In 2017, when Northern Pine Brewing debuted in its 6,100-square-foot home on the corner of Horne Street and Civic Center Drive in Oceanside, only roughly half of the sizable site was under its founders’ control. And that was perfectly fine with them. Their sole interest was in crafting beers and providing a cozy, communal space for their customers to enjoy them. Realizing food would be key to achieving that, they partnered with established Oceanside restaurant, That Boy Good, to provide their Southern-style cuisine from a large, onsite kitchen the business also used for catering purposes.
Earlier this year, Northern Pine’s culinary tenants closed their flagship eatery and satellite kitchen before moving out of state, leaving the brewery’s owners with plenty of room and, in their eyes, a great deal of potential for installing something that would speak both to them and customers who enjoy their business’ concept celebrating exploration and the great outdoors.
“When the opportunity to assume the kitchen came to us, we knew that we wanted to do something unique that was in line with our brand,” says co-founder Anne Ortega. “We kept saying, ‘It should feel like hanging out at a lodge, and have food that would be served at a lodge.’”
Fast-forward several months and Northern Pine now houses The Lodge, a culinary enclave serving what Anne and husband and co-founder Aaron Ortega call “good mountain food”.
“It’s the from-scratch food we grew up eating in Idaho, like biscuits made in cast-iron skillets in grandma’s kitchen and at hunting camp. It’s unlike anything being served anywhere in Oceanside,” says Anne. “We created a menu centered around our favorite dishes, then found a chef we loved who could replicate those items as well as take the nature of the food we love to create new and exciting dishes of his own.”
That chef is Lucas Moreira, whose background includes working at Michelin-starred and -recognized restaurants, D.O.M. in São Paulo, Brazil, as well as Oceanside spots, Valle and Dija Mara. He was also the opening executive chef for one of the Ortegas’ favorite Oceanside restaurants, All Mine, and served as head baker for Carlsbad’s The Goods. Skillsets bolstered at the latter are particularly helpful when Moreira is pumping out The Lodge’s version of grandma’s skillet biscuits.
Those figurative and literal foundational items (in addition to being served with decadent honey duck butter, they are the building blocks for numerous warm chicken and steak sandwiches) share menu space with fried chicken, burgers made with wagyu beef from Idaho’s Snake River Farms, plus an array of downhome, stick-to-your ribs snacks and sides. Key among those treats are “finger steaks” (deep-fried strips of sirloin steak), poutine topped with house-smoked fromage and slathered in “Lodge gravy”, cheesy twice-baked potatoes and savory bone marrow with steak tartare.
While the Ortegas enjoyed the process of bringing their concept to life, they in no way considered it a slam-dunk, especially having zero experience as restaurateurs. So they did tons of research and met with other restaurant owners, all on top of the three straight months of 15-hour days spent deep-cleaning, repairing and renovating their kitchen over a three-month span. The Ortegas say that single-minded attention to The Lodge was only made possible by Northern Pine’s “amazing” staff, including Brewer Danny Garcia, who recently came over from nearby Oceanside company, Black Plague Brewing.
“While we are passionate about food, love cooking and have operated a brewery for years, we knew opening a restaurant of our own would be another beast,” says Anne. “It was very exciting but also scary knowing what we were about to take on, but the support and excitement from our community ultimately led to the decision to move forward with the new venture.”
Public reaction to The Lodge’s unique – and rather lengthy – assortment of dishes both craveable and beer-friendly, has been quite positive in the two months following its unveiling. That warm reception and lessons learned in the areas of recipe-building, plate-costing, food-sourcing and service cadence have allowed Anne to move forward with other initiatives.
In addition to The Lodge’s everyday menu, which can be viewed here, Northern Pine now offers brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will soon host its first beer-and-food-pairing dinner. The Ortegas advise fans to keep an eye on the Instagram accounts for Northern Pine and The Lodge for information on that event.
Northern Pine Brewing and The Lodge are located at 326 North Horne Street in Oceanside