On the front porch of their home overlooking Chesapeake Bay, John and Elise Russ dreamed of adventure while sipping rum. They imagined turning a building in decay into a fine dining spot, a sweep of luxury where culinary creativity could flourish and delight guests.
Life turned that vision upside down. Three children, a cross-country move, the COVID-19 pandemic and a challenging industry forced a major pivot.
“Our original dream,” said Elise, “is so far from what we actually have now.”
What the Russ’ have is a neighborhood treasure in Castle Hills. Eighteen tables. A seasonal menu. A casual setting with an open kitchen and clementine-like orange shields in the front. In sum, a modest framework that belies an exceptional reputation.
Clementine carries its weight in global flavors (fried Japanese eggplant, Aussie barramundi, carrot tortellini) and national acclaim.
John is a two-time James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Texas, Elise a distinguished pastry chef from Georgia and an alumna of the James Beard Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program.
Four months after opening in 2018, Clementine drew a favorable review from Texas Monthly — “A Bright New Spot in San Antonio” — and a compelling lede: “They had me at ‘quick sautéed with gobs of garlic and black pepper.’”
More recently, John earned Chef of the Year honors at the CultureMap San Antonio Tastemaker Awards in April. Elise received a finalist nod for Pastry Chef of the Year while Clementine was a finalist for Restaurant of the Year.
Lots of love for an eatery that serves dinner five days a week. Lunch? It became a casualty of COVID-19. “Lunch was a financial break even,” John said. “It was a lot more stressful. The numbers didn’t add up.”
John couldn’t let go of lunch completely so he serves it once a month. June’s special focused on vegetarian fare. July featured seafood. August presented a taste of New Orleans — gulf oysters and blackened gulf bycatch snapper.
The lunch menu this month was a homage to John’s roots. He grew up in New Orleans on fried oyster po’boys and his grandmother’s quenelles de brochet.
Like fellow James Beard-nominated chef Andrew Weissman, John once aspired to a career in journalism.
The goal: report for National Public Radio. One year as a communications major at the University of Alabama changed his mind. A job as a steamboat porter steered him into the world of food.
He secured a culinary arts degree in 2001 from Delgado College in New Orleans, became chef de partie at the Ritz-Carlton and a sous chef at Restaurant August under celebrity chef John Besh.
Years later, John became executive sous chef at a luxury resort in Maryland, where he met Elise Broz, the daughter of the hotel manager. A pastry chef in Chicago, Elise had come for a tasting.
Her father wanted to hire her. John objected, citing nepotism. Elise got the job and John was not pleased.
“John and I did not get along for the first six months,” said Elise, who has a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts from Johnson & Wales University. “And then, I don’t know, he started growing on me.”
They hung out as friends, bonded over their dislike of a new executive chef and fell in love. On quiet evenings overlooking Chesapeake Bay, John and Elise dreamed about opening their own place.
In 2012, Besh hired John to run Lüke on the River Walk, the celebrity chef’s first restaurant outside of New Orleans. The couple embraced San Antonio, married in 2015 and prepared to launch their own dining spot.
They hired a public relations firm, hoping to place John on the radar of James Beard Award judges.
“We felt it would help solidify our business,” said Elise, who, at the time, was pastry chef at Biga on the Banks. “And really help fill those slower weeknights.”
A James Beard nod, John believed, would draw customers to a new concept — instead of opening “and saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got a restaurant.’”
The public relations attempt failed. John left Lüke in 2016, discarded the James Beard strategy and opened Clementine with Elise in 2018. The Southern-inspired spot drew positive reviews for service and dishes created with international flair.
Two years later, COVID-19 shut down the restaurant industry.
Clementine survived and just as the Russes were emerging from the pandemic, an unexpected text appeared on John’s phone: “Congratulations,” it began.
John blinked in disbelief. This must be a joke, he thought. It wasn’t.
John earned his first James Beard nomination in 2022. The recognition boosted business. He became a Best Chef finalist in 2023. Business accelerated. All this after abandoning a public relations campaign.
On the corner of a strip center at West Avenue and Northwest Military Drive, Clementine is small (1,557 square feet) and closed two days a week by design. The Russes are hands-on parents to their children ages 4, 6 and 8, and enjoy a thriving church community.
That long ago dream? John and Elise wound up with a smaller spot, a modest space, a place they never could have imagined as they looked across Chesapeake Bay.
A little gem that feels like home.
