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upon elements from their successful restaurant of the same name in Lancaster, Harry and
Irene Keares opened a second Doc Holliday’s Steakhouse & Saloon in the former
Howard Johnson’s spot on Eisenhower Boulevard. In contrast to the restaurant’s
namesake (Doc Holliday was notorious as a gambler and the deadliest gunfighter of the
southwest), the Keares’ are celebrated in their own right, as they are recipients of
the 1998 Restaurateur of the Year Award from the Lancaster Chapter of the Pennsylvania
Restaurant Association. This award was given to the couple for their work on three
individually unique restaurants that they own in the Lancaster area. Obviously, the
Keares’ have done a lot of things right, and what they’ve done right with Doc
Holliday’s is know how to please a crowd. Doc’s has the mass appeal and the feel
of a national restaurant chain that makes a multitude of patrons comfortable. You’ll
get that perception on contact by the gathering at the door and that all familiar cry
— “Titus, party of eight; Titus, party of eight.”
Consistency and an all-too-familiar menu are attractions for chain restaurants. And, that formula works at Doc Holliday’s, too. Diners like what they can rely upon. For starters, rely on Doc’s Tombstone Wings ($5.35), named for the famed town that hosted the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Covered with Doc’s secret house sauce and served with the obligatory blue cheese and celery, these wings are more than just O.K., as they are justly hot and plump enough that crispy skin gives way to tender nibbles. If you’re a lover of cheese fries, put that Cheese Whiz aside to find your match with Doc Holliday’s Cheese Fries ($4.25). Slightly mottled, a mountain of fries is engulfed with Monterey Jack, cheddar cheese, and bacon. If you must, you can get an order of that all-popular steakhouse favorite starter, breaded and fried sweet onion, which shows up at Doc’s as a Colossal Blossom ($5.95). A cup full of Doc’s Award Winning Chili ($3.35), made with beef sirloin, both red and white beans, and tomato chunks, garnished with shredded Jack and cheddar cheese, sour cream, and slices of jalapeno, has just the right combination of seasonings to secure its place on top. When entrées are also ordered, hearth-baked bread arrives at the table as a speared petite, basic white loaf, served on a cutting board with lots of whipped butter.
Don’t think of just steaks when you think of Doc Holliday’s Steakhouse & Saloon. Although a bit less burly, a couple of “House Favorites” are seafood dishes. Crab cake lovers can partake in two lightly bronzed disks of seemingly unadulterated lump crabmeat, bestowing an award winning label from Lancaster County Magazine (market price one visit — $17.95). And, being careful not to stroll too far away from the southwestern theme, Doc Holliday’s serves up Grilled Salmon ($13.25) topped with cilantro butter and accented with a mild bean and corn salsa — a nice alternative to many family favorite dishes offered here. A Chef’s Special, Seafood Symphony ($19.99), was delightful — it consisted of tender, sweet shrimp and scallops, offset by crunchy snow peas and onions in a refined white sauce over angel hair pasta. A “House Favorite” not to miss is a plate of Doc’s Famous BBQ Baby Back Ribs ($14.95). Dubbed “the best in town,” these ribs are up to the challenge. If you don’t want the mess and want a leaner, healthier version than the ribs, the kitchen also sends out a Grilled 10 ounce BBQ Center-Cut Pork Loin ($10.95) over frizzled onions and a baked potato. This tenderloin is basted with — and doused in — the same zesty sauce used on the ribs, attempting to mimic the flavor. Combos galore may ease some of those wavering between steak and seafood ($20.95 – $26.95), or they may lend more confusion by introducing yet three different styles of flame-roasted Charleston chicken to the combos — BBQ, Cajun, or Bistro Herb Chicken. One-quarter of the simple yet tasty Bistro Herb Chicken and Shrimp ($14.95) was a perfect compound for one dining companion. After all of this, a homey light Rice Pudding ($3.50) may be good choice over a dense Raspberry Cheesecake ($4.00) to avoid going home feeling a tad bit logy. The next time you’re in the mood for casual American fare, choose Doc Holliday’s over a chain. Not only will you get consistent, better, food, you will feel better about yourself, having promoted entrepreneurship by supporting an independent eatery. |
Doc Holliday’s Location: Parking: Handicapped Access: Exterior Appearance: Initial Interior: Reservations Necessary: Preferred Dining Attire: Wait (to be seated): Wait (for service): Lighting: Decor Dining Area Appearance Noise: Climate: Tables: Chairs: Booths: Table Setting: Your Meal: Automatically Served: Soups: Salads: Cocktails: Main Course: Desserts: Coffees: Staff Attitude: Staff Appearance: Hospitality: Cleanliness: Wash Rooms: Crowd (Qty): Crowd (Attitude): Food (portions): Food (prices): Overall Service: Payment Accepted: |
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On this visit, reservations held our table in the large main dining
room that plays to its western theme complete with huge mounted heads of bison, buffalo,
and moose on cream-colored and maroon-accented walls. These critters are kept at a
distance, maintaining balance as ornaments and not as table companions as they take their
place with displays of modest Native American-style paintings. Definitely at home on the
range, the youthful staff is kept in the theme, donning denim pinned with sheriffs’
badges. If all this western gilt is too much for you, some of it does get lost in
beautiful tiled floors and high ceilings with whitewashed rafters that provide a clean,
contemporary, cavernous feel in this undeniable carnivore territory. Bankers-style lights
hover over booths, and light wood lacquered tables show off cloth napkin table settings.
Restaurant design keeps the smoking area and saloon side of Doc Holliday’s clearly
separate from this main dining room.
As you might expect, steak choices dominate many patrons’
platters at this steakhouse, a restaurant that carries an award from the National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Choose your favorite cut from the hand selected USDA
certified, aged Black Angus, 14 oz., thick Delmonico ($15.95), well-marbled Dodge City
Strip ($16.95), Porterhouse ($19.95), or Filet Mignon (½ lb. -$17.95; 1 lb. $27.95).
Doc’s Chef Special steaks are usually “doctored up” robust cuts —
Black Jack Strip, with Cajun seasonings, topped with fried onions and melted Jack cheese.
But, if you order the firm, yet tender, Prime Rib, you will hit the jackpot, as you will
be reminded of how good an unembellished piece of slow-roasted beef can ultimately be.
Choose your size – 8 ounce, 12 ounce, 16 ounce, or 20 ounce – but, at $11.95,
for 8 ounces, it’s the best buy on the menu. Another grand deal that doesn’t
proclaim itself as such is the half-pound Filet Mignon Tenderloin Kebabs. Again, for
$11.95, two threaded skewers of seared Filet Mignon medallions expose a buttery quality of
tenderloin, and are set off by a skewer of grilled carrots, zucchini, onions, and corn on
the cob. When you preface these dinners with your choice of soup or lofty green-leaf
garden salad with the southwest dressing, and add a choice of baked Idaho potato, rice
pilaf, steak fries, chef’s crisp-tender vegetables, or Doc’s baked beans, only a
real man’s man —like the real Doc Holliday — needs the heftier cuts of
meat.