just ordered some stuff from lodge and they have free shipping due to the situation. coulda got it on amazon but chose to go direct.
If you find yourself near Pittsburg TN. its worth a slight detour off the 4 lane to see the Lodge factory store. I stopped in last Feb. for a quick look. Talk about a pile of cast iron options! Had hoped to see the factory in action but it didn't work out. Picked up a few jars of salsa there also. Nice part of the country.
Cast Iron cookware rules in this house. Now, I've got an admittedly, mostly fuzzy memory of looking at Lodge Cast Iron, quite a few years ago and slamming on the brakes because it was Made in Cheaper. Has that changed or was I hallucinating, again? Been living off inherited family heirlooms and a couple flea market finds for a long time. Have wanted to add a few things but was under the impression good quality new stuff didn't exist anymore.
On an older episode of "Good Eats", Alton Brown went to the Lodge factory. It was a quick segment, but really neat to see how the pans were made.
I've heard the cast iron "purists" admit that Lodge is pretty good, not a Wagner (1881) or Griswold (1865) but pretty good . I wonder if any one else still makes cast iron cookware in the States anymore besides Lodge? That right there is enough for me, and I have a few pieces by lodge that are just fine, the only thing that's different from my old wagner's or griswolds is 50 years or more of "seasoning".
95% of our cookware is cast iron. I really like finding the old stuff at yard sales that is super smooth.
