Clementines

Clementine's

500 Phoenix Street
South Haven, Michigan 49090

The Building was once a bank, and the one next to it that has been absorbed into it was probably a drug store. But this is a distinct building and nearly in the center of the town. When people were trying to give us directions to a book store, we just asked "Where from Clementine's?"

One thing everyone that ever spoke on this place mentioned onion rings. And so we had to try them. One orders them here by the inch, either 6 or 12 inches. So we ordered 6 inches (they come on a base that has a stick coming up and the rings are stacked on this). They were wonderful. Golden and crunchy, and served with ranch dressing.

Penny ordered the Harbor Bay Burger which is their olive burger. I had the Gold Miner burger which is just a cheese burger. But the meat patties were very generous and these would be a double burger in most places. They are served open face, so one has to put it together so to speak. Which is good because we could add the fixings to our liking. They are served with your choice of a side and they automatically come with cole slaw. When they were presented my wife commented "It smells like they did them on a charcoal grill." She has a good nose because that's exactly what they tasted like. Like there was a charcoal grill going in the backyard and they had done them there.

They also come with a house salad, which was pretty standard. I chose the side of potato pancakes, and Penny chose their French Onion Soup. The French Onion soup was very much to her liking and she knows of what she speaks when it comes to French Onion soup. The potato pancakes were just the mini version of McDonald's "hash browns", and nothing special here. But they provide sour cream you can dip them in.

So when in South Haven, visit Clementines. Worth the visit, if for no other reason than the onion rings.

The Good: They offer a full menu which includes seafood, Italian and Mexican based entrees, steaks, and many homemade soups that change daily. They also offer a full bar, and yet are family friendly and feature a kid's menu. The interior is beautiful with the original metal ceilings and other interesting features of an era sadly gone by.

The Bad: Parking is tough even though they have the street around them and an additional lot. But so what if you have to walk a block to get there? Not likely, but even if you do, you'll need to burn the calories on the way back to the car.

The Ugly: They are too far from me for me to be a regular.

Grade: A-