LeClaire a veritable mecca for diners

Waitress Carol Ford of East Moline prepares tables at Steventon's Restaurant, 1399 Eagle Ridge Road in LeClaire, where they strive for ambiance, elegance and perfection in dining. It is one of several restaurants in LeClaire.

The little river town is the location of several of the most unique and popular restaurants in the area. One has attracted diners to LeClaire for more than two decades, others are relative newcomers, but all add to the reasons people are willing to make the scenic drive to the outlying town.

These restaurants all have brought their own flavor to the historic town.

-- Steventon's: -- fine dining with a finer view

Perched on one of the most scenic bluffs in the Quad-Cities is one of the area's most up-scale restaurants. Steventon's, which opened on Eagle Ridge Road, LeClaire, in December 1992, is a white-tablecloth restaurant overlooking the Mississippi River.

Although elegant and more refined than many area restaurants, chef Craig Mack said Steventon's is nevertheless not stuffy or uptight.

"We want it to be a place where people can enjoy good conversation and good food," he said. "Many people have the impression that we're only a special- occasions restaurant, but we'd like to change that."

Steventon's menu includes a collage of cuisines that attracts a variety of clients.

"Lots of people come here just for the fresh oysters," Chef Craig said. "And other dishes, such as Boston Harbor Stuffed Artichokes (artichokes stuffed with lobster and served with Hollandaise sauce) and Seafood Hash (lobster, shrimp and scallops sauteed with mushrooms and artichokes in a garlic and wine sauce) also are very popular."

Tempting desserts also exert their Siren call on diners.

"We serve bananas Foster and cherries jubilee that we prepare and flambe at tableside," said the 37-year-old chef. "I know of one business owner who comes here for lunch, just so he can have bananas Foster."

While the menu tends to be upscale, Chef Craig said Steventon's prices are competitive with other fine restaurants.

Much of Steventon's appeal -- especially during daylight comes from outside the restaurant.

"I'd like to believe people come for the food," said Chef Craig, "but I know that the view is one of our main selling points."

And that view is often enhanced by the breathtaking sight of bald eagles fishing, flying and congregating over the river and near the hilltop restaurant on wintry days. That's a claim few restaurants in the world can make.

Steventon's opens for dinner at 5 p.m. seven days a week, for lunch at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and for brunch 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call 289-3600.

-- Sneaky Pete's: modern dining with an Old West flair

Looking for someplace to eat that's a little different, a little exciting, a little wacky? You may well find it at Sneaky Pete's Cowboy Steaks Inc., 203 Cody Road, LeClaire.

Open since 1975, Sneaky Pete's brings the tastes and ambience of the Old West to '90s patrons.

Several features distinguish it from other steakhouse-type eateries.

Located in the oldest commercial building in LeClaire (built in 1830), the bar area still sports an old-fashion tin ceiling complete with bullet holes left over, owner Russ Schickling said, from a visit by Buffalo Bill and his cronies. So what if it's not historically accurate? It makes for a great story.

Drinks at Sneaky Pete's are served in old fruit jars, the carpet is made to look like a wooden floor and the salad bar is in an antique bathtub. The menus are on whiskey bottles.

But Mr. Schickling said it isn't just the atmosphere that makes Sneaky Pete's worth visiting. "We don't have a fryer in the place," he said. "Everything is cooked over a wood grill. We don't use charcoal or gas. It limits our menu, but what we do, we do very well.

"We cut our own meat, so our hamburgers are made from cuts that are too small to be steaks. For $3, we have the best hamburgers around."

Oh, there's something else unusual about Sneaky Pete's: If you go in wearing a tie, they'll ask you to take it off. If you don't, they'll cut it off.

Why? Because cowboys don't wear ties.

Lots of other people do, though.

"Brooke Shields came in wearing a tie. We cut it off. Terry Branstad got his tie cut off here, and (radio personalities) Dwyer and Michaels come in to get their ties cut off, too," he said.

Many of the tie leftovers are displayed on the wall.

Don't fear, though, Sneaky Pete's staff wouldn't think of cutting off your designer tie without permission.

