On our last night in Hershey we crossed town to our sister hotel the Hershey Lodge, which is much larger and loaded with hundreds of convention/meetings/youth folk making for much more noise than our quieter oasis atop the hills of chocolate-town.
The Lodge has many dining option with the HERSHEY GRILL at the top level and while it is simple, the food is delicious. There is a small rock garden with fish pond and bonsai-style Japanese trees which Samuel loved, especially the duck that had taken up residence. The restaurant is an outmoded 70's style with lots of booths with geometric patterned fabric, but the service (as it is everywhere in Hershey) is super-friendly and pretty-much efficient.
The only problem we really had was with our bottle of EL COTO BLNACO WHITE RIOJA 2007 that came at just below room temperature. Our server, Glenda, explained the cooler is not that cool; I suggested they get a new one and they said it was new! OOPS. After putting the wine in one of those pretty useless silver canisters, we ultimately did get a bucket with ice and water that did the trick (after we had finished 40% of the bottle). The wine was delish with big green apple nose and taste and was superb with my spicy appetizer of POP ROCK SHRIMP, Herb Seasoned, Lightly Fried with a Sweet & SPICY CURRY SAUCE. This dish was barely breaded and HUGE and presented adorably on the plate with a chinese food carton turned on its side, the field greens rolling out of it, chopsticks and the shrimp surround them. It was quite spicy and adventurous for the mostly tame when it comes to spice Hershey folks. Will had a superb appetizer of CAJUN SHRIMP PIROGIES in a Blackened MUSHROOM BROTH with RAPINI. This was a very mild, yet tasty dish with the mostly potato and some not spicy at all shrimp filling in the yummy pillows floating in a tasty broth (a spoon might have been helpful if you wanted to drink the broth).
Meanwhile Samuel opted for the very cheeesy PIZZA portion for kids which was large enough for him to take home half after he had finished the side of vegetables: snow peas, carrots and broccoli-rabe (which he now adores). Of course, the drink du jour: CHOCOLATE MILK! There were nice warm rolls with a superb PESTO DIP which was great on the fries later on!
Our red wine was a medium-bodied SAGELANDS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005 ('03 on the menu) from Washington State that had big cherry, vanilla and caramel notes with a (yes, believe it or not) COCOA finish., though not sweet of course.
It was divine with my COCOA-CHILI Rubbed CHICKEN with Roasted BEETS, Roasted Potatoes and French FETA cheese. The dish was not spicy nor sweet, and was seasoned to perfection. The portion was, as expected, huge, as were the sides and the cheese was just right with the beets (or the chicken for that matter).
Will opted for the FILET MIGNON with Garlic Green Peppercorn Butter, Steak Frites and Broccoli-Rabe. It was a decent steak, but I am not a big fan of steak with melted butter, even if spicy (it's that old Ruth's Chris gimmick).
Sam gobbled up some mediocre RASPBERRY SORBET and we headed home to finish off the red wine with some chocolate in our suite.
A note that the sandwiches at ISAAC's DELI on West Chocolate Avenue are a great option for lunch if in Hershey (The cheddar wrap with Almond/Cranberry/Chicken Salad is a winner).
