Restaurant Review: Dodge Brothers Restaurant
Tucked below street level on Park Street, Dodge Brothers Restaurant is a delight for the eye and the palate.
Featuring Brazilian style meats served on swords, Dodge Brothers also offers more traditional fare. My fellow critics sampled salmon with raspberry sauce and grilled chicken with red peppers. I tried the New York steak with bleu cheese.
We started our evening by taking a quick look at the layout of the restaurant. John Richen, owner, has done an incredible renovation. He is an architect and artist, and his touches are everywhere evident, from the warm woodwork to the stained glass panels depicting mountain vistas. One spot not to miss on your way in is the wine cellar, which is at restaurant level (because we are already in the basement.) It is painted with colored light, as is a quirky little alcove just outside the window of the dining area. The atmosphere is elegant, yet fun, as many of the restaurants in more urban areas of the country. Even the ladies’ bathroom has a crystal chandelier.
Our service was prompt and courteous. We quickly gained a pleasant booth in the dining area and were directed to the salad bar after ordering. There we were greeted with a sumptuous array of fresh leaf lettuce, a bow-tie pasta salad, and a cucumber and onion dish. The soup was a warm, spicy beef and bean.
Our meal came quickly, hot and precisely as we had ordered it. My steak was tender, succulent, and very well complimented by the bleu cheese. My fellow critic’s salmon was well prepared, and the raspberry sauce was a sweet compliment to the light, clean salmon flavor. My other fellow critic’s chicken dish was completely divine. The chicken was savory with the flavor of grilling and judicious spices, and the seasoned rice that accompanied it made me envy my dinner companion’s choice, as I had plain mashed potatoes with my steak.
When the dessert cart came, we marveled at a caramel-glazed cheesecake, a huge chocolate mousse in a long-stemmed goblet, and three other delicious trifles. I had eaten way too much of my 14 ounce steak to want to tackle the mousse, but I did nibble on my companion’s cheesecake, and it was sinfully rich and creamy. It was the kind of cheesecake that must have inspired the expression for sexy pinup girls.
We skipped the after dinner drink in the bar, but we did look in, and it was small but well appointed and had a good stock of popular liquors.
Whether you are entertaining clients or taking the family and friends out for a special dining occasion, we can highly recommend Dodge Brothers Restaurant and Bar. The prices are within reason for local fine dining, the service is prompt and courteous, and the atmosphere is cozy and intimate. Our server was a delight, even sharing a laugh with us at the end of the meal when we asked if we couldn’t all just curl up and take a twenty minute nap.
Don’t miss the Dodge Brothers Coffee Shop on street level, either. It’s a comfortable and affordable place to have a deli-style sandwich, salads, deviled eggs, deserts, and quality beers and coffees. Locals, be warned that it gets very busy during the peak lunch hours, so you may want to schedule your lunch either before eleven or after 1 p.m. if you have a tight schedule.
