(Credit: MikeAnthony Moffa)
Arriving: I first reviewed The Clubhouse a year and a half ago for happy hour. I’m glad to see that the owners changed the sign out front to eliminate the wacky punctuation.
Management has also fixed the flow of the room. The single remaining pool table now has its own nook with a TV and lounge seating. Booths line one side of the long room with tables down the other. That leaves a wide aisle toward the bar and Golden Tee LIVE 2008 at the far end. I don’t remember if the waitresses always wore those calf-length tube socks, but “thumbs up” on that too.
Scoping: When Sunday brunch starts at 11 a.m., the crowd is young couples. They were together at midnight so they’re still together at noon. By 1 p.m., the room has switched over to small groups in team T-shirts (still young and still 50-50) who came to watch football.
Drinking: The $14.95 brunch special includes all-you-can-drink mimosas and/or draft beer. I asked the waitress what brand of brew they were putting in those plastic cups. She told me it was Miller Lite, then came back and revealed that this week, it was actually Pabst Blue Ribbon. Drink it while it’s ice cold because it’s not going to taste good warm.
I’m sure the mimosas aren’t made with Cristal either, but the waitress was speedy with refills. If you don’t like orange juice, bubbly or cheap beer – you can buy $3 bloody Marys or a pint of about 20 beers on tap. One gripe with the waitresses – I saw multiple examples of tables waiting … and waiting … to get their checks.
Chewing: The Clubhouse has a full menu, but if you want the Sunday brunch special, you’ve got three choices: eggs Benedict, steak and eggs or a breakfast burrito. All three come with a generous pile of deep-fried Tater Tots.
The steak and eggs is probably the best deal, but I’ve still got problems. The menu promises a T-bone, but I got a strip steak, which actually needs both the missing tenderloin and bone to qualify. The steak itself is short-order quality, frozen from a bag with cartoony painted-on grill marks. I also got two eggs instead of the promised three, but the kitchen fixed that when I pointed it out.
The eggs Benedict looked great, but the Hollandaise sauce was too salty and the Canadian bacon was painfully thin – more like shaved ham.
Going: The Clubhouse still has the tidiest bathrooms of any downtown bar, because they’re actually in the office building next door. Those lawyers and travel agents would never tolerate a grubby crapper.
Departing: I was originally going to write something cute like, “The Clubhouse is clearly finding its groove in downtown., but next time I stop in for a drink, I think I’ll get a cheeseburger.” Then, I tried the cheeseburger. Served with fries for $8.75, the factory patty was dry and chewy. Plus, I can’t call it “hot.” This was post-lunch rush, and my food still took 30 minutes.
The Clubhouse is clearly finding its groove in downtown, but until the kitchen catches up with the rest of the bar, I think I’ll stick to the wings.
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