FARM & TABLE

The culinary centerpiece of the new lodge is the Rock House Restaurant, an allday eatery that transitions smoothly from breakfast to lunch to dinner. It is helmed by chef Matt Rapposelli, who has headed up the kitchen at southeast Ohio dining destinations such as Glenlaurel, Lake Hope Lodge and Kindred Spirits at the Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls.

Rapposelli says the restaurant at the previous Hocking Hills lodge was “smokedmeat centric,” while the new restaurant is taking a different approach. Whenever possible, he draws on local ingredients, like beef from Bay Food Market in Lancaster, cheeses by Ohio purveyors and wines from Le Petit Chevalier in nearby Creola.

Highlights of the breakfast menu include a pork belly eggs Benedict, biscuits and gravy and the Harmony Hollow: home fries topped with sauteed vegetables. Lunch items include mussels, confit chicken wings and sandwiches like the half-pound Lodge Burger or the Forager Burger made with wild mushrooms. Dinner encompasses pastas, a boneless pork chop, a 12-ounce steak and the like, while Rapposelli’s signature catfish is served as a trio of hand-breaded filets with a house-made remoulade. The goal is to appeal to a wide variety of diners.

“We have three very different categories of customers,” Rapposelli says. “We have