Ashley Christensen’s ClubHouse offers elevated family meals to-go, and groceries too
When the coronavirus pandemic closed restaurant dining rooms in March, renowned Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen began offering a selection of family-size meals for pickup at her catering facility on Brookside Drive. Called ClubHouse Dinners, these meals included a salad, entree, side and dessert.
Naturally, I was curious to see how the winner of the 2019 James Beard Outstanding Chef Award was responding to the challenge. So curious, in fact, that by late March, I placed my order online.
Contact-free pickup went off without a hitch, and a half-hour later, I was unpacking a meticulously prepared meal kit.
Start to finish, there wasn’t a thing I could think of to improve the experience.
But I’m not Ashley Christensen. Evidently you don’t get to be a national James Beard award winner without being something of a perfectionist. When I called the next day to give a heads-up about my review of the experience, Kaitlyn Goalen, executive director of AC Restaurants, told me they were shutting the ClubHouse down temporarily to make a few tweaks.
But I’m happy to report the ClubHouse is back online with new, stricter safety protocols and expanded offerings. That includes a curated selection of grocery items, wine and canned beer and a few favorites like Poole’s Pimento Cheese and salad dressings that may have appeared in Christensen’s restaurants.
The ClubHouse Dinners feature a weekly changing list of three or four meals with menus revealed Wednesday. Orders are placed by Sunday at 5 p.m. for a scheduled pickup the following week.
Each course comes with clear, concise instructions for reheating and serving as well as a list of ingredients.
When I ordered my meal in the first phase of the ClubHouse, each component of the Greek salad — flawlessly fresh romaine, tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumber, feta crumbles, and a dressing with exotic accents of za’atar and flowering oregano — was packed in its own separate labeled container.
Black tea-brined roasted chicken emerged from its brief reheat in the oven with the meat still juicy beneath a glistening nut brown skin. This was the best roasted chicken I’d had since — well, probably since the last time I had it at Poole’s Diner, Christensen’s flagship restaurant in downtown Raleigh.
Marinated pink-eyed peas (“serve chilled or room temperature”) couldn’t have been easier. We had it both ways: room temperature the first night, and chilled the next day with the leftover chicken. In between, I may or may not have snacked on some of those Banyuls-dressed peas straight out of the container.
Lemon cake, moist and fragrant with a translucent glaze that struck the perfect balance between sweet and tart, brought the meal (and dinner the next night) to a most satisfying conclusion.
When you look at the ClubHouse website for meals, don’t pass over the “market.” The Meat Lover’s Pack, for one, gets you a pound of Benton’s bacon, a whole black tea-brined Lilly Den chicken (3-1/2 to 4 pounds — raw, cook it your own way), and a 12-pack of Poole’side Pies meatballs for $49.
For $16, you can load up the freezer with the Sweet Tooth Freezer Pack: four blueberry hand pies, six chocolate chip cookie dough balls, six peanut butter cookie dough balls (all with baking instructions), and a pint of strawberry ice cream.
For the ultimate indulgence, spring for the dry-aged 2-1/2 pound rib-eye steak, a signature at one of Christensen’s restaurants, Death & Taxes. It’ll set you back $80, but if you think of it as the equivalent of four 10-ounce steaks for $20 each, it begins to sound like a worthy splurge.
As long as you’re venturing out of the house, might as well pick up a couple of six packs of local beer. Or stock your wine cellar (surely depleted by now), choosing from an excellent selection of wines — some of them at prices closer to standard retail than what you’d expect to pay in a restaurant.
As for me, I’m debating whether I dare try my hand at grilling that rib-eye. On the one hand, it’s 80 bucks. On the other, even if my execution doesn’t quite measure up to the memory of the steak that still lingers from my meal at Death & Taxes a few years ago, I’m pretty confident it will make any day I choose to cook it a special one.
ClubHouse
1519 Brookside Drive, Raleigh
Takeout Tales
I have invited readers to share their restaurant delivery and curbside pickup and experiences. That invitation still stands. Just email me at ggcox55@gmail.com, with a description of your experience. I’ll publish as many as I can (edited as needed for brevity and clarity) in this space.
Angus Barn
Jon G. offers praise for a Raleigh institution:
“Van Eure at the Angus Barn has the entire process down to a science. Phone in your order, choose your pick-up time, payment handled over the phone. Your order is placed in your vehicle at the front door’s valet station, and you are on your way back home in less than 30 seconds.
“Your order sheet and receipt are stapled to your heavy-duty Angus Barn bag to verify that you indeed got exactly what you ordered. The food containers are top-quality and shrink-wrapped in plastic to help keep the contents piping hot during the trip back home.
“Executive Chef Walter Royal signs each entree container and wishes you well — an elegant touch. While the take-out menu has understandably been scaled back, there is something for everyone and the food is always up to the top-notch Angus Barn standards. Plus, the signature Angus Barn cheese & crackers are automatically included along with a couple of fresh apples. This has become our favorite take-out meal source during these very difficult times.”
Maximillians Grill & Wine Bar
Bob C. shares his experience with a longtime Cary favorite, along with reheating tips:
“Just wanted to relay my Maximillians takeout experience. The restaurant posts a hand-written menu on Facebook around noon Wednesday through Saturday. People can order for pickup between 3 and 7 p.m. Pay ahead by credit card, and the food is ready when you arrive.
“My wife and I typically eat late, so we order for pickup at 5:30 or 6. The moment we get home we transfer the food to a nice dish and let it cool off on the kitchen counter. We then apportion the food in dishes and refrigerate to keep it fresh. We have a cocktail.
“When it’s time to eat, we apportion the food into plates and put in the toaster oven at around 295 degrees for about 15 minutes. We find that the toaster oven is much more gentle and the food retains its original flavor and texture.
“Last Wednesday, we ordered the grilled Caesar, which we ate immediately as an appetizer. But, this also holds over well when refrigerated immediately. Both the NC Tuna and NC Shrimp dishes were delicious and due to Max’s large portions, we had enough for another meal the next day. We also bought a nice Chardonnay at a good price. A lovely way to experience Maximillian’s at home. We’ll always miss the convivial atmosphere of the restaurant, but this is a fine simulation of the dining experience.
This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 9:00 AM.