So this is the moment of truth. I have received a lot of comments and messages about this, so I hope this final list is adequate. We do have some honorable mentions at the bottom to look at as well, and they are pretty good.Onto the list:
5.) Sunrise Inn: The pizza here is outstanding, and the sauce is just as good. I only discovered this place back in July up in Warren, but it has been here for ages. Good portion size, adequate amount of sauce, all very enjoyable.
4.) Caffe Capri: More of an upscale independent restaurant, it was not always this way. This place has an interesting history, because the family that owns the Capri has been in the restaurant business since 1939. Formerly known as the Isle of Capri in Struthers, the restaurant reopened in Boardman, and then moved again to its present location in Boardman. The sauce and portions are fantastic, but you also get to see some of Youngstown’s “finest”. During my trips there, I have seen convicted felons in both business and politics as well as mobsters. I do not think this is reflective of the clientele of this place, but it is just that even criminals know where to get good food. Good food, awesome bar (very retro looking), Youngstown royalty, Youngstown’s “finest”, and good looking hostesses/waitresses. Yeah, it makes for a good evening.
3.) Scarsella’s: Phenomenal place to get spaghetti. I usually will get the chicken parmesan and the sea shells when I go here, because it is a favorite and is what my grandparents and I both used to get when we went there years ago. Good portions, lots of sauce, but for some reason salads are ala carte. I cannot remember the last time I went there for dinner (except when I get takeout there), but it really one of the best in Mahoning County. Lots of memories at that place.
2.) The Wave: This place is not even in Ohio, but a short drive over to Sharon, PA. I am including this place because it is close in proximity to both Youngstown and Warren regionally. The sauce here is amazing, and the restaurant has been at its current location for a long time. It is an old time place. Kitchen is in the basement, they use a dumb waiter to bring the food upstairs, and it is relatively small and family oriented. The sauce is tossed here. IT IS TOSSED! It is hard to find a restaurant that tosses the sauce in the spaghetti, even in this town. The churches and the ITAM’s in town do that, but I believe the Wave is the only restaurant that does it.
By the way, that is the correct way to make your spaghetti for anyone who is curious. You toss the sauce in the pasta before serving, rather than throwing the white pasta on the plate and putting some sauce on there. Only problem with The Wave is they skimp on the sauce big time, and you have to ask like ten times to get extra sauce here. Sometimes they are good about it, and sometimes they aren’t. Just how it goes though.
And for the best…
1.) The Elmton: It is the small Struthers bar and restaurant that everyone in town knows about. Ironically, it is also the very first place I went after I was born. I came home from the hospital, and we went to the Elmton for pizza. Of all the places you take a newborn, it is a bar in the city of Struthers. No wonder I turned out the way I did. I think I even had a birthday party or two down there now that I am looking back on this, which is really unusual because kids that age typically do not want to have their parties at, well, a smoky bar. One time I think I downed an entire cup of those hot pepper seeds when I was there at one of those parties…
I love the Elmton, and in fact I was there tonight for chicken parmesan. They have the classic red sauce which is the right consistency and they give very generous amounts of it with dinner. Is the sauce tossed? No, but it is not a hassle, because frankly there is so much of it I can easily mix it myself without getting a hodgepodge of dry noodles. It is perhaps a nuisance, but one that is easily fixed.
We are dealing with a sweeter sauce here, which is something I am fine with. Other places have a spicier sauce, but here we have a sweeter variety. Some people are not big fans of a sweet sauce, but I happen to enjoy it. Now, I doubt this sauce is made in house like everything else, but really I do not care so much about that as long as their supplier gets the sauce right. The texture and consistency and thickness of the sauce is typical of what you would find at most restaurants in the Mahoning Valley, with a unique taste. So the fact the sauce is not made in house is fine by me at this point.
Portion sizes are huge, especially for the money. $8 for a huge plate of chicken parmesan and spaghetti is a pretty good deal, since most places you’ll be paying $11-15. Granted this is a small town bar and restaurant, but damn, the food is fantastic.
Honorable mentions: Belleria Pizza, Café 422, Dona Vito's, and Alberini’s. Each of these places has good food and sauce, and like some of you that have commented about doing this as well, I have used Belleria Pizza sauce in my own cooking at home when I want to make a quick pasta meal. I believe it is good, but I cannot say it makes the top 10.
Many of these were tossups and can be interchangeable, but it was hard to drill down a definitive list without stepping on a few toes.
4.) Caffe Capri: More of an upscale independent restaurant, it was not always this way. This place has an interesting history, because the family that owns the Capri has been in the restaurant business since 1939. Formerly known as the Isle of Capri in Struthers, the restaurant reopened in Boardman, and then moved again to its present location in Boardman. The sauce and portions are fantastic, but you also get to see some of Youngstown’s “finest”. During my trips there, I have seen convicted felons in both business and politics as well as mobsters. I do not think this is reflective of the clientele of this place, but it is just that even criminals know where to get good food. Good food, awesome bar (very retro looking), Youngstown royalty, Youngstown’s “finest”, and good looking hostesses/waitresses. Yeah, it makes for a good evening.
3.) Scarsella’s: Phenomenal place to get spaghetti. I usually will get the chicken parmesan and the sea shells when I go here, because it is a favorite and is what my grandparents and I both used to get when we went there years ago. Good portions, lots of sauce, but for some reason salads are ala carte. I cannot remember the last time I went there for dinner (except when I get takeout there), but it really one of the best in Mahoning County. Lots of memories at that place.
2.) The Wave: This place is not even in Ohio, but a short drive over to Sharon, PA. I am including this place because it is close in proximity to both Youngstown and Warren regionally. The sauce here is amazing, and the restaurant has been at its current location for a long time. It is an old time place. Kitchen is in the basement, they use a dumb waiter to bring the food upstairs, and it is relatively small and family oriented. The sauce is tossed here. IT IS TOSSED! It is hard to find a restaurant that tosses the sauce