Clinton Street Social Club

Overview: Clinton Street Social Club is a speakeasy with great booze and a schizophrenic kitchen that is equally amazing and disappointing.

Location/space: The Social Club is located above Short's burger directly across the street from the Old Capitol. The interior is wonderfully decorated with exposed brick walls and metal accent pieces that evoke a turn of the century speak-easy. The dining area itself is very modest and divided from the bar area by a staircase leading to the third floor. There's also a pool table and occasional live music.

The Food: The restaurant serves mainly smaller portioned appetizers meant to be shared among the group of diners. These range from small slider sandwiches and charcuterie to more substantial dishes like Shepard's pies and flank steak.

Since the restaurant is still fairly new (within its first year), the food has a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde quality to it: some days its amazing, other days not so much. For instance, the pork belly was luscious, tender, and flavorful the first time I ordered it, but when I talked it up to friends and returned a month later, the pork belly was dried-out, overcooked, and a major letdown after the first experience. Similarly, the first time I ordered the hush puppies, they were perfectly cooked with a crisp golden shell while a subsequent order produced darkened hush puppies that had clearly stayed in the fryer a bit too long. Finally, an unexpected and very pleasant surprise was the apple bread pudding, which had a lightness and balance of flavors that managed to draw warm praise out of a guest who normally hates bread pudding.

The drinks: This is clearly the Social Club's strength. They have a wonderful selection of beer, wine, cocktails, and spirits (which includes an awesome collection of whiskey). The Grandpa's Coffin, in particular, is fantastic and worth the steep price.

Summary: Clinton Street Social Club is a great downtown bars for those who are looking for a reprieve from fraternizing with undergraduates in a dive bar or club. The drinks is clearly the Social Club's forte, and its food will steadily get better as the kitchen staff gains more experience with the still relatively new menu. In short, this place has the potential to be something amazing. Time will tell whether it can achieve that level on a consistent basis.

Food looked good. Too bad came after 10pm, couldn't order food. They have a great variety of drinks. I got the wine/coke/lemon deal that was good.

Great food, great drinks, great staff. This place is a diamond in the rough....literally.