20 Things That Make Claremore Great: Hammet House
From time to time, the ClaremoreUSA blog will share content from guest editors. This month through Tulsa Food Blog we are fortunate enough to have a restaurant review of Hammet House. We have included the review below in our “20 Things that Make Claremore Great” summer series.
Hammett House, in Claremore, is one of those restaurants that is absolutely worth the drive out to Suburbia. Hammett House has been a Claremore staple since 1969 and remains the ultimate restaurant in the area to get “Down-Home Cooking”. Hammett House is one of those hidden gems in the Tulsa area that you will still be raving about weeks after eating there.
I went to lunch there the other day, simply because I was craving some mind blowing food. I am happy to say that is exactly what I got. The restaurant itself is nothing too exciting, just a simple little country building set just down the road from Roger’s State University. The inside is decorated with family pictures and brings back a nostalgic feeling akin to going to Grandma’s house for a weekend lunch. The first thing that really hits you when you walk in is the amazing smell enveloping the entire restaurant. The smell of warm pie and deep fried goodness slowly wraps around you and makes you think you have died and gone to olfactory heaven.
I started with a bowl of the vegetable beef soup which, I am a little sad to say, blew my Grandma’s vegetable beef soup out of the water. This soup was so rich and flavorful. There were substantial pieces of real roast and vegetables which is generally unheard of in soup. One of my friends had a starter salad that he ordered with both the cilantro lime house dressing and the spicy garlic house dressing, better known as “The Pink Stuff”, on the side. All the salad dressings at Hammett House are homemade and out of this world delicious. While the cilantro lime dressing was very tasty, the real star was The Pink Stuff. I will say right now that I have never been a real fan of salads drenched in dressing, however the spicy garlic dressing is so unbelievably good that I could have easily eaten it with a spoon. The spicy garlic dressing is a secret recipe that is only known to the owners and can only be found at Hammett House.
My guests both ordered the signature chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. This was no ordinary chicken fried steak. It was obviously not a frozen chicken fried steak that you get at so many places. This chicken fried steak was thick with hand breaded goodness and placed on top of the gravy. We later found out that they place the steak on top of the gravy to showcase that the chicken fried steak is in fact homemade. The mashed potatoes were homemade as well and fabulous to say the very least. I was looking to have a little bit lighter lunch than my guests so I ordered the chicken salad. I got a heaping platter of some of the best chicken salad I have ever had. The chicken salad was full of rich flavors and was obviously made with chunks of choice chicken, rather than the canned chicken you get at so many places. It was so much food that I could hardly even finish half of it, but it was certainly tasty.
Now as good as the food is, I think that everyone who has frequented Hammett House would agree that the real reason that you go is for the dessert. The pies at Hammett House are completely out of this world. Many of their pies measure nearly a foot high and are unusual, yet delicious combinations such as Sour Cream Raisin Pie, Lemon Pecan or Peanut Butter Dream. The more traditional pies such as Coconut Cream, Apple Pie and Banana Cream Pie are out of this world as well. My guest ordered the lemon pecan pie which was delicious and a flavor combination I would not have expected to be so tasty. I ordered the Sizzling Apple Delight, the most popular dessert, which was warm apple pie served in a hot skillet and topped with vanilla ice cream. Every time anyone in the restaurant would order one it would leave the entire dining room smelling like warm apple pie and melted caramel. I have always been a sucker for apple pie but this is one of the best pies I have ever had. There is no way that I could have finished it even if it was the only thing that I had ordered. The Sizzling Apple Delight is a must try for anyone visiting Hammett House.
The staff was incredibly friendly and the owners Bill and Linda Biard were both helping out around the restaurant and checking on everyone to ensure that the food and the service was the absolute best. Delicious food and obvious attention to detail really set Hammett House apart from so many restaurants. Hammett House has been a favorite for many years and will continue to “wow” me for years to come.
http://www.hammetthouse.com
1616 W Will Rogers Blvd
Claremore, OK?
(918) 341-7333?