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Supper club-type, American bistro now open for all three meals at Pudge’s Saloon and Eatery site

After much planning, it’s official: The Club 304 that has opened in the same building as the new Pudge’s Saloon and Eatery is now also open for dinner, as well as lunch and breakfast.
Club 304 had been serving since 7 a.m. for that most important meal of the day, and now will go straight through to between 9 and 11 p.m., depending on the number of customers at the locality.
Executive chef Josh Furman, obviously a key part of the refurbishing, said this supper club and American Bistro theme, among other possible descriptions, is unlike anything else in Hudson and the result of staying passionate and sticking to a concept of being “approachable.” He noted there are the higher-end places in Stillwater, but that his is a different mix of the best of several such things. Furman wants familiar food where people can pronounce what they are ordering, not have it be, say, an obscure French word. Think of going beyond the gourmet, he adds.
Which is not to say that his menu won’t have French sauces, which like so many things at Club 304, he makes from scratch and using locally sourced ingredients, such as oatmeal, which is beyond the usual standard, having among other things, only coconut milk and steel-cut ingredients and like everything on their menu, no processed white sugar. That’s not even to mention the hoops they jump through to make their own hollendaise sauce, to go with their lobster eggs Benedict. The idea is affordable comfort food, although variety of food options and being treated special while ordering them is indeed their spice of life, and there are even “small plates” if you just want a somewhat-filling snack. And Furman says he will be a consistent presence at Club 304, especially if people have questions, and thus come out and talk to customers.
They might want to ask about the various steaks, made from Hereford beef only, other beef as in great burgers, and ala carte breakfast choices and hot dish, many of which patrons can build it their own way. Signature dishes include crispy pork belly with celery root, an inside-out Scotch egg, beer battered fried, cheese-stuffed onion rings and several dishes using their own made-in-house bacon.
All of this is creating a buzz, even across the border into St. Paul, Furman says, as people have become curious about the intentional, whole experience they are offering. Add to that the ambiance and experienced staff and you have a destination, he said. And as an add-on, so many people have already speaked glowingly to him about that pervasive limestone wall in all parts of the building, even though he spends the majority of his time in the kitchen.
Furman is a veteran of such popular Twin Cities eateries as W.A. Frost, Masu, Shanghai Bistro, the Rivertowns bed and breakfast in Stillwater, and some venues in California.
For more information about the Pudge’s Saloon and Eatery, or the accompanying Club 304, call (715) 386-9975.

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