Think Mill Creek and the first thing that comes to mind are the expensive, large older homes that make up its ubiquitous master-planned subdivisions.
Amidst this upscale atmosphere, down in the city’s business district, lies one of the city’s more popular restaurants, and while it’s hardly upscale, it’s a perfect place to take a family for a night out to eat.
Claire’s Pantry is located in a small strip mall at the corner of 164th Street SE and 9th Avenue SE, right off the first stoplight once you cross the city limits. The building itself is unspectacular; only a relatively small sign announces the building as home to a restaurant.
The restaurant itself is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, opening as early as 6 a.m. weekdays while staying open until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The interior is spacious, with many large booths and tables adjoining a greenbelt, visible through picture windows, on the restaurant’s west edge.
Dining at Claire’s Pantry, however, can pose problems, and the problem starts when your server hands you your menu. The problem: what to choose. Quite simply, the selection is broad, full of traditional American staples and more. It has a large breakfast section, a selection of seafood, Italian entrees, sandwiches, burgers and salads. In addition to desserts, beer, wine, and cocktails are available as well as juices and soft drinks.
But instead of those, choose one of their Italian sodas ($3.50). I had a strawberry one. It was made on premises, served in a good-sized glass with plenty of whipped cream on top. Make sure to stir the concoction with your straw to mix the seltzer water, strawberry syrup and whipped cream. The drink itself is almost like a dessert.
As for a meal, I opted to go for a pork chops dinner ($10.95) with green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, roll and salad, a radical departure from my usual bachelor diet of canned goods, frozen food and pub grub.
The salad featured a variety of crisp green leaf lettuce, thick sliced cucumbers, and in a nice touch, sunflower seeds. Given the side salad, I can only imagine what a salad entree, such as a Caesar salad, tastes like.
As for the pork chops, they were well-prepared. It wasn’t spectacular in a gourmet sense, but good, solid, basic American cooking — and sometimes, that’s just what you need.
And yes, Claire’s Pantry is a perfect place to take a family. But take it from a bachelor — a single person can eat there and enjoy themselves too.
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