With an eye to inventive menu items – and a commitment to feeding foodies during the pandemic, Clementine proves resilient.
Story by Iris Gonzalez
Courtesy images photographed by Josh Huskin
There’s plenty of reasons why Clementine came out on top as the Best Restaurant in San Antonio for 2020.
Launched by chefs John and Elise Russ, this small eatery in Castle Hills offers inventive seasonal Southern and American food. Add in their expert service, and you get a go-to destination – one where you can enjoy a changing menu of savory and sweet dishes. Clementine restaurant options span the spectrum from comfort food to haute cuisine.
On the menu are choices fit to please vegetable and meat lovers alike. Favorites include the hushpuppies (served with herb-laden labneh, honey, sumac, and smoked paprika) and the addictive white mushroom salad (seasoned with parsley, lemons, pomegranate seeds, red onion, and watermelon radishes). Meanwhile, the locally sourced Wagyu strip steak from Peeler Farms arrives with perfectly crispy fries and truffle jus.
Elise, a classically trained pastry chef, makes desserts capable of making any die-hard sweets fiend swoon. From brownie cake topped with raspberry mousse to cardamon-flavored mini doughnuts and chocolate-clementine crunch bars, the desserts are another reason why Clementine is regarded as one of San Antonio’s most exciting places to eat.
During the pandemic, the husband and wife team switched to a to-go only model. This allows diners the ability to enjoy their seasonal, popular five-course Feed Me To Go menus at home. Clementine’s Feed Me menus change daily and cost $25 per person.
“We closed March 17, and the very next day, we launched the Feed Me To Go [daily takeout menu],” Elise said. “It allowed us to stay open in the early days of the shutdown.”
As restrictions began to ease, the dining room reopened, complete with safety protocols and a new patio dining space as of late September. Dine-in is now available Tuesdays through Saturdays from 5 to 9 p.m.
If you’re still staying close to home, however – and want to stick to takeout, you can continue to order their Feed Me To Go set menu Tuesdays through Thursdays, with pickup between 5 to 5:30 p.m. (On Wednesdays, there’s a weekly keto-friendly Feed Me To Go menu, too.)
Mind you, this is next-level takeaway food. For example, a recent Feed Me To Go option was Elise’s multicourse dessert version, featuring two mini-bottles of dessert wines paired with the various courses. The raspberry-passion fruit sorbet, chocolate flan tart, pineapple upside-down cake, double cream French Brie course, and mini whoopie pies filled with hazelnut buttercream came with plating notes – and links to videos to show how to plate each dessert at home.
Opening up the various containers at home felt like a dessert-laden Christmas Day for this sweet-toothed diner.
“Every week, we’ve been thinking of different things to do beyond our Feed Me To Go options,” Elise said. “Especially for the weekends, we try to do something new and exciting.”
The couple appears committed to innovate as much with their service and outreach as they do with their dishes and pastries. In September, the couple offered a personal cooking class to 12 aspiring chefs eager to learn how to make a pasta dish. John and Elise held the course in the Russ home kitchen using their everyday pots and utensils.
“That was our second Zoom cooking class, and it’s been incredible to see how awesome everyone’s final product looks,” John said. “People have been so enthusiastic about trying something new from their homes …. At the end of the class, not only did they have an amazing dinner, they’ll have the extra ingredients, skills, and tools to make it again. We want to show how anyone can do this.”
Especially now, we all need to take refuge in what makes us feel better — whether that’s a to-go order from our favorite neighborhood restaurant or enjoying Clementine’s seasonal dishes while dining al fresco.
Iris Gonzalez is a journalist who covers innovation-driven companies in San Antonio at StartupsSanAntonio.com. You can also check out her writing on food, travel, and culture at IrisGonzalez.com.
