News Record Weekender

If you're in a hurry and looking for a joint where you can grab a quick burger, Clifford's Restaurant in Evans City isn't the place.

But, if you seek a truly unique evening of fine dining in a beautiful setting where lots of personal attention will be given to your meal, you might want to make a reservation at Clifford's.

In fact, the only way to enjoy a meal at Clifford's is to make a reservation.

Clifford's is about as far away from a mainstream chain restaurant as an eatery can get.

The restaurant, which is owned and operated by twin brothers Jesse and John Enslen and Jesse's wife, Nicole, - all of Evans City - is a reservation-only fine dining establishment.

And, with just 11 tables in the small dining room, and a total capacity of 40 diners, there is a huge emphasis on intimacy.

"We didn't want it to be the type of place where people just show up," says Jesse. "If you plan the meal and make it an event, it facilitates everyone's enjoyment of the evening."

Clifford's sits in a handsome stone home on rolling farm land in the rural hills north of downtown Evans City. Its out-of-the-way location is part of its charm, like a chateau tucked away on the French countryside.

The Enslens grew up on the farm where their restaurant now sits. Clifford, the boys' father, was the farmer and feeding corn was his primary crop. But Clifford had his own "if you build it, they will come" kind of vision for those cornstalks.

"It was always our father's dream to open a restaurant here on the farm," says John.

Just like the meals it serves today, the restaurant was handmade by the Enslens.

In 1991, the two boys and their father started building the restaurant themselves. They hand cut the stone for the striking facade, hung the plaster and did the painting.

Inside, black and white family photos don the walls of the cozy dining room, giving the new restaurant and antiquated charm.

The restaurant opened for business in 1993, and a year or so later, they switched to the reservation-only format.

Not only was business bustling enough to warrant such a move, but the reservation-only format also helped to maintain aura the Enslens had aimed to create in the restaurant.

Since then, Clifford's Restaurant has developed into the popular establishment that today lures couples on romantic dates, large families for birthday celebrations and even business dinners.

"It's kind of been an evolution," says Jesse. "At first, we really didn't know what kind of market we would be shooting for, what kind of food we'd be serving."

Now the restaurant, which is entirely nonsmoking, has found its niche. The food is served with elegant ambiance and the ingredients are all fresh, and some quite exotic. Even the beans used to brew the coffee are grown in the Swiss Alps.

The everyday menu is simple, with such selections as chicken piccata and chicken romano available regularly. But Clifford's is known more for its daily features than its permanent menu.

Each night that the restaurant is open, Jesse, the only chef at Clifford's, prepares eight to 10 special features (usually ranging in price from $25 to $40).

Dipping into his decades of cooking experience, much of which he gained while living in Switzerland, Jesse creates the various dishes depending on the season, available ingredients and requests of diners.

On Mother's Day, for example, Jesse will make such delicacies as grilled shrimp on a bed of fresh pasta, juicy Lamb Osso Busco served with polenta, orange roughy in delight fine orange sauce and tender piccata chicken breast with wild mushroom sauce.

Some of Jesse's most popular dishes that pop up on the features list quite often are mouth-watering lamb, duck, veal and seafood entrees.

Elegant desserts include sweets like chocolate mousse and creme broulet.

The Enslen brothers both enjoy a fine glass of wine with a good meal, but customers can't buy the beverage, or any alcohol at Clifford's; it's a BYOB establishment with no cork fee.

"We don't have a liquor licensee," says Jesse. "And there are so many kinds of wine out there ... we encourage people to bring what they like."

Clifford Enslen passed away five years ago, but the restaurant hasn't slowed down a bit.

One factor that has helped Clifford's endure is the brothers' passion for hospitality and catering to their guests, a passion that beams from the Enslens when they speak.

"We really care that everybody is enjoying themselves," says John. "It really is important to us."

The intriguing invitation-only, fine-dining approach is certainly working, as evidence by the fact that weekends are usually booked at least three weeks in advance.

And all of that demand comes without ever spending money on advertising.

"People find out about us through word of mouth," says Jesse. "What happens a lot is, on Saturday we'll have a group of new people come in, and by Monday or Tuesday, we'll get a call from people they've told who want to make reservations."

And many of these customers are repeat performers.

"I can't even call them customers anymore," says Jesse. "They're like friends."