Earl and I met some friends for dinner at Clementine’s this evening. I can’t remember the last time we ate at this St. Joseph institution. Since it’s right on the river – Boaters need walk only several steps from their crafts to the front door – we usually go there in the summer when the slips are filled and the sun hangs high. Tonight there wasn’t a boat in the water; and, even though it was early, dusk had erased any smidgen of sunlight.
The first thing we noticed was the new look to the menus. Maybe the previous ones became too dog-eared for use, but at least we all knew where to find our favorite dishes. Additionally, the cover of the menu now says “Clementine’s Too.” I always thought the South Haven location was the “Too.” But online research indicates I’m wrong. Not that it mattered to our appetites.
I imagine there are some people who visit Clementine’s and don’t order the homemade onion rings, but we were not among them. Earl ordered the twelve inch wooden peg’s worth for the four of us, which – if you’re a numbers person – equates to about four rings each. Clem’s website brags that it sold eight miles of these things last year. I suppose a real numbers person could also figure out specifically how many rings that is.
Since The Establishment, another local eatery, closed probably a decade ago, my go-to place for pan-fried perch is Clementine’s. It did not disappoint. So even if the tourists are gone, the menu is redesigned, and “Too” feels odd to me, the things I like most have remained intact.
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