Besides connecting the spirit of the 1800s to the end of the 20th century, Sneaky Pete's has a strong family connection. Mr. Schickling began serving there in various capacities when he was 15 years old.

"My mother was the third employee hired after it opened. When the original owner was ready to retire, he suggested that my mother buy it. She and my dad ran it until they decided to retire," Mr. Schickling said. "My wife Kathy and I took it over Jan. 1."

Sneaky Pete's is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays and 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

For more information, call 289-4277.

-- The Faithful Pilot: adding a New York flair

They were New Yorkers enchanted by the artist's colony of Mendocino, Calif., but Steven and Nancy Rosetti were young, and they knew they couldn't afford to live in Mendocino.

On their way back across the country, they happened on the quaint, quiet river town of LeClaire and decided it was nearly as enchanting as Mendocino.

They stayed at The Latimer Bed and Breakfast in LeClaire and owner Darlene Nichols told them LeClaire needed a restaurant.

The Rosettis found a building they really liked in downtown LeClaire, bought it and eight years ago opened The Faithful Pilot, 117 Cody Road. It soon became one of the area's favorite restaurants.

The name of the restaurant was inspired by a turn-of-the-century etching which the Rosettis saw in a gallery. Mr. Rosetti said it seemed to fit well with the river theme, and the quiet dignity of LeClaire.

Much like the old building that houses it (an 1890s grocery store), The Faithful Pilot has none of the slick uniformity that characterizes so many restaurants today.

The menu which offers a selection varying from exceptional appetizers to pasta and grilled meats to vegetarian specialties appealing to the most sophisticated palate.

The hearth-baked breads that accompany each meal are in such demand that the Rosettis opened a bakery in Davenport three years ago.

"There are so few places anymore with a character of their own," said Mr. Rosetti. "We don't follow a formula, and we will always be evolving. We built on a bar area four years ago, and this January, we added a new mahogany bar," he said.

"We're also considering the possibility of opening another place in downtown Davenport," said Mr. Rosetti. "Not just like the Faithful Pilot -- maybe Italian."

For now, he and the group he said makes it work seem to have found the recipe for success.

"Besides the fact that it's a scenic drive to this pretty, riverfront town, it's our philosophy to use the best, freshest ingredients possible to create simple but elegant dishes. Our food and wine are always evolving," said Mr. Rosetti, "and we offer a seasonal, good quality menu that changes about four times a year."

The Faithful Pilot offers dinner seven nights a week, as well as Sunday brunch.

For more information, call 289-4156.

-- Marie's Cafe: meals all day long

While several restaurants in LeClaire offer evening fare or or more elegant lunches, many hungry folks want breakfast or have tastes or pocketbooks that demand something simpler and less expensive.

Marie's Cafe, 204 Jones St., LeClaire, occupies its own niche in the LeClaire restaurant scene. Darlene Nichols, who has spent most of her life in the river town, decided what it needed was a restaurant offering breakfast and lunch for local people.

When her sister acquired an old bait shop, Ms. Nichols, who had a hankering to do something completely different, decided it would be a perfect place for Marie's Cafe.

The building hadn't been a bait shop for some time, but she gutted it and pretty much started from the bottom up, when she decorated the cafe. Now, it's like new inside.

"I remodeled extensively -- though it was on a shoestring," said Ms. Nichols.

"This is the only place in LeClaire where people can sit down and eat a good breakfast. We serve breakfast and lunch, and the cook, Denny Speth, calls it good home cooking. He makes lunch specials, and we try to have a special soup every day along with the regular menu items like tenderloins and hamburgers," she said.

During the summer, many of her customers are tourists, but during other seasons the local people are very supportive of her efforts.

"A lot of people used to come here when they were kids and this was a bait shop. They get a kick out of it being a cafe now," said Ms Nichols.

Among the recent changes to hit LeClaire, a building boom that has brought construction crews into the area also has proven positive for Marie's Cafe.

"Lots of the construction workers come here for lunch. That's been beneficial for us," Ms. Nichols said.

Marie's Cafe seats 40, and it is available to rent for small groups in the evening.

For information, call 289-4452.

-- By Catherine Guy