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View the
Clearman's Galley/Boat Menu
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Restaurant: Clearman’s Galley, aka “The
Boat”
Where: 77 W. Walnut St., San Gabriel
Phone: (626) 796-3399
Reservations: No
Cocktails: Beer and wine
Service: Cafeteria style sort of. Order and
pick up from the cooks, pay at the counter.
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: Yes
Kid’s Menu: Yes
Senior Discount: No
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: No
Price Range: $3.80 to $8.75 for entrees |
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The
Boat is located at 8976 Huntington Dr., just off the corner of Rosemead in
Clearman’s Village. |
The
condiments are stored on a boat, too |
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All
burgers come with chili sauce on them |
The
Chicken sandwich |
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Fries |
The
big beer on the right is a 25 oz. mug |
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Tamale plate comes with a salad and two pieces of cheese bread, pictured
here with ranch on the side |
Rendering of proposed Clearman/Kohl plaza |
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DOT COM DINING A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
You’re Not Missing the Boat When You Eat at Clearman’s Galley
By Bill Coburn
Due to an
illness in the family, we did not get out this week. Here’s a reprint of an
article from a few months ago, about a landmark San Gabriel Valley restaurant.
I’ve updated most of the prices mentioned, but don’t know for sure about the
price of the cheese bread and the loaf of bread, which are discussed in this
article. They may have changed. Also, I will try to update the menu on the
website before the paper comes out, but a lot depends on the progression of the
illness. It’s possible it won’t get done. However, most of the price changes
are minimal, a quarter here, forty-five cents there. I will note at the top of
the menu if it has been updated. I also don’t know if the Kohl’s rendering is
still available for viewing, however, if that interests you, you can find it at
www.clearmansrestaurants.com, click on the “What’s New” link.
Way back
in the late ‘70s, when I had just become of drinking age, I used to like to go
to Clearman’s Galley, aka the Boat, because they had these great big beers and
good, big burgers besides. Well, in the mid-eighties I moved down to Orange
County, for about a decade. In the early nineties, I moved back into the San
Gabriel Valley, and started gradually making my way back to some of my old
haunts. One of these was The Boat, and when I made my way down there, I
realized just how much I’d been missing the boat by not getting back there
sooner, because, as I discovered, I really had missed The Boat. While I’m a
little older now, and the big beer is no longer the main attraction for me
(we’ll talk about the garlic cheese bread shortly), the Boat is still a great
place to go to have a casual meal, watch some sports, and yes, have a big beer.
Clearman’s Galley, its official name, was an actual sea-going boat, delivering
mail between San Francisco and Alaska, beginning in 1913. John Clearman, who
started Clearman’s Steak and Stein Inn in Pico Rivera in 1946, and North Woods
Inn in 1966, bought the ship as a personal use boat out of Long Beach, and in
1968, he brought it to the corner of Rosemead Blvd. and Huntington Dr., in San
Gabriel. The Galley, which draws its name from its galley style kitchen-
service, started as a hamburger stand with walk-up service and patio dining. To
this day, you go directly into the kitchen, grab a tray, and order directly from
the cooks, who make the food up while you watch. In 1970, indoor dining was
added to the south of the boat, which has since been expanded to allow room for
big screen TVs that draw large crowds for various sporting events. Sunday
afternoon and evening and Monday night football at the Boat are traditions for
many sports fans who drop by to have dinner while watching “the game.”
The Boat
is located at 8976 Huntington Dr., just off the corner of Rosemead in Clearman’s
Village. Clearman’s Village is in transition, and when you’re in Clearman’s
Galley, you can see a scale rendering of a proposed alteration to the Village
which will bring a Kohl’s department store in. Fortunately, there’s plenty of
room for Clearman’s Galley to stay, and it appears that there will be plenty of
parking, so we’ll still be able to find a spot near this great burger joint.
I’ve
tried the Cheeseburger (the burgers are all served with lettuce, tomato, 1000
island and Clearman’s own chili sauce), the chili size, and the chicken
sandwich. All were good, but I give a slight nod to the chili size, because it
comes with a salad and two slices of cheese bread, for just $5.95. The cheese
bread is the kind of thing that I eat and then say, I need more of that. I’ve
gone back three or four times for more, at just .45 per slice, it’s a great
tasting complement to the meal. Katie frequently gets the tamale plate, also
covered in chili sauce, and also with a salad and two slices of cheese bread,
again for $5.75. Katie says to tell you that she often brings half the salad
and half the tamale (or more) home and has it for lunch the next day. Keelan
had the cheeseburger this time, and was loving it; in the past he’s had the
kid’s chicken strip meal, which I’ve finished for him a time or two, and it’s a
good chicken breast strip.
The Boat
also offers fish and chips, a beef dip, a chicken dinner, fried shrimp dinner
and several other tasty entrees. You can find The Boat’s complete menu online
at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/clearmansgalley.
You can
also buy Clearman’s cheese spread by the pint at grocery stores, but you’ll find
it’s a much better deal when you pick it up at the Galley. The spread is
$2.95/pint, and you can pick up a loaf of their bread for just $1.95. We’ve
done this a few times, and love to cook some up to go with Katie’s home made
spaghetti or lasagna.
So stop
by Clearman’s Galley, and you’ll see why after nearly forty years, The Boat is
still going strong.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a restaurant website
featuring more than 160 restaurant’s menus, as well as downloadable coupons. He has
nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant business, and has been eating for
much longer than that. |
