I’ve had their bread and jams before in places such as the bread festival in GCM. Now open in that stretch of Washington west of downtown Culver City and other side of the 405. It’ll be interesting to see the response. That neighborhood has had a lot of gentrification type growth lately.
$4.50 for a big thick slice of brioche toast slathered with butter and their homemade blueberry jam.
Thanks for mentioning Lodge Bread. I went there with family in tow not too long after reading your post. I knew nothing about them and never expected a bakery specializing in bread in that stretch of businesses on Washington.
We ordered the whole wheat toast w/ avocado and radishes, brioche w/ butter and mulberry preserves, the country bread w/cashew butter and the coffee cake. The avocado was buttery and perfectly ripe. I thought the mulberry preserves were leaned into a slightly savory flavor because of the seasoning incorporated in the preserves - not used to this - but still interesting. The cashew butter was amazing. Cashews are one of my favorite nuts and I could eat this by the spoonful.
The breads were were surprisingly tender. Looking at the exterior of the loaves, I’d expect breads of huge undulated interiors with serious chew. I usually prefer that type of bread but these breads are equally delicious as the breads of Gjelina/Gjusta or Huckleberry, but just a different texture/crumb.
The coffee cake was moist and flavorful as well - per rfect level of sweetness for me with coffee.
I brought home a Country loaf, a cinnamon roll and a few oatmeal cookies. I am so full of carbs right now I just can’t fathom eating any more for a while.
Finding bread of this kind and of this skill level around the Westside meant going to Gjusta or Huckleberry for the most part. While Copenhagen is good and all, it is all pastries and sweets except for their rye bread. Lodge balances out this issue and fills the void of really good bread in this general area. Thanks again.
The only menu items I saw were the three that I mentioned - all build-ons to their breads. The other items on the board were five different types of loaves available as well as cinnamon rolls, coffee cake and cookies. Oh yes, a list of beverages as well. The coffee and iced tea were first rate. My son ordered a mocha but I didn’t try it. I am guessing they will gradually expand - they’ve only been open since Monday.
Huh, I was actually thinking of wandering over after I put up the post. It could have been fodder for the meeting randomly post. LOL
I’m glad you liked it. I had also gotten the coffee cake and like it a lot also. The mocha I had was solid, not great. Overall, I’m very happy to see them in the neighborhood. Since I hate fighting my way to Gjusta and Huckleberry, these guys will get all my business.
Happy my post pointed you to it. I’ve followed your west side posts for years and happy I can repay back a little.
No full menu, for now it looks like they are devoted to bread and some pastries. The cinnamon roll looked good and I want to try that next time. Currently only 7-5 Mon to Sat. See pic for the bread menu.
We got the cinnamon roll - huge portion. It’s a well-made beast with all the tender pull and cinnamon I side. The one big difference is the icing. It looks standard but has a surprising subtle, sourish taste that reminds me of a cultured dairy product. I think it’s kinda genius because it helps balance the sweetness overall.
I have an update on what I mentioned about the bread. We had the country loaf this AM and the interior is artisan-like with air pockets. I didn’t notice the air pockets in the slices we were served. They also were kind enough to slice a fresh loaf of the khorosan wheat bread in order to offer us samples - I was curious about khorosan. I didn’t notice the air pockets in these slices either. But our country loaf is pretty standard artisan-like in texture and crumb. The crust on their breads are perfectly brown and beautiful as well. Great stuff.
The size of their loaves is just right for our family of four. We polished off most of the loaf. As much as I like the breads at Gjelina and Huckleberry, they can be huge, usually leaving us with half a loaf to finish. Lodge is close enough and easy enough to access where we can conveniently drop by to pick up a fresh loaf most of the time.
After sampling the khorasan bread last week, I went again this AM to pick up a loaf for dinner. The round was still pleasantly warm.
The coffee cake, oatmeal cookies and cinnamon rolls were in the case like last week. But pumpkin bread has squeezed its way into this precious space. Yeah, I am guessing a lot of folks are beyond sick of the pumpkin theme right now (I am one). But Lodge goes all out on their take.
Lodge roasts their own pumpkins for the bread. The shiney burnished exterior encases a sumptuously moist crumb. The color alone telegraphs roasted pumpkin flesh. The flavors of pumpkin and spices are deeply pronounced. Once ordered, the slice is garnished with pumpkin seeds and house made whipped cream. I can see this as more of a dessert with a (pumpkin?) stout chaser. In fact, I have to wonder if stout might play a role in this bread - the flavors are so deep.
bulavinaka:
you just confirmed that not only am i a pig, but so is my kid.
the loaf, for us, was just right for our family of two.
(add the better part of a stick of butter for good measure)
I believe it - the breads are top-tier in the Westside. A little butter (or anything else) makes them irresistible. Speaking of butter, they make their own butter as well. They use the remaining buttermilk in their other baked goods. I suspect the cinnamon roll icing’s Tang is from that buttermilk.