Nordic Lodge, Charlestown RI

[Lucky]

Recently I went on a ride one afternoon after a really hot, humid spell.
I generally tend to stay close to home, within 50-70 miles anyway. (got kids?)
I've always heard about a place called the Nordic Lodge, located in the woods in Charlestown. ?I'd heard that they had an all-you-can eat buffet for $50/person and this sounded outragous to me, so I never realy persued it.

I pulled off Route 2 and headed west towards Wickford and then south on to old U.S. 1.
heading south thru Narragansett I turned off a side road that looked pretty good and pretty much tried to get myself lost. ?I've spent 2/3 of my life here but still can find places I havent been. ?The scenery can be very good, with rustic tree lined lanes and lots of old houses and barns, often dating back to the 1700's

I was doing pretty well at getting lost, just kind of guessing on my direction by the time of day and position of the sun...kind of... ?The road I was on was staring to become pretty thin with long sweeping turns, rising and falling over 1/4 mile streches. ?there are an abunance of deer in this area, so you have to keep an eye out for them, as well as moose, black bears and coyotes. ?I was having a blast, and the V was running flawlessly.

Somewhere about 40 minuets into the ride, on this thin fun road, (I didn't know the name of it at the time, and that can be a problem when your lost, or want to find the same place later) I saw something painted in big yellow stencil type letters across the road. "N L" it said with an arrow pointing in my direction of travel.

A couple of moments later I passed another one of these, and then a few hundred yards later I came upon a large iron gate and a sign that said Nordic Lodge. ?I was thirsty and had to use the restroom anyway, so I thought i'd get a look at this place i've heard so much about.

I pulled in the long entrance road and came in to the parking lot, passing several tour busses parked in a smaller lot off to the right. (This area of RI isn't too far from Foxwoods resort and casino). ?In the center ?of the parking area id a 40 foot "planter" made of stone, very gothic looking, on the right is a pond with a fountain in it and to the left is a lake, later I found out that is Pasquist pond. ?Much of this area was originally Naragansett Indian land for hundreds of years, so there are a lot of hard to pronounce names.

Looking around the nicely landscaped grounds, I noticed a boat dock, gazebo, presumably for weddings, and strangly a corall type fenced in area with a double fence the inner having an electric wire at the top.... ?at the center of all this stands the resturant itself, a very large stone and wood looking, well, lodge. ?Naturally, standing guard at the front entrance is a 12 foot viking, horned hat and all, carved form the trunk of a big oak tree.

I went inside and talked to the Hostess, and she directed me to the bar (and the head).
I got an iced tea and went to check out the Buffet. (We were having ribs at home, so I wasn't going to eat) That's when my eyes popped! They said a "giant all you can eat Viking buffet" and they were not kidding! one buffet table was half grill, with Filet Mignon, Prime Rib,Teriaki tenderloin, and more.

There was a seafood table stacked with steamed Quohogs (a local saltwarer clam) scallops, shrimp, all kinds of fish, and my favorite, steamed lobster! YUMM!!! ?I watched a couple of guys load up plates with lobsters, eating just the tails and claws, then going back for more. ?I think i'd have a hard time doing that, as lobster is expensive, and I learned early on how to cull the meat from the body too.

There were several other tables with appetizers, salad, deserts, and other entrees, but after seeing that steam table piled high with the lobsters, everything else was a moot point for me. :)

If I was in a car, the ride home would have been anti-climatic, but since I was on the bike, I bee lined it home to tell my wife what i'd found. (she doesn't know this, but i've made reservations for our aniversary on the 22nd)

Cost is $49 per person plus tax (7%) and tip. Children under 12 are less.
Nordic Lodge
178 E. Pasquiset Trail,
Charlestown, RI. 02813
(401) 783-4515
http://www.nordic-lodge.com

--Lucky

[YellowJacket!]

Hey,

Is the old wooden tower still there?

David

[Lucky]

I don't remember seeing it, but my wife thinks she does...

[YellowJacket!]

Not by the lodge but on the way there.  I think my directions are right.  It was somewhere between Wickford and the Jamestown Bridge.  BTW, that is a nice bike ride.  I drove that way a few years ago (minivan...ugh)...thought I remembered the way too but ended up driving around for a while.  Too proud to stop and ask for directions (also worried because my sharp northern accent has been replaced by a hybrid southern/northern drawl)  actually a feeble attempt at justifying a GPS but my wife is too smart and cut me off.  Oops, sorry, I'm rambling.  I miss Rhode Island.

Take Care,

David

[Lucky]

Ok, you mean the Tower on rt 1 (Tower hill rd) between Sunderstown & URI. yup, still there.
BTW, we lost another 'landmark' last month, Mancini's hardware burned down & their not reopening. :( anytime you hear me refer to a 'well stocked hardware store' on this site, it was Mancini's i had in mind.  where else could you go around here that still cut glass, carried kerosine & bird food, sold tools older than dirt? really gonna miss that place!!

[Walt_M.]

Too bad about the hardware store! We had one like that in this area for years but the guy who ran it got tired of it and went to being a full-time EMT. No one else in the family could handle it so they just sold out and closed up.

[YellowJacket!]

Oh man, remember it well.

David