Going to the Spillway last weekend proved to me how much I've changed in the last couple of decades. Â The first and last time I ate at the Spillway was the night of my senior prom. Â 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. Â The point is, being from Clinton County, we thought the Spillway Lodge was a restaurant worthy of senior prom. Â In the 19 years since then, in my mind, I've always thought of the Spillway as a nice restaurant.
Well, it's not. Â 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. Â But don't expect high quality. Â
I ordered the steak and shrimp. Â The shrimp were crisp and hot, and I wished I'd ordered more of them. Â My New York strip was cooked somewhere between medium and medium well; unfortunately, I ordered it medium rare. Â It took a little work to get it down, and I don't feel bad admitting I used ketchup. Â The fries were straight from GFS but still OK. Â
The meals come with the salad bar, or salad cart, more like. Â It's maybe six feet long. Â Though I was impressed that the offered lettuce was not iceberg or romaine but good mixed greens. Â
The restaurant itself is an old house, and it's showing its age. Â 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. Â My menu had food all over it, too.
My family was fairly shocked at the prices, which apparently are excessive for Clinton County. Â 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. Â Sadly, the trees have grown and blocked said view for the most part.
Again: Â I don't blame anyone for eating here, because it's not McDonald's or Bob Evans. Â 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 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.
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