Full disclosure - I work for the Chameleon Club/Lizard Lounge... However, my reviews here are not in any way endorsed, sponsored or influenced in any way by that fact... What I mean is, I'm not getting any sort of kickback for giving something a positive review, and as far as I know, reviewing the menu is not in any way jeopardizing my employment there. If I give something a positive review it means that I really did enjoy it, if its a negative review, well.. hopefully I was right about all of this "not jeopardizing my employment" stuff... My opinions on the food served there are just that - MY opinions. You can do with them what you wish... I am merely eating and writing about it (like I'm doing all over this town) it just so happens that now, it's from a place where I also get paid sometimes.
That said, I feel as though I need to mention, that you should all visit the Chameleon Club and the Lizard Lounge, "With its 10,000 sq ft divided into three floors, and seven bars, (and now a kitchen!) it is a convenient venue for area music fans to see their favorite artists in an intimate setting." (and the DJ on Tuesday nights is the best!)
For my first official* venture onto the oft expanding menu from the Lizard Lounge Kitchen was the Bacon Cheddar Burger... I felt this to be a good place to start. A safe bet. So I ordered and returned to my barstool to await my feast. Oh, and I ordered mozzarella sticks as well, but I'll get to those later...
The Lizard Lounge is divided into 2 sections or "sides".. there is the side that you see when you first walk in, the non smoking side... this is the "I'm ready for my close up" side... its open and inviting, wood floors, nice lighting, exposed beams in the ceiling.. There are pool tables on this side, and... the kitchen. Its all very nice, and I should probably eat my food on this side.. instead, I prefer the other side... the smoking side... the "old side" this was the room that was the former "Lizard Lounge" (before the Chameleon had a massive renovation and created that swanky new non-smoking side)... This side is where the DJs and the bands perform (note-this is not the main stage area of the club, this is the "basement" level). This side did not get quite as fancied up as the other side, its more the performance side, so I suppose they just decided to keep it kinda sparse with the decorum. (I've been saying it forever and now I will say it in print, or whatever this is... one thing that side SORELY needs is more seating. simple bench seating in the corners with a low table would do just fine, and not to mention make it a little more "lounge-y") I spend most of my time on this side of the Lounge, the dark side, mainly because I am usually on or around the stage, maybe also because I am most comfortable on that side since I spent so much time in it when it was the original Lizard Lounge. I'm a creature of habit I suppose, so I ate my dinner in the cold embrace of a concrete room (remember its a rock club first, dining ambiance is probably a little further down on the list)... I didn't mind.
Soon my food arrived, my intention was known from the beginning (that I was going to be reviewing the food for this blog) so Tim, the head "chef" gave me the "royal treatment" and everything was served and arranged neatly on a plate (see above) burgers usually come in baskets (see below). I was given one packet each of mustard, ketchup, and mayo. I used each one and assembled the burger. (Plate gets a +1 for presentation, BTW)
You might now be noticing two varied sets of photos for this post, thats because I have an iphone which takes suitable photos... and a higher res camera (that can't make calls) which takes well, higher res, prettier pictures... After the first burger, a few days later, I ordered another one and used my better camera, so as to make this post a little nicer to look at.. I also ordered mozzarella sticks a second time so that I could illustrate the stringiness of the cheese, but I only had my stupid (not stupid) iphone for that picture, so that one is still a little grainy. Whatever, so what? I'm done explaining myself to you..
What I expected from this bar food burger was not at all what I got. I expected a cheap patty, slapped with a slab of yellow american ("it looks like cheddar") and some precooked bacon thrown on top. Maybe a wilted piece of lettuce and a brown tomato. My expectations were not the highest. I knew that the Chameleon Club was never a place for food... unless you wanted a slice of pizza during a show, there was never really a "menu" so I set myself up for the worst, and just hoped for the best. So on the scale of worst ---- best what I got was "damn good". Let me explain...
I'll start with the lettuce tomato and onion.. holy fresh! The lettuce was crisp and perfect, the tomato was thick cut, juicy and delicious, and the onion (which I asked to be distributed lightly) was fresh chopped and gave a mild sting to each bite, you know... like an onion... The cheese, I think they are using real cheddar here, and plenty of it, was awesome. It melted over the bacon just right, like a cozy blanket for the bacon on meat bed. (<--- that's one of the grossest sentences I've ever written, I'm sorry). The bacon was cooked to a perfect crunch (but not too well done) and added just enough of a smoked salty boost to the patty which was, well... its certainly not Kobe beef, I'll put it that way. Its not bad, but it also doesn't really add too much flavor to the finished product. It's there, and texturally its a hamburger, but thats it really ... thats okay though, it wasn't the worst hamburger patty I've ever had, and as I said, it was really the work of everything else here that covered for the half-assed job the patty was doing. It's alright though, and until they find a better burger, this one will do just fine.
7.0
The mozzarella sticks were mozzarella sticks. The kind you buy in bulk. You know the mozzarella sticks that I speak of.
I love mozzarella sticks, but I hate when I get some and the cheese isn't really stringy, like maybe they were sitting around for a while after they came out of the fryer and the cheese stiffens up... thats the worst. I also hate when you get them and they are just out of the fryer and you don't know that and you bite into one hot oil shoots out all over your face (second grossest sentence I've ever written, I'm sorry) and fingers.. HOT... TOO HOTTT!!!
So lets address these concerns in regards to the mozzarella sticks from the Lizard Lounge...
There is no "fryer" in the kitchen here, they have nowhere to put a "hood" (where's it going to vent to? the main stage?) so instead they got this magical little box called a "Fry Wizard" (from a little shop on Daigon Alley apparently) and it fries food without grease and without the use of a "hood". Everybody wins!
The fried result is a little crunchier than baked, but sadly (and its only a minor sadness) lacking the greasy deep fried CRUNCH of the more traditional cooking means. They also are a little more "bendable" as a result. But... no hot oil burning my face and fingers... +1
And since the mozzarella sticks are made to order, you get them while they are still nice and hot and the cheese is at its stringy peak. +1
7.2
* "officially", for this blog... I've been sampling from the kitchen since it officially opened in November of last year.
The Chameleon Club/Lizard Lounge is located at 223 N Water St. in Downtown Lancaster, PA.
The Fry Wizard.
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