Cafe on Clinton gets revamped under new management
Josh Guttman | July 31, 2007
If you haven’t walked down Clinton Street in the past two weeks, you might not realize that some changes are a happenin’. I reported last week that the red deli had closed its doors abruptly. We still don’t know what will become of that space, but we do know that next-door, Cafe on Clinton is preparing to re-open under new management by Charlie Statelman, formerly of Patois fame. Charlie has been in the space sanding, staining and installing new light fixtures (doing much of it himself) for the past two weeks. After 18 years of running Cafe on Clinton, Barry Brockway decided to move on to pursue different projects. He will be missed as Cafe on Clinton is as neighborhoody a bar/restaurant as it gets. Personally, I’m going to miss the ahi tuna and mash potatoes, which was my favorite item on the menu. Though Charlie assured me that he will keep ingredients on hand to prepare several of the old standby dishes which locals have voiced concern over losing. The new menu, with a french flare, is posted in the window.
Cafe on Clinton is located on Clinton Street, between Warren and Verandah.
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I do hope Cafe Clinton keeps it’s unpretentious vibe — you could bring your kid of a CEO there and both would like it.
Missed dishes will include the Fettucine Ipoh and the maple plank seared salmon.
Good luck, Barry!
Alas, it has not kept its unpretentious vibe. Quite the contrary.
With high hopes we returned to C on C this evening. It’s clearly gone upmarket, but it’s worse than that. The tone the boss is setting is unwelcoming to say the least.
The wine we ordered was out of stock, so we ordered another. Then we waited. Our food arrived, and grew cold as we waited for the wine. No one offered an explanation. When we finally started eating our food and then told the owner that we might as well cancel the wine order, wordlessly he turned on his heel and walked away. Never an explanation, never an apology. Nothing.
Without even asking whether we would like coffee or dessert, the server dropped the bill on our table, with a zero balance written in, again without comment. This came off as a dismissive insult. We insisted on paying our bill, and felt sorry for her as she explained that the owner had told her to do this. We are not likely to return.
Barry would have (1) welcomed us to his new restaurant (2) quickly explained the problem (3) given us two free glasses of wine in time to enjoy with our meal and (4) laughed it off, with us. We would have been back the next week. How we will miss Cafe on Clinton.