Pier House will make you feel at home

CLAYTON — I attended a retirement party at The Pier House in Clayton nearly 20 years ago, and for no good reason I haven't been back since.

I've driven past it a number of times. You can't miss it on the main highway (Route 12) just outside the downtown corridor.

It's a neighborhoody family-style sort of place with a loyal, local clientele. The bar is to the left as you enter, just the way I remember it. We envisioned it being a happy place when the weather gets really bad in the winter. Or really nice in the summer.

A hostess station separates the barroom from the dining room. It's a new dining room (new sometime between 1989 and now, anyway) with a combination of cozy booths and tables-for-four dotting the floor. The décor could be described as comfy, homey, countrified — perhaps even a little old-timey.

Old-timey might also be a good description of the menu — good, solid tried-and-true choices like steaks, ribs and pork chops; chicken, pasta and shrimp dishes; veal parmesan, chicken parmesan and broiled scallops.

Appetizers were fairly predictable with a few interesting twists.

Clams casino ($7.95) comes from one of their food suppliers, our friendly bartender told us. They're full of ground bacon, whole and ground clams and bread crumbs, a little on the greasy side due to lots of bacon. If you've ever tried Matlaw's baked clams, available at most supermarkets, they're quite similar.

We also tried deep-fried ravioli ($4.95), an interesting commercial product, a puffy pillow of pasta filled with ricotta cheese and accompanied by a chunky homemade marinara sauce. It had a nice chewy texture, and despite being deep-fried, was enjoyably non-greasy.

French onion soup ($3.95) was good, a hearty beefy stock loaded with cooked down and flavorful onions topped with melted mozzarella cheese supported by crisp croutons.

Most outstanding was their seafood stew ($6.95), a large bowlful of shrimp, scallops and clams in a spicy tomato/clam juice broth, all poured over a bed of white rice. Very reminiscent of an Italian cioppino. Delicious.

Salads come with the meal, a nice combination of crisp greens and fresh veggies. Their dressings are all homemade, and available for purchase if you wish to take some home.

Peppercorn/parmesan was de-lish and noticeably peppery with actual evidence of cracked peppercorns. Thousand Islands dressing was quite good with all the right stuff in it — pickle relish, chili sauce and good quality mayonnaise.

Filet Blackjack ($18.95) is one of their signature dishes. It's a filet mignon, a good a half-pound of beef tenderloin cooked to perfection, topped with sautéed fresh mushrooms and a very tasty dark sauce fortified with a noticeable splash of Jack Daniels. Salt potatoes swimming in butter were salty and buttery, just the way they should be.

From their list of Italian specialties we went with tortellini Florentine ($12.95), a huge rimmed bowl with lots of plump tortellini pasta tossed with bacon, spinach and diced tomatoes in a basil garlic crème sauce. Except for the crème sauce being a little on the pasty side, this was one enjoyable dish with enough leftover to enjoy the next day at home.

Angel Hair and Scampi ($12.95) is also listed under Italian specialties. This was another huge portion consisting of at least 15 good-sized shrimp and lots of perfect al dente angel hair pasta. The shrimp were sautéed in lots of salted butter and garlic. Maybe even a shake of Old Bay. Yum, yum.

The kitchen left the tails on, which made it a little difficult to negotiate. After we got tired of wrestling them with our knife and fork, we just picked them up by the tail and took care of business. Classy, huh?

Chicken St. Lawrence ($12.95) was a creative little dish. A large breast of chicken was lightly grilled and layered with roasted red peppers and melted provolone cheese. It came with a thick Hollandaise sauce that fortunately was served on the side. A little too heavy and pasty for our liking. It could have used a squeeze of lemon to perk it up a little, too.

Desserts ($3.50 each) were touted as homemade, but, sorry to say, they didn't measure up to the rest of the meal.

Éclair cake sure looked identical to something we've had at another restaurant, more like a semi-flat Napoleon than an éclair but with a puddingy taste and a chocolate sauce that was a cross between icing and syrup.

Strawberry shortcake would have been much better if fresh strawberries were used. The shortcake biscuits and piped whipped cream helped save it.

Pineapple coconut cake was very good, especially its cream cheese frosting — like a carrot cake with a new twist.

Chocolate cake was just average. Tasted like they started with a box mix.

Dinner for four excluding cocktails came to $101 before tax and tip.

The food utilized good quality ingredients and was prepared by someone who obviously cared about his/her work. The chef didn't shy away from big flavors. Prices were quite reasonable, we all agreed.

Service from both our bartender, Shawn, and our waitress, Char, was excellent — very friendly, competent and knowledgeable. Shawn even came to the table halfway through the meal to check on us. Char immediately whisked away the little papers that covered the end of the straws that we put on the table when she served the water. Little things like that are appreciated and remembered.

You can contact…

The Pier House
110 State Street (Route 12)
Clayton, New York
686-5588

Hearty, well-prepared food and drink at a year-round restaurant in the Thousand Islands region

Dinners served nightly except Tuesday

APPETIZER PICK: Seafood stew

ENTRÉE PICKS: Filet “Blackjack,” Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair

Rating: 3 and one-half forks