Let’s start with what Oddfellows is doing right. The space—a
giant, high-ceilinged room in Odd Fellows Hall on Capitol Hill—is
great. Linda Derschang (Linda’s, King’s Hardware, the Rob Roy, Smith)
has done a pretty much perfect vintage-salvage interior: scarred wooden
floors, exposed brick wall, jars of pickled things on shelves, stern
photos of old-timey people (including the building’s founding fraternal
order). There is an American flag so awesomely antique, it might as
well be the one that inspired Francis Scott Key; there is a chalkboard
that raises and lowers by an ingeniously simple mechanism. The room has
great bones—the beams alone inspire joy—and so much
airspace that spirits are automatically lifted.

Derschang and her partner,
Ericka Burke of the Volunteer Park
Cafe, modeled Oddfellows on nearby Cafe Presse: a place to meet, hang
out, and eat and drink at reasonable prices both day and night. Seating
includes long tables with benches, pews with tables for two (the other
seat being adorably old-timey but rather hard on the spine), swivel
stools at the counter. During the day, light floods in from the wall of
windows, service is order-at-the-register, and the whole neighborhood
is here. You might see the guy from Bailey/Coy Books reading, Pike
Street Fish Fry’s Michael Hebb having a meeting, or The
Stranger‘s publisher drinking coffee (the office is a block away).
It’s loud and happy, like an ideal dining hall; it begs for a food
fight. At night, it’s still loud and still happy, and it’s the right
place for pretty much everyone. One evening recently, a group with many
tattoos drank cans of Schlitz, a girls’ night out had champagne
cocktails, and a couple on a date prayed before eating, all within a
few tables of each other.

Given all this greatness (plus the proximity to the office), I want
very much to love Oddfellows without qualms. The unfortunate thing is,
I can’t find anything that’s great to eat there. It’s not for want of
trying: I’ve had more than two-thirds of what’s on the menu over the
two and a half months since it opened. Some things have been fine: The
rotisserie chicken ($15) had peppery-crisp skin and moist meat, with
unobjectionable mashed potatoes and simple sautéed greens. It
was good. Also good, and slightly more exciting: crispy pork nuggets
($6).
You expect pieces of meat à la chicken nuggets, but
the texture is meatbally—it’s pulled pork, lightly breaded and
deep-fried. With a sweet-spicy dipping sauce, it’s a tasty snack.
Sandwiches are served at lunch and at night, and three out of four I’ve
tried were completely adequate (not counting a panini special, which
had stringy prosciutto and too much goat cheese). The Oddfellow was
grilled and salty and Reuben-ish with its rye bread, salami, coppa,
Gruyère, and pickled red onion ($8). A basic barbecue pulled
pork sandwich: portion on the small side, sauce on the sweet side ($8).
The French dip ($8) featured tender meat and an oddly thick jus. In the
most-improved category: mac and cheese ($6), on the dry/bland side in
its initial incarnation, now a nice little dish of campanelle (cute bell-shaped pasta with ruffled edges) with a creamy,
smoky-
flavored sauce. These dishes are all entirely

acceptable, but not especially compelling; I want something
(ideally, plural somethings) that I’ll think about later and go back
specifically for.

The dishes that I’ve tried that are not so good are indicative of a
kitchen that can’t handle the basics or (more charitably, though it
doesn’t help the diner much) is wildly inconsistent. Simple
vinaigrettes have been so oily, they coat your lips with a sheen; one
dressing, on the “simple green salad” ($6), was so salty as to be
inedible. When I had the chicken panzanella salad ($9), the proportions
were crazy: barely any chicken and way too much bacon. Too much bacon!
Who knew it was possible? Bacon was left behind. An order of
fries ($6) was thick and mealy, their special sauce too sweet. Beef
stew ($12) was on the salty side, without depth or nuance, the meat
less than tender. A gigantic, gorgeous braised pork shank ($14) had
little flavor at all, and its lentils were al dente. In the shepherd’s
pie ($10), the little bits of carrot and celery and onion were also
undercooked, kind of comically crunchy—and the ground beef seemed
unspiced. The chicken salad in a sandwich ($7) was unbelievably
mayonnaisey, even for a fan of mayonnaise.

Unhappily, I could go on, but you get the idea: cooking that’s often
out of balance and occasionally completely off the rails. Oddfellows’
menu isn’t rocket science, and it’s the same kind of contemporary
comfort food that’s earned Burke praise at the Volunteer Park Cafe. She
and Derschang have the right place and the right idea; now they just
have to get what’s on the plates right. recommended

68 replies on “What’s Odd About Oddfellows”

  1. when is Jack in the Box going to re-open on the Hill?

    that is the most important food question facing thousands of eaters of import and little money

    good luck to Linda and her Food & Drink Empire – but – none of them are queer enough for me

    what is with that?

