of toasted bread proved far the more compelling with cultured butter and housemade jam thickly spread yet still elegant while the housemade peanut butter and date syrup was a better choice for those seeking something less sweetened on a different platform, the simple Cinnamon Sugar largely forgettable in the face of the others, though no less delicious for those with fond childhood memories of the stuff.
Moving on to baked goods, the sizable Cinnamon Roll already an Instagram darling with sweetness traded for oodles of butter and spice beneath the lightest of creamy spreads, it is surprising that little has been said about the quality of Lodge Bread Company’s cookies as the duo of options are each amongst the best in the city in terms of both texture as well as flavor, the Oatmeal Cranberry version essentially a grab n’ go breakfast given its weight and density while Chocolate Chips meld with the salinity of Miso to form a flavor that tiptoes the fine-line of savory without ever crossing it with a nearly-raw center and edges that are crisp.
http://www.lodgebread.com/