Food Lodge is comfy cusine06 Food

Lodge is comfy cuisine

BY KRISTINA RIDENOUR

Daily Titan Staff

The Lodge Restaurant in Costa Mesa is a food haven that has taken on the complex task of combining comfort food with a classy, almost-Rat-Pack-era environment.

The Lodge is located in an area called “The Camp”, which is a retail area for outdoor lovers. It is right across the street from the “Anti-Mall” also known as the shopping area for the Urban Outfi tters crowd.

Walking along the rustic path to the entrance of The Lodge brings you across anything from a fi re pit and hammock to a bicycle shop.

The décor is that of old-time Hollywood, with black leather booths and a piano that is showcased in the dimly lit dining room.

The restaurant has a dining area and a fully stocked bar, so if you want to watch a baseball game or take your love interest to a nice dinner, this is the perfect spot.

The fl at-screen television that was playing the baseball game was an interesting contrast to the vibe of restaurant, which is somewhat formal.

The service was extremely good, whether this was because it was a slow Thursday night or not, doesn’t matter to me, I wasn’t complaining.

The clientele was anyone from a hipster 20-something at the bar to an older crowd discussing business at a table. But the menu prices aren’t exactly fi t for a starving student, especially if you want more than a starter salad.

The menu consisted of a full bar menu, starters, entrees and sides. The starters were salads and appetizers. The iceberg lettuce wedge with blue cheese dressing was almost a meal in itself.

The entrees were where the comfort food came into play. Meat loaf, chicken, pasta and fi sh were the main entrees to choose from. I chose the pan-roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The presentation of the plate was nice, and the food was

outstanding.

My dinner company ordered the chicken pesto pasta. The fl avor of the pesto was very strong, but the green noodles had a fl avor that exceeded expectations.

The side order that stood out from the crowd was the macaroni and cheese.

This macaroni and cheese is nothing like your mother made for you as a child. The noodles were like little shells in a soupy blend of white cheeses mixed throughout.

The topping over the macaroni was a sort of parmesan bread crumble that went nicely with the soupy texture of the macaroni.

Trying to eat dessert, after having a starter, entrée and side is almost impossible. I personally couldn’t attempt this enormous task, but I did venture to gaze upon the dessert tray.

The tray that was lavishly presented to us had cheese cake, carrot cake and tiramisu.

Overall, the restaurant isn’t for the faint of heart when it comes to the wallet.

But, if you want to take a passage back in time to the days where Frank Sinatra could have been eating a steak in the booth next to you, The Lodge is the hot spot to be.

Fans will feel torn by new System sounds

BY NIYAZ PIRANI

Daily Titan Assistant News Editor

“Old System” is a phrase that will be thrown around when people talk about Mezmerize.

It’s not a negative criticism, but fans of System of a Down will definitely notice a vast difference from the band’s previous three albums.

Mezmerize, the spring release from the band’s spring/fall double-disc Mezmerize/Hypnotize, carries all the familiar elements of a System album, but a distinct line can be drawn between the band’s debut effort and its fourth.

The disc kicks off with “Soldier Side,” a slow-electroacoustic intro that introduces a new dynamic in System of a Down – dual vocalists. Almost every song, excluding “This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I’m On This Song,” features frontman Serj Tankian sharing vox duties with guitarist/songwriter Daron Malakian.

Lyrically, the album runs the spectrum from silly to political. Tankian talks about “choking chicks and sodomy” on “Violent Pornography” but also criticizes the government for “feed[ing] us lies from the tablecloth” on “B.Y.O.B.” (Bring Your Own Bombs).

System has traded in their well-known Middle Eastern sound for something less ethnic and more thrash-metal freakout. Lurching riffs accompany pounding drum fills that carry the disc’s 11 tracks on a set selection that’s soaked in Hollywood references and strangely, lyrics about Tony Danza.

The album feels incomplete, probably because it’s only onehalf of a massive effort, as the band and producer Rick Rubin chose songs that vary the CD extensively, however the mix lacks the usual power the band has shown in previous releases.

The shining star of Mezmerize is “Question!” which displays the heavy and softer sides of System in a perfectly balanced three-minute track.

Fans will feel a bit torn when listening to this scattered disc as no song compares with “Sugar” or “Toxicity,” but maybe things will make more sense when Hypnotize drops in the fall.