  2. I went a couple months ago and got the mac and cheese and was really bummed that it had bacon in it. It sucks when *typically* meatless dishes have meat in them. It’s fine if you want to put bacon in it, but list it on the menu!!!

  3. I would never compare Oddfellows to a restaurant in Portland. There are great restaurants in Portland that offer hearty portions and freshness at stellar prices, that would be the opposite of Oddfellows.

    I’ve had the grilled cheese, it wasn’t very warm, and tiny in comparison to the giant empty plate they serve it on, oh wait i’m lying there was a cornichon on the plate. Best grilled cheese by far is at Blue, cheaper, larger, and with 3, count them 3 dipping sauces.

    I continue to be amazed by the people who have eaten at Oddfellows 10-20 times and have never really been satisfied. I understand giving a place a few chances, but 20 times?
    These people are only eating at Oddfellows because a) Linda’s name is attached to it and/or b) they feel the need to reaffirm how hip and scene they are…..I’m gonna guess it’s both.

  4. I ate there last night for the first time. Loved the space. Had the Mac and Cheese (good – not special, but great price) and Beet Salad (YUM – excellent, though had one beet. Great nuts, cheese, pears, greens). I think the prices are great, and had no issues with the menu other than it needing 1-2 veg/vegan options. Staff was great. My fellow diners complained the Shep Pie had only ground beef and potatoes. No visible other vegetables, and was ‘blah’. Looking forward to this place improving and being great in the future.

  10. Kip you would know crap when you see or taste it!

    So,how’s the slum lord biz? I read that you have lost 20 of your rental shanties to foreclosure auctions and have 40 more coming up soon. You are such a talented business person as well as being an ETHICAL, HONEST, caring guy. I am deeply saddened to hear of your current state of looserishness.

    What not funny? Sarcastic? Really? Dude, it’s irony which is an ironic form of humor.

  11. I have not sampled everything, since I tend not to eat meat and I usually come before dinner; however, I thought that the cheese and onion jam sandwich was wonderful, as was the platter with figs and ricotta cheese. I also think that the space itself is also absolutely wonderful and have always wished that there were such a place in Seattle.

    On the other hand, on several occasions, when I have gone to the counter (before 4 PM) to order something, the person at the counter has immediately left to do some other task and not returned for some time. If a second showed up, they too acted as though perhaps I were not there. I realize that there is a lot do in order to run a restaurant, but this behavior seems very odd.

    The waitstaff, who bring food, are either wondeful or seem to act as though they do not quite think that I am hip enough to be at their cafe. Is it just me, or what’s up?

  12. Ericka should thank her lucky stars she met Giovanni Perticone and was so clever to use all of us; his family… to get her skinny but around the map!

    Has the Social Security Department contacted you for fraud deja?… Maybe this is the reason for the timely ‘buy-out’???

    Go figure!
    Karma… everywhere you are going to be Ericka!

  14. I agree, great space, horrible untrained servers and cooks. A simple menu that should be easy. We waited 30 min for three orders, and the 4th came when the rest of us had finished. I was late getting back to work and sour on my reasonable trial of a new place. Its not rocket science. I was a cook and manager myself, in High School!! I will not go back and neither will my co-workers of friends. It’s back to the ID for us.

    Sweetwater

  15. Still not up to par. As much as I want to love this place I will suspend trying for the remainder of the summer. Love the space, love the hanging out, but the same old blase lame hipstertude service and slightly overpriced food will move me elsewhere–as there are many many other options opening up practically weekly here on CH. Glad Linda Derschang has become successful and has yet another joint, but this location seems to be plagued with problems. I think it will be wildly successful long-term with non-neighborhood east side types and perpetually of course in the morning with the lovely young trainees at the Gary Manuel AVEDA salon. Other than that tis a pity. Eat/drink elsewhere.

  16. Yep-Its kinda a tourism joint to make people from Portland feel at home in Seattle–minus the attentive service!

    Seriously though what’s with that staff? One had a hic on her neck?!. I think I’ve never had to get up to get my own food and water before and watching it cool to room temp on the bar and the vacant look of the young staff (some are excellent mind you but you know who are you are if you are reading this) is infuriating. Again some of the staff are good but 1/2 bad staff can drag everyone else down at lightspeed. I’ll go up the street for awhile….sorry!

  18. I do challenge you to return for the Cadamom Bread or the Cucumber gazpacho….I agree on all the others but those two I keep coming back for more…

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