The Pine Club is a
steakhouse
A steakhouse, steak house, or chophouse is a restaurant that specializes in steaks and chops. Modern steakhouses may also carry other cuts of meat including poultry, roast prime rib, and veal, as well as fish and other seafood.
History
Choph ...
in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
. Founded in 1947, it has received numerous awards and accolades through the years and garnered national attention from food writers and critics.
History
The Pine Club was founded in 1947. Jim Sullivan owned the restaurant from 1947–1954, Lloyd Meinzer from 1954–1979, and Dave Hulme from 1979–2018;
it was sold in 2018 in a private sale with the new owner undisclosed.
Business model
The Pine Club doesn't serve dessert and accepts no credit cards or reservations.
When
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...
agents asked for a table for
George and Barbara Bush, they were told the wait was 45 minutes.
Menu
The menu of "classic steak house food"
is "virtually unchanged from the day it opened."
In 2019 owner David Hulme, commenting on the unchanged menu, said, "there are no sauces or preparations that need to be done."
and that "onion rings go on every steak dinner for 72 years."
Reception
National
In 2019 The Pine Club was featured on Cooking Channel's
The Best Thing I Ever Ate
''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'' is a television series that originally aired on Food Network, debuting on June 22, 2009 (after a preview on June 20).
The program originally aired as a one-time special in late 2008. After being cancelled by The Foo ...
as chef and restaurateur
Jonathon Sawyer's choice. Sawyer said, "Complementing this perfect piece of meat is 75 years of history and wood and lighting and service and martini. It's the whole experience that's the best thing I ever ate."
In 2015, Food Network named it the #2 steakhouse in the country, calling it "an unmatched blend of high-end dining and Midwest hospitality."
In 2013, The New York Times' Style Magazine, ''T Magazine'', named it one of "10 of the World's Greatest Old Dining Institutions."
In 2012,
Michael Stern named it his favorite steakhouse in the country.
wrote in ''500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late and the Very Best Places to Eat Them'' that the Pine Club's hamburger "may be the biggest flavored hamburger anywhere."
In 2006, ''Gourmet'' named them one of ten restaurants serving the best fried potatoes in the country.
Local
The Pine Club won three categories in Dayton.com's ''Best of 2018'' awards: Best Classic Restaurant, Best Fine Dining and Best Steak. ''
The Dayton Daily News'' called it "iconic".
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pine Club
1947 establishments in Ohio
Companies based in Dayton, Ohio
Culture of Dayton, Ohio
Restaurants established in 1947
Restaurants in Ohio
Steakhouses in the United States