How to Turn a Cracked Windshield into a Steak Dinner: Cliff's Elbow Room, Jamesport, NY

When you dine out a lot, the credit card bill adds up quickly.  To help lower the cost of my expensive habit I leverage all the discounts possible including Groupon, OpenTable certificates, pre-fixe and happy hour specials.  So you can imagine that when JB went to get his cracked windshield replaced and came home with a $45 gift certificate towards Cliff's Elbow Room in Jamesport, I was pumped.   Upon further examination of the gift certificate, I discovered its many limitations - only available on Wednesdays, only good for main courses and expires in 30 days.  I immediately consulted our calendar and picked the next available Wednesday.  We would not be missing out.

Cliff's Elbow Room is not a fancy steakhouse, it's more a steak "joint".  Decor is homey at best, service is surly and slow and the wine list despite being in the middle of North Fork wine country should largely be avoided.  Yet it is packed every night.  We joked upon seeing the crowded dining room that night "Looks like a lot of people got their windshields fixed." But seriously, there is a crowd at Cliff's every night because of the marinated steak which is that good.  

Each steak dinner comes with bread basket, a limp salad and potatoes (fried or baked).  We ordered and waited and waited at our bar table.  The boys pounced on the bread basket of hot rolls and semi-stale bread sticks while precariously balanced on their bar stools.  

Steaks finally arrived completely charred black on the outside in their special marinade.  A porterhouse for JB and a shell steak for me.  Both looked and tasted amazing.  This is not a prime piece of meat, but the marinade makes it juicy and delicious.  A good steak is always a treat, I'd call this a very special treat.  We ate until our plates were clean and we probably could have had more.  

The boys each had the chopped steak (aka hamburger) which as you can imagine was almost as good as either of our traditional steaks.  And I would have definitely pegged Cliff's as a steakhouse-style fry kind of place - I was pleasantly surprised by the crispy shoestring, McDonalds style-fries.  

With the porterhouse at $32,  my shell at $28 and the boys' burgers each at $8, the $45 did not exactly cover the whole meal, but I'll take $45 off the bill anytime. 

And by the way, if you ever need a new windshield and want some free steak, go here: http://www.actionautoglassli.com/Auto_Glass_Shop_Dinner_Offer_Speonk_NY.html

Until our next Berger, 

KLB

Cliff's Elbow Room

1549 Main Road

Jamesport, NY

631.722.3292

http://www.elbowroomli.com