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Business & Tech

Festive Feasts Fill Clawson Eateries

Make a new tradition this holiday season. Instead of spending the bulk of your time in the kitchen, why not let local chefs do the work?

One of the greatest rewards of the holiday season, beyond all the gifts and special moments spent with loved ones, has to be the food. Perhaps you long for Grandma's delicate yet delicious Christmas cookies. Maybe you wait all year for Aunt So-and-So's pies or Uncle's spiced, spiral-sliced ham.

Whatever your favorites may be, consider this: You need not lift a finger in the kitchen — nor tolerate intolerable relatives — to indulge in your favorite holiday treats this year. Simply make your way to Main Street to taste the most delightful and edible gifts around.

Frittata

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If some sort of divine intervention is what you need to make your way through the holidays, the breakfasts and brunches served by owner and chef Jerald Wideman at are in fact magical, mystical and nearly spiritual. 

Despite an extensive menu with items as exquisite as lemon ricotta pancakes served with blueberry sauce or shrimp and feta frittata with roma tomatoes and kalamata olives drizzled with a basil vinaigrette, what regular patrons look forward to most are the unpredictable daily specials. 

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Pastor Carter Cortelyou starts his busy weekend at Frittata every week. "I count on ordering one of the specials. This was the first time in nearly three months I ordered from the regular menu," Cortelyou said, referring to the pain perdu, a thick-cut french toast filled with mascarpone, that had just arrived at his table.

In recent days, the much-anticipated specials have included seasonal items such as eggnog-battered french toast with bourbon sauce and gingersnap pancakes with orange-cinnamon maple syrup and orange-cranberry butter.

When I visited Fritatta on Friday, I, too, chose the special: blueberry walnut pancakes drizzled with syrup and topped with pan-fried bananas and a sprig of mint. 

Admittedly, this was not one of the more holiday-centric meals — but surrounded by holiday touches of red and white carnations on each table, the holiday-themed stamp on each table cover and the classic Christmas tunes filling the dining room, it felt just right.

Clawson Grill

Upon entering the , I was reminded of the ambiance of my own home during the holidays. Bright, bustling, full of people laughing, chatting and enjoying the comfort of a diner as familiar to them as their own kitchen, the Clawson Grill was like the a.m. version of Cheers. 

Poinsettias lined the half-wall dividing the diners from the chefs, and a stocking with each employee's name hung beneath the specials board. 

Here, the holiday-homage meal was pumpkin pancakes served with whipped cream and a side of spicy-fresh pumpkin butter and warm maple syrup. All of this magnificence was topped with a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon, and yes, it tasted as good as it sounds.

What made these pancakes even more special to me was knowing that owner Sara Riza drove a significant distance to purchase the remaining stock of that oh-so-perfect pumpkin butter to be sure she wouldn't run out. It's all in the details, after all. 

Black Lotus

During my search for more holiday treats in Clawson, I stumbled upon a festive drink at .

"The Gift" is a seasonal delight beer-lovers look forward to each year. What makes it so unique? Let's start with the alcohol content, a stunning 11 percent potency that is certainly out of the norm compared with most beers, which generally have between 4 percent and 6 percent alcohol content. 

This brew is so strong, Black Lotus will serve it only in a 10-ounce tulip glass. One tulip glass of "The Gift" is equivalent to three pilsner glasses of an average beer.

Intense? Yes. But this little 10 ounces might just be the perfect gift for you after many long days of shopping, wrapping, cooking, cleaning and putting up with the in-laws. Cheers!

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