Mahoning Valley Eats & Treats: STEAMERS

Friday, October 19, 2012

STEAMERS

As most readers of my blog know by now, I love seafood. No, make that I love seafood. I love it so much, in fact, that on more than one of the trips my husband Jack and I have made to the North Carolina Outer Banks, I vowed to eat nothing else as an entree - including for breakfast. Admittedly, we rarely eat much of anything before lunch (at least not in a restaurant), but a couple of times we did, and yes, I managed to find something that once made its home in water.

Back here in landlocked Mineral Ridge, Ohio, I'm more likely than not to order seafood when it's on a menu, although I'm not shy about saying that's not always the best choice because (a) it's not fresh off the boat and (b) generally speaking, it's overcooked. So when we were shopping for an easy chair at Sheely's in North Lima several months ago, on a whim we asked a couple of employees if there was a good place nearby to have lunch. Their response? Steamers, not far away on Market Street - which specializes in seafood.

We found the place in something of a nondescript building we almost didn't spot in a small strip mall and attached to a Super 8 Motel. For whatever reason, we decided not to stop, choosing instead to head closer to home. But the recommendation by those folks at Sheely's stuck with us -- this is the place everyone around here goes, they'd said -- and one fine day when we were traveling around looking for things to photograph and were in the neighborhood, we said, let's give it a try.

Our first adventure there, I'm delighted to report, was nothing short of WOW!

It was somewhere between the usual lunch and dinner hours - typically when we visit restaurants to avoid the possibility of waiting, which we hate - and we were seated immediately in a booth not far from the bar. There's also a dining area, a banquet room and a closed-off outdoor patio when the weather's nice.

Inside, though, it's quite a different story. On this first trip, just a glance at the menu told us we'd have to come back (in fact, we never made it past the appetizers before we'd made our choices). We decided to try three: the overloaded potato skins to share, peel-and-eat spiced shrimp for Jack and blackened tuna bites for me.

Both of us were thrilled. The tuna bites ($9.99) were outstanding, though a bit spicy -- but not so much that Jack couldn't eat them - and for me of the cast-iron stomach, it was love at first bite. The shrimp (also $9.99), were saturated with Old Bay spices, and Jack said that while they aren't quite as fresh as his favorite food at Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar on the Outer Banks, they were every bit as tasty.

The potato skins were fabulous - without question the best we've had anywhere. That's quite a complement coming from me, a person who isn't all that fond of potato skins (the skins, after all, were what my mother discarded back on the farm where I grew up; ever since then it's been hard for me to think of them as much of a delicacy).

We did look at the dinner menu (which you'll find online at the website at the end of this review), and unless you're interested in chicken and pasta dishes that are in the $12 to $15 range, expect to spend a few bucks here. The Scallops Portabella, with jumbo scallops atop a portabella in asiago cream sauce with sliced tomatoes, for instance, is $23.99 (but it's got to be to die for). A hefty 16-ounce chargrilled ribeye tavern-style prime rib au jus is $21.99, so you get the point.

There is a Happy Hour Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., with discounted alcoholic beverages and munchy specials depending on the day (Tuesday you get 10 jumbo wings for $4, for example). One of these days, we've decided, we absolutely must go on a Wednesday to try the $5 crab dip breadbowl.

Our next visit came on the way home from filling up our camera cards with fall foliage photos from the beautiful Beaver Creek State Park in Columbiana County - we'd timed our trip so we could stop at Steamers for a late lunch. When we arrived around 1:15 p.m., there were a number of cars in the parking lot, but we got a table on the bar side once again and the tables that were occupied cleared out within another 15 minutes or so. This time, our plan was to focus entirely on seafood.

We hadn't intended to try another appetizer, but then we spotted the Crabmeat Portabella ($9.99) stuffed with lump crabmeat in a tomato basil sauce. Oh what the heck, we said, let's go for it!

Picking our entrees proved difficult for Jack once again, but finally he opted for the lunch portion of breaded cod ($7.99) with cole slaw and fries as his sides. My choice was quite easy: Once I saw the 8-ounce tuna steak, chargrilled with remoulade sauce ($10.99), I was hooked. For sides, I got a tossed salad and rice pilaf. Since this isn't Ahi tuna, I was a bit hesitant to ask for medium or medium rare and went with medium well.

Our server brought a basket of two warm rolls along with the appetizer, whispering that the bread is perfect for dipping in the tomato basil sauce in which that large stuffed mushroom was swimming. She was right; and Jack said the mushroom was outstanding, worth every single penny and at least as good, if not better, than any crab dish he's had in Maryland.

Jack's cod portion was quite substantial, maybe a foot long and 4 inches wide, as well as flaky and tender. The slaw wasn't his favorite, and when I tasted it I understood why: It was more like a Waldorf salad, with a slight apple flavor in the mayonnaise dressing. Too bad you don't care for it much, I said as I polished it off.

