After picking a kid up from one side of one town and another kid from the other side of a different town, which placed me in the perfect time and location for the height of rush hour, there was no way we could stay on our food menu schedule and eat before dark. I only had time for about five forkfuls of salad for lunch and was on the verge of going Godzilla by the time I arrived home.
My daughter needed to get dropped at a birthday party, and then we headed straight for the Lodge, in Frederick. They just opened in January of this year and use organic produce, meats, and grains from local farms. They have vegetarian selections but are mostly focused on wild game like bison, venison, Wagyu (a type of cattle), elk, wild boar, kangaroo (obviously not local) and lamb.
Many items are marked on the menu as gluten-free and local, and you can build your own game or vegie burger on a gluten-free bun. They also have adult milk shakes, which I think is a good idea once in a great while, today in particular.
My son had macaroni and cheese with wild boar, it had smoked gouda and goat cheese with wild boar sausage and roasted poblano peppers ($10.49). He loves being too old now to order off the kid’s menu. I had an elk burger ($10.99) with a bunch of toppings including avocado. The only odd thing was that avocado was $1 extra and there were three skinny little slices — I would have used half the avocado, especially if it’s going to cost additional. Everything was great and the staff and owner are really friendly.
On the way back into the house, my daughter pointed out a zucchini in the yard and, as we looked under all of the leaves in the raised beds, we ended up with an exciting harvest of pickles, zucchini, and some strangely skinny cucumbers. I can start handing out zucchini now, and have an idea for the pickles later this week.
