Featuring the First Taste of Fall
For some reason, the soft entry into fall for the rest of the country seems like a magical amber-hued 90’s film, probably with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The issue is that while everything east of the California border starts turning golden and brisk, summer is still in the air and you have to turn to earlier sunsets as trademarks of the shifting seasonality.
If watching the weather doesn’t do it for you though, you could simply walk into Lazy Dog Restaurants, where the seasonal menu leans into slow cooking and handmade sauces, marinades, and dressings. Each ingredient they use is carefully picked and prepared, and exists as an ode to the small mountain town vibe where food and family so often coexist.
Just in time for fall, Lazy Dog Restaurants, a casual dining concept known for its handcrafted American food and drinks, welcomes a selection of new seasonal offerings, including 10 new craveable dishes and seasonally-inspired cocktails. The new fall menu will be available at Lazy Dog Restaurants nationwide starting October 9th.
I’ve long been a fan of appetizers as entrees – ordering several starters to cobble together a meal that indulges my penchant for combining a range of flavors in one sitting. So suffice it to say I was particularly thrilled to sample several of Lazy Dog’s latest small plate offerings including the Pie Tin Nachos and trio of “Tots” – street corn, loaded chili cheese and lemon pepper and tomato soup – housemade with red peppers and topped with garlic croutons.
The Pie Tin Nachos puts an inventive spin on a traditional favorite with lager cheese sauce, guacamole, tomatoes, pickled jalapeño, tapatío crema, queso blanco and cilantro. There’s an option to add chicken tinga or carnitas.
You’ll have your work cut out for you in deciding between the “tots” options. Street Corn arrives with melted mozzarella, charred sweet corn, tomatoes, tajín-lime sauce, queso blanco, housemade hot sauce, cilantro while the Loaded Chili Cheese lives up to its moniker topped with chili con carne, jack and cheddar, pickled red onion, sour cream, green onions. The lemon pepper seasoned tots with housemade buttermilk ranch for dipping might just be my new fave.
Sure-to-please mains include a trio of dishes including a tender, flavorful slow-cooked Poblano Pork entrée (think creamy poblano sauce, sweet white corn + bell peppers, topped with tapatío crema and cilantro, served with Spanish rice and blue corn tamale cake).
Nonna’s Giant Meatball + Baked Pasta arrives as a huge beef meatball, four-cheese baked pasta, topped with slow-cooked marinara + walnut pesto while the Braised Beef Birria Noodles starts with yakisoba noodles tossed with tender slow-cooked beef, bean sprouts and cabbage and topped with queso blanco, radish, cilantro and cheddar cheese crackle.
Want handcrafted cocktails for the season? There’s a new yummy Hibiscus Margarita (Lunazul tequila, housemade spiced hibiscus syrup, agave sweet + sour, house salt rim) and Tequila Old Fashioned (Altos tequila, ancho reyes chile liqueur, crème de cacao, cointreau, orange juice, agave nectar, mole bitters, chocolate-dipped orange with sesame + chili).
Get ready for cozy vibes – sample the new seasonal specialties or simply dig into familiar favorites like the Campfire Pot Roast or Grilled Lemon Chicken. If you’re in a rush to get home to cuddle up by the fire, indulge in a Roadtrip Bowl® or TV Dinner.