My salad, with ranch dressing, was quite good (well, except for the cucumber slice, which I picked out immediately so it wouldn't contaminate the rest of the greens), and the rice pilaf had a nice flavor. As for the tuna steak, I was sorry I hadn't listened to my inner voice and asked for a less-cooked version. It was very good, mind you, and the portion was so large that I brought half of it home for another meal. But it was more well done (and therefore not as tender) than I really love (my bad, not the restaurant's), and next time I'll go with my first instincts.

Steamers
10078 Market St.
North Lima, Ohio 44452
(330) 549-9041
www.enjoysteamers.com

Open at 11:30 a.m to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday; closed Sunday.

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Why This Blog?

The Mahoning Valley region of Ohio is perhaps most often thought of as part of the so-called "Rust Belt" -- if it's thought of at all. Tucked up in the northeastern corner of the state about 15 miles from the Pennsylvania border, it's arguably best known for a former U.S. Representative who spent time in jail, the "Mob" and shuttered steel mills. I know that how? Because every single time we travel to another state -- any other state -- and tell folks we meet where we're from, it's guaranteed that we'll get a question about one or all of the above.

Add in a reputation for somewhat lousy weather, and it's enough to make a body wonder why anyone would want to visit, much less live here. But I don't see it that way. I've been in this part of Ohio for close to 50 years now, and while I'd love to see more sunny days, I firmly believe this is a great place to be. The cost of living is remarkably low compared with other parts of the country. It brings together the best of the city and country; cornfields and other amber waves of grain dot the landscape right along with interesting museums, shopping centers and parks.

Oh sure, the weather can be iffy -- if you don't like what you see, just wait 5 minutes, we're fond of saying. But on the other hand, it never gets boring, and not much compares to walking along a tree-lined path amid brilliantly colored foliage on a crisp fall day. Besides that, within an easy hour-or-so's drive we can be walking barefoot on a sandy beach, climbing an historic lighthouse or trolling for wildflowers in one of at least 15 state and national parks.

Then there's the food. My husband Jack and I travel as much as we can, and when we do, we love to eat. We've had dinner at some pretty well-known restaurants in quite a few states, and you know what? Every single time, we say to each other, "This is great, but there's nothing here that's better than what we can get back home every single day."

Of course, I can't discount the familiarity factor and learning to love what you're used to; there's a reason they call it Home Sweet Home. Still, we've always insisted that the Mahoning Valley's cuisine is pretty hard to beat. And just for the record, we include the Shenango Valley in that sweeping declaration; just over the Pennsylvania border are plenty of other fantastic restaurants and attractions just waiting to be discovered by me and you.

I do admit to one exception to my "home" rule, though: As seafood moves inland, it tends to lose ground. Not surprisingly, absolutely nothing compares to fresh-from-the-ocean "lobstah" at The Lobster Dock in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, the huge, almost no-filler-added crabcakes from The Crab Claw in St. Michaels, Maryland, or the steamed spiced shrimp at Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar on the North Carolina Outer Banks. That said, there seems to be a direct correlation between distance from water and how long fish is cooked; by the time you reach mid-Ohio, all too often it's barely recognizable. Sorry, Charlie, but the fish is dead. No need to kill it again (and again!) by leaving it on the grill or in the oven till it's tough and tasteless.

The reason for this blog is to showcase some of the eateries and other treasures our little part of the world has to offer. There's no set schedule for updates, but the plan is to add something new every couple of weeks. For the most part, what you'll see is what we get in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio and Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania. But once in a while -- especially since I'm an official "Ohio Ambassador" charged with promoting what the Buckeye State has to offer -- I'll stray into other parts of Ohio (and maybe even another state or two) to bring you a look at a special restaurant or attraction we've found.

If reading about these places entices you to come visit, that's wonderful -- y'all come on down (or up, or over as the case may be). And if you have questions about anything you see here or want to suggest a favorite restaurant of your own, zap me an e-mail. I'm always up for a new adventure!

Just for the record, I've had a bit of experience at not only eating and traveling, but writing about it as well. I wrote about local restaurants and travel for The Business Journal in Youngstown for several years (and Jack penned 100 "Dining Out" restaurant reviews for that newspaper over a period of four years). Besides that, I've posted similar "stuff" on a number of travel Web sites since then.

In the interests of full disclosure -- and the letter of the blog law -- I'll emphasize here that no one associated with any restaurant pays me, or gives me free meals, or in any way influences what I write here. As I mentioned before, I'm open to suggestions for places to visit -- but whether or not I go there or write about it is completely my choice. I'll also say, though, that while I don't mind pointing out a flaw or two here and there, my purpose is to showcase what's good about the region's restaurants and attractions. As such, I'll stick to what my mama always taught me: If you can't say something good about somebody, don't say anything at all.

I'll try to add something new here every couple of weeks, give or take, so check back often. If you want to be notified when a new entry is made, there's a place here to sign up for that as well. And finally, if you'd like to see some of my photos, you're invited to visit my galleries at Zenfolio. Enjoy!

Monnie Ryan

Mahoning Valley Eats & Treats

Friday, October 19, 2012

STEAMERS

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