Clara’s fine decor and service don’t compensate for so-so food

Although the popular restaurant is lovely to look at, the dining experience leaves much to be desired

Posted

(Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of twice-monthly restaurant reviews that critic Joe Torok will write based on his first visit to a local eatery. )

Google "Lansing dining," and Clara’s Lansing Station jumps to the top of the page. Popularity with residents, frequent recommendations to guests visiting from out of town and a landmark building give Clara’s an ostensible air of dining superiority not to be missed.  

The service is great. The décor is fine. The food — well, let’s start with the service and décor. 

On a Saturday evening, a dining companion and I visited the converted train station, a large, architecturally interesting space for a restaurant, with a broad roof and a pair of short turrets outside. Inside, a cavernous ceiling covers a space bedecked with Tiffany lamps, historical decorations and fine wood and glasswork. Without the expectations of a meal, the site could make for a nice 10-minute museum tour. 

We were greeted with a smile and shown immediately to a seat we requested — in the adjacent defunct railcar, a whimsical destination for those who wish to imagine a meal in motion.

From the table up, the décor is beautiful, with stained and leaded glass, woodwork and crystal-clear windows providing a view of  railroad tracks and, splashing off nearby buildings, the peach-colored light of the setting sun.

The dingy carpet, however, and the beat-up plastic tablecloth, along with grimy pull cords attached to our table’s window blind, were difficult to overlook in a venue accentuating its visual appeal.

Our server was prompt, professional and polite. She took drink orders immediately, and provided plenty of time to peruse the menu, a bill of fare that could make a convenience store owner blush with envy.

The novel-length menu offers a vast array of options, including American fare, Tex-Mex, seafood, basket meals, sandwiches galore and much more. A page-long history of the restaurant is densely printed in small font on the back page.

We started with the spinach, crab and artichoke dip ($7.99). The large portion could be a meal unto itself, and we barely dented the pile of bagel chips, perhaps because they tasted as if they had been dumped directly from a bag and sprinkled with garlic salt, seasoning that became unnecessary with a dip itself  that seemed to be infused with cheap salt.

Real crab, chunks of artichoke and bits of spinach combined into a creamy mixture that did make for a tasty appetizer, though, in a recurring dairy theme, the melted cheese on top (Monterey jack, the menu claims) added little.

The house salad ($2.29) looked like it came straight from a bag, too, with iceberg and a bit of romaine and tiny slivers of occasional carrot.

Thick slices of red onion and two of the largest slices of cucumber I’ve ever been served were added on top, along with orange cheese shreds devoid of flavor. A salad fit for an airplane.

Our server politely informed us that no dressings were homemade at Clara’s, but, she added, the ranch is mixed onsite.       

The chicken Hawaiian ($8.99 single) with seasonal vegetables was selected as the entrée (my companion stopped with the dip), a dish in the menu described as a Clara’s favorite, marinated in pineapple juice, soy sauce and white wine. The breast meat itself was of good quality, a touch dry like most white meat, but not overly so.

The marinade, on the other hand, didn’t seem to penetrate far, providing a slightly sweet veneer with hardly a hint of much else. The vegetables — amazingly tasteless onion, slightly overcooked red bell pepper, zucchini and summer squash — didn’t add much to the meal, apart from a touch of ground pepper.  

The key lime pie ($4.29) couldn’t save the meal, but it was pretty good. The creamy pie had a firm crust, a smooth texture and a nice subtle tang, although to call the topping "whipped cream" is an insult to cream.

A cup of coffee ($2.39) sounded nice to accompany the sweet finish. Served promptly, a smell test suggested the coffee had been burnt three hours prior; the taste test confirmed it was four-hours burnt.

After a few tortured sips of what I imagined I could buy with coupons at the supermarket, I began to realize that, for the most part, it seemed like I was actually paying for the experience first, the food second.  

Clara’s is a great venue for a brief tour, full of history and ornament. After dinner, I decided that if I go back, I’ll go back for the décor.


Clara's Lansing Station
637 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing
11 a.m.- 10 p.m.  Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Frday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday
(517) 372-7120
www.claras.com

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here




Connect with us