Like any great city, Syracuse has that one restaurant that turns into a local institution — a place that has its own way of doing things and never changes. In Syracuse, that place is Clark’s Ale House.

Opened in 1992 by Ray Clark, Clark’s Ale House rose to fame by having an extensive beer menu and only one sandwich to choose from. Clark’s original location was in the Landmark Theatre, but it closed in 2010 after the theater expanded.

Today, a black banner loudly proclaims Clark’s is back open at its new location on the corner of South Salina and Washington streets in the heart of downtown. A beautiful brick facade and large open windows give Clark’s the feeling of a bar lost in time. A paper menu on the side of the building points out some of the limited food options to choose from.

Inside, it’s the same story. A replica British telephone booth is the first thing to greet customers as they enter. The interior is an intricate array of beautiful wood, dim lights and high ceilings. Booths and tables cover the lower dining area, and the upstairs provides additional seating.

Off of the main dining room is the bar where food and drinks are ordered separately. The floor was covered with old peanut shells, and a few people sat at the high tables in this section. A huge chalkboard lays out all the different types of draft varieties, 32 in all. A slightly smaller menu for food includes the famous roast beef sandwich, a house salad, beef stew and a few cheese plates.

I ordered the salad, beef stew and the roast beef sandwich and proceeded to find a seat at one of the booths. All the food is served cafeteria style, with lunch trays, generic looking plates and self-serve condiments stationed in the dining room.

The salad was a mix of greens, with a few peppers and tomatoes thrown in there. I made my own salad dressing of balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper. The salad tasted pretty generic and wasn’t doing any favors for the restaurant.

The beef stew fared a little better though. A special item for Syracuse Beer Week, the beef stew provided warm comfort on a chilly evening. Chunks of tender beef, carrots, onions and potatoes became fork tender in a thick soupy base. But while the soup was substantial, it was over-seasoned. Each spoonful was too salty and took away from the stew as a whole.

The roast beef sandwich was the item I was most excited to try. It is served plain on a classic kummelweck roll, which is a variation of a Kaiser roll topped with caraway fruits and salt. You could add cheese to the sandwich if you wanted, but I instead chose to try it with a little bit of mustard. The sandwich was great, and every bite contained strands of slow-cooked roast beef. The roll held up well to the amount of roast beef inside the sandwich and was a nice change from the traditional onion roll.

My biggest complaint, though, was that the roast beef was just a bit under-seasoned. It needed a little more spice and salt to push it to the next level. I dipped the sandwich into the beef stew to act as an au jus, or a light beef sauce, but it actually added too much salt to it.

After being closed for about four years, I wasn’t expecting a perfect meal. Clark’s has just reopened, and I’m sure there were a few hiccups along the way. But as soon as you step inside, order your food and grab a drink, you get hooked. It’s a Syracuse treasure, unapologetic in its way of doing things. And with a reputation and following built over 20 years, it has the right to be.

Published on November 17, 2014 at 12:01 am

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