Claim Jumper - Strikes Gold
Written: Jul 08 '00 (Updated Jun 16 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Superb quality of food, incredible portions, great service
Cons: Will offend those who find excess distasteful
The Bottom Line: Wonderful restaurant that remains our favorite - for consistent quality, and astounding value.
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| patriciak's Full Review: Claim Jumper |
Claim Jumper rates a 9 out of 10 on my personal rating system for restaurants. Excellent service, wonderful variety, incredible value for the money. I do not use such superlatives lightly, this restaurant has earned my respect and admiration over a number of visits. If you have ever driven by one and noticed a lot of folks exiting the restaurant with shopping bags, it is not because they have stopped in for a quick meal after shopping! I will warn you this review is longer than your average restaurant review, because it is not possible to describe the restaurant adequately otherwise.
The Menu
A is for Appetizers
Ah! Oooh!, and if you are not careful, Oof! The portion sizes on the appetizers alone, are adequate for a large meal, especially with the addition of a salad.
Choices range from the expected Buffalo Chicken Wings, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Mozzarella Sticks, Loaded Skins to the more intriguing, Southwest Eggrolls, Woodfired Soft Pretzel, Vegetable Quesadilla.
The number one appetizer by reputation (and this is well deserved), are the Cheese Potatocakes. Beautifully presented with fresh chives,and herbed ranch salsa, the large, perfectly browned cakes take up most of a large plate, and are comprised of an intoxicating mixture of cheeses (Parmesan, Monteray Jack and Cheddar),bits of onion, cilantro, fresh dill and mashed potatoes. Price is a modest $5.95.
Prices range from $5.95 to a high of $14.95 for the Appetizer Combo (wings, onion rings, zucchini logs and mozzarella sticks, loaded skins and the southwest eggrolls).
Oh, lest I forget...I really meant it when I said that one could have dinner from the appetizers - try the Rotisserie Chicken & Tortillas for $8.95 and you'll get one half of their famous rotisserie chicken, with salsa, black beans and tortillas!
If you prefer pizza as an appetizer to share, each is is wood fired, 10" size, and comes in a variety of options such as:Fire Roasted Vegetable - roasted eggplant, squash, sweet onions, garlic, fresh herbs and marinara sauce, Three Cheese - ricotta, gouda and mozzarella, not your usual combination of cheeses, or for simplicity in your pie, the Tomato Basil - fresh Roma tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and goat cheese.
Time for Dinner? The Specialities.
The first thing to understand about the Claim Jumpers specialties is that one part of their charm are your choices of 3 accompaniments.
1:Soup or Salad?
Choose from French Onion, Clam Chowder (New England style) or Potato Cheese and be aware this is not a cup but a huge dinner plate sized bowl that you will receive.
For salads, choose from small Caesar (not that small), Beefsteak Tomato, Tossed House or California Citrus..and one more interesting option that I will leave as a surprise.
2:Sides
Range from the famous Cheese Pancakes to simple Fresh Fruit, garlic butter pasta, creamed spinach and more.
3:Breads
A variety of muffins as exotic as Pumpkin Chocolate to a simple Biscuit with Honey Butter. Be warned...the Biscuit is almost the size of a saucer.
The Specialities
Cooked fresh throughout the day, ribs and chicken done rotisserie style..succulent and juicy, never dry. The variety of ribs ranges from Braised Red Ale Spare Ribs, to Hickory Beef Back Ribs and the Rotisserie Ribs. Full rack of ribs meals are $19.95, the "supper" version is $17.95.
The chicken is your best deal if you are on a budget but want to take someone out for an incredible meal, $14.95 for a half chicken with your 3 chosen accompaniments. If you are paying attention to the quality of food served when you dine out, know that the Rotisserie Chicken has been cooked without oil or butter, just basted with its own juices and herbs.
***If you are really on a budget, remember that the Appetizer offering of Rotisserie Chicken was also a half chicken in size, but served without the 3 accompaniments that you receive with the dinner.
Is that all there is - NO!
Steaks
Choose your 3 accompaniments, then feast on a 16 oz. center cut New York Steak (Cowboy Steak) or the 26 oz. Porterhouse Steak if you really have an appetite! Filet Mignon, Prime Rib (on Friday -Sunday only)and a Top Sirloin are your other choices. Prices are not for the faint of heart, ranging from $19.95 for the Top Sirloin to $26.95 for the Filet Mignon or Porterhouse.
Prices making you feel unlikely to go? Or "Don't give me all these choices?"
Try one of their "Favorites"offerings.
These come without choices of accompaniment, but are not less in quantity (or quality). Choices range from Hickory Roasted Pork Loin, fresh Pot Pies, Pot Roast, Chicken and Buttermil Biscuits to Whiskey Chicken and Country Fried Steak. Prices range from $11.95 to $14.95 and each of these meals will serve you more food than you've had since you last went to an "all you can eat" buffet.
Not that hungry? Then do not decide to "Settle" for their Original Mother Lode Sandwich!
I can not speak about their other sandwiches, but when my husband ordered the "Motherlode" during our first visit to the Claim Jumper, it made his jaw drop. He was literally speechless, and so was I. The sandwich costs $11.95, and is composed in part of roast tri-tip steak, turkey, Cure81 ham and the balance is composed of "the works" as they put it. It comes cut in half, with each half standing approximately 8 inches high. My husband was hard pressed to finish one of the halves, and the amount of meat that we brought home from the other half, was over a pound! Did I forget to mention that each sandwich or burger comes with your choice of fresh fruit, fresh broccoli salad, spicy Thai Slaw (the best I have ever had), potato salad or shoestring french fries.
Time for Dessert! or The Review's Almost Over
Dessert is a serious consideration at the Claim Jumper
Banana Custard Shortcake, Lemon Bar Brule, Sourdough Bread Pudding, and I Declair..and this is the short list which is excluding all mention of the 5 different Cream Cheese pies, the Mud Pie, the... Well, I will leave some things for you to find out for yourself!
Be careful - each single dessert is of adequate size to serve 4 or 5. Prices range from $5.95 to $7.95, and the quality is superb. We usually do not have dessert, but I can highly recommend the I Declair and the Chocolate Motherlode Cake (a six layered cake that has spoiled any other chocolate cake but a home-made from scratch cake).
Service and Shopping Bags
Despite the large number of folks dining at the Claim Jumper at any one time (they seat over a hundred), the decor is charming, the noise level muffled so that each table will serve as a little oasis, where you will be quickly served, discretely checked on, by serving folks who seem to care that you enjoy your meal, and you can have the first non-holiday feast you may have had in quite some time. I have rarely seen any table leave before me, where each person, did not have a small shopping bag, or was cuddling a bag full of filled styrofoam take-home boxes, to their chest.
Oh yes, decent beer and wine choices as well, good coffee.
Congratulations, this review is over, and if you have yet to experience the Claim Jumper yet, an adventure is awaiting you, to begin. You will soon find that you have stroke gold.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
patriciak
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 - Top 1000 |
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Reviews written: 170
Trusted by: 97 members
About Me:
I will always carry you in my heart, my sweetlings. I miss you so.
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