Lock 50 is a fairly modern looking place, with crisp clean decor and a full wall of street facing windows. They have a medium sized room upstairs and a separate room downstairs that also serves as a function room. They also have a nice little patio with outdoor seating. Everyone seemed to be having a good time with lots of bustle and fun, but if you’re looking for a quiet dinner, this might not be the place for you.
My wife and I started with 3 “small plates.” First up was the cured meat board, which contains whatever the chef has that day. This day, it consisted of a fresh salami, speck, and another smoky cured meat I can’t remember, along with the house spreadable pepperoni and some pickled veggies. The meats were delicious and the pepperoni spread, on crostini, was a little slice of heaven with a nice amount of spice/heat. This was really a nice selection of flavors. Then came the Crisped Fontina Cheese. This was a decent sized wedge of fontina, dipped in a batter and fried to perfection. This was absolutely amazing, the flavor of the batter complimented the cheese perfectly and again, the crostini it came with was the perfect vehicle for the cheese. Lastly, the buttermilk quail. Think buttermilk fried chicken, only with little quail pieces instead. While this was perfectly nice, it’s completely overshadowed by the rest of the food and seem underwhelming compared to everything else. Once the small plates were done, we had our “Shareable Plate” of Porchetta, short rib, sausage, stewed lentils and fried polenta. This was a good size for sharing and the meats were delicious. The porchetta was flavorful and tender, the short rib was melt in your mouth fantastic and the sausage was very flavorful. The lentils provided a very nice softer counterpoint to the hard flavors of the meat and together generated a great overall taste. My only real complaint for the evening was the fried polenta. This was so salty it was inedible (I did bring this to the attention of the chef and he was thankful for the input and said he’d look into it). Otherwise, everything was really amazing.
Our server, Madison, was on point. She knew the menu up and down, made great recommendations and was quick and attentive. Her personality added to the great food made for a terrific overall experience.
Overall, I’d have to say Lock 50 is a real keeper. The small plates idea makes for a more interactive dining experience, promotes sharing and makes for a more fun and festive atmosphere. Even though the dining room as a bit on the loud side, even that fit the overall feel and the place.