It is a Lodge, and I agree that the seasoning was certainly sub-par (I threw frozen ground turkey in it and every time I flipped it, it stuck to the pan and I had to scrape it off) but 30 minutes on the stove with tongs and some oil and the grilled ham and cheese I posted came out beautiful once I had the temperature figured out.
Having never used a different brand, I'm not sure about the cast itself. Yes, it's a little rough but not terrible. For $30 for a 15" pan (want to be able to cook 5 chicken breasts at once for the Thai chicken) I can't complain and will learn what I like and dont like and go from there.
From the looks of it, I'll be using it for cooking random things to get used to it. The fact that the pan was still warm 90 minutes after the burner was off was slightly unexpected.
And be prepared to either wrap the handle with a towel or get a silicone cover as the handle went over 140F while I was seasoning it.