Spillway Lodge

Going to the Spillway last weekend proved to me how much I've changed in the last couple of decades.  The first and last time I ate at the Spillway was the night of my senior prom.  My friends and I had neglected to make a reservation, so we had to wait two hours while the meter on our rented limo ticked away.  The point is, being from Clinton County, we thought the Spillway Lodge was a restaurant worthy of senior prom.  In the 19 years since then, in my mind, I've always thought of the Spillway as a nice restaurant.

Well, it's not.  It is, however, one of the few places to eat in Clinton County if you don't want to have fast food or patronize a chain, so I can't fault anyone for eating here.  But don't expect high quality.  

I ordered the steak and shrimp.  The shrimp were crisp and hot, and I wished I'd ordered more of them.  My New York strip was cooked somewhere between medium and medium well; unfortunately, I ordered it medium rare.  It took a little work to get it down, and I don't feel bad admitting I used ketchup.  The fries were straight from GFS but still OK.  

The meals come with the salad bar, or salad cart, more like.  It's maybe six feet long.  Though I was impressed that the offered lettuce was not iceberg or romaine but good mixed greens.  

The restaurant itself is an old house, and it's showing its age.  There was food scattered all around the floor (especially around the salad bar, er, cart), though to be fair, the crew was trying to keep up with the mess.  My menu had food all over it, too.

My family was fairly shocked at the prices, which apparently are excessive for Clinton County.  I thought they were fair, though I'd usually expect higher-quality food at prices such as these.

The Spillway is called the Spillway because it has a pretty view of... you guessed it, the spillway of the nearby dam that forms Cowan Lake.  Sadly, the trees have grown and blocked said view for the most part.

Again:  I don't blame anyone for eating here, because it's not McDonald's or Bob Evans.  But the next time I'm in Clinton County and someone suggests going out to eat at a "nice" place, I'll probably look to the Dayton area instead.

Great place!  The food and the menu are top notch. It is nice to have a good stake and seafood place in Wilmington.

Great steak and seafood place. The restaurant itself seems a little dated but nothing too bad. The salad bar is a little bit of a joke but they do have really good bread to go with the salads. Everytime we go the place is busy. Staff is really friendly and on the ball. Its a little pricey but its one of the better places around town.