Clawson Steak House has been a Clawson icon for 60 some years. Some say that August marked its 60th anniversary, some say 61. Either way, that is impressive. Ownership has moved around within the family, but essentially has been at the same spot, owned by the same family and still going strong. That says a lot. You may notice a familiar feel to Clawson Steak House and the Master’s as the two restaurants have shared family ownership in the past, although I am not sure the current status. Just a glance at the menu alone shows the similarities.
I have been wanting to try Clawson Steak House for some time now and honestly don’t know why we haven’t made it there. I was so happy when my company decided to host one of our employees anniversary lunch there. My company is great, as I know I have said in the past. They always make sure to acknowledge the dedication put in by their employees and honor 10 year and 20 year anniversaries with a decadent company lunch.
Clawson Steak House had a large table laid out like a large horseshoe, in a nice quiet, private room. Plenty of room for all. Our table was ready and waiting for us when we showed up and the restaurant was very prepared to start serving as soon as we arrived.
We had a choice of filet, salmon or chicken picatta. Since we were at Clawson Steak House, not Clawson Salmon house, I thought I should opt for the filet. The meal started with a house salad, with a light dressing. The salad was decent, although one of my coworkers found a fly in hers. Understandable and I certainly can’t really hold that against the restaurant. They tried to replace it, but she was pretty grossed out. They had served a side of bread and breadsticks. They had those sesame covered breadsticks that I just love, dipped in ice cold butter. Yumm! The bread was good, much better than its Masters counterpart.
The waitstaff was on point, bringing salads almost immediately, refilling glasses, etc. The meals seemed to come out rather quickly as well. I have to say, for food cooked en masse, it was darn good. The filet was cooked perfectly. The sides were a bit odd, however. The filet came with a scoop of what looked like school lunch potatoes, served in that perfect ball shape with congealed beef like gravy on top. I did not have much expectations. I was pleased to say I was quite wrong! The potatoes were indeed made fresh, and the gravy was delicious. My only complaint though, is that gravy simply should not be served accompanying a filet. It is just not natural. A nice garlic mash, with maybe some chives would have been spot on, but hey, the mashed with gravy were surprisingly good! The veggies were your basic steamed veggies, but since they were made in obviously a large batch and portioned out, not everyone got the same vegetables. Some had broccoli in theirs, others carrots, some zucchini, it was very random.
For desert, we had a variety to choose from. Carrot cake (sign me up), cheese cake, key lime pie and their special “chocolate peanut butter mousse”. A few people ordered the peanut butter mousse and were very surprised when what appeared to be a chocolate peanut butter cheesecake was served. The dish was good, but misrepresented. A fluffy dish of light, whipped mousse was expected and what came was most definitely a cheesecake. My carrot cake was delicious, and did not disappoint, although my tummy was not very happy with me.
All in all a great experience and I will go back. I did not get too much opportunity to check out the bar area or the main dining room and excited to see how a filet would be on a regular night. I would say go – with a restaurant that has been around 60 years, as I said, they obviously are doing something to bring back the crowds.
A quick follow up: My coworker, the one who we celebrated the anniversary for just went back last night with her husband to celebrate their 23 year anniversary. Her reviews were very favorable, saying the food was delicious and the steak was the best her husband ever had! Glad you had a great night out, Mary Ann and Happy Anniversary!! By the way, I stole your pictures from Facebook for this blog.
