The White Dog Hill restaurant east of Clinton, Okla., is distributing a flier for attendees at the National Route 66 Festival in town. The top of the leaflet says:
Come for the food … Stay for the view.
It is truth in advertising. The White Dog Hill, formerly the Clinton Country Club decades ago, is perched on a hill about three miles east of Clinton, just a quarter-mile or so north of Route 66. It provides a gorgeous view of the setting sun, the city of Clinton below, and of the rolling hills, intense blue skies and puffy clouds all around it.
The steakhouse isn’t quite ready for prime time yet, but it is opening for desserts only from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, the week of the festival. Owner Nelson King and the chef, Jason Dodson, said they hope to open the establishment for good around the Fourth of July holiday.
The interior allows for much natural lighting, and the wooden furniture, textured brick, stucco walls, and exposed wooden rafters accentuate the effect.
And the strawberry shortcake we had was refreshing on a warm, windy Oklahoma day.
The affable King regaled us with stories about his dogs Hamilton and the namesake White Dog, straight-line winds that damaged the roof of the building months ago, and about a Cheyenne Indian who blessed the property at a time when King was having troubles with the property.
Yet the star of White Dog Hill is the scenery around it. I could easily imagine myself, cold beer in hand, relaxing in one of the Adirondack chairs and watching the sun set. It’s that gorgeous of a setting.
(White Dog Hill is three miles east of Clinton, Okla., on the north outer road off exit 69 of Interstate 40. The phone number is 580-323-6922.)