Clubhouse Restaurant
3333 Bristol Street, Suite 2802
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
I tried to get this up before they closed, but I ran out of time with the holidays and all the running around. When I heard that the Clubhouse was closing, I could not believe it. I had been over the years, and it always had a decent crowd. I managed to make it over there twice in the last two weeks. Here, for nostalgia's sake, is what I had to eat.
This is the Flaming Spinach & Artichoke Dip. It is very cheesy and lit on fire tableside. It has a very good taste, but the artichoke is a little too light. But it is a great way to start the meal.
Here is our second appetizer, the Firecracker Jumbo Lump Crab Cake. The presentation on this was good, as was all the food at the Clubhouse. This crab cake is served with Sriracha mayonnaise and a tropical fruit relish. The accompaniments went very nicely with the crab cake. The crab cake alone had a mild taste but was enhanced with the fruit and mayo. A little pricey at $16, but it was half-price during our happy hour visit.
This is Katie's colorful Clubhouse Garbage Salad. This salad seemed to have a little bit of everything in it, including chicken, eggs, cheddar cheese, Roma tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green onion, bacon, green and black olives, and balsamic vinaigrette. If I had my choice, I would have asked for blue cheese or ranch as a dressing, but she liked this salad and had enough to take to work the next day.
Blackened Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya was my choice. I was a little disappointed with this item, though. The chicken was in big hunks; it would have been better if it had been shredded. Also, they were really skimpy on the sausage and shrimp. I counted three shrimp on the entire $21 dish. Lastly, there was no liquid in this dish—nothing to mop up with bread. It's not a good scene.
Next, we have one of the house favorites, the Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Sundae. Their killer meatloaf is served over a scoop of mashed potatoes, with another scoop placed on top and doused in a brown gravy. It's a very well-presented dish and also tasty. When they first opened, they used to serve it in a sundae schooner.
Here, we have the Tilapia in a lemon-caper sauce, with a substitution of red-skin mashed potatoes for the rice pilaf. The tilapia was cooked just right, a little flaky without being dry. The potatoes had a good texture, but the spinach was overdone. This was a very sturdy dish.
Here is the Bacon Ranch Chicken Wrap. Once again, wraps are not my thing, so I may not be the person to judge, but this was lacking in ranch and chicken. It was a lot of lettuce and tomato. No complaints from the person who ordered this, though, so it could just be me. Damn health nuts!
Lastly, here is why I kept returning to the Clubhouse, the Shaved Prime Rib Dip. Always a winner with me, this $18 sandwich was prepared well and always had a great flavor. On this trip, though, they could have used more horseradish sauce, but the meat tasted great, and the bread was excellent. This was easily one of my top five sandwiches in the OC; I will miss you, old girl!
So now the Clubhouse can ride off into the sunset. It has been a great ten years, and many good times have been had. Hopefully, the two new places that will be occupying the space will continue the great tradition of service that the Clubhouse provided. The people at the Clubhouse were always very pleased to have you and showed it every time you walked through their door. Once again, you will be missed.
So, out of five golf clubs, five being the best and zero being the worst, I give the Clubhouse 3.5 golf clubs.
For more information about the Clubhouse, and if you are ever in the Chicago area, they still operate a restaurant there, check them out here: http://www.theclubhouse.com/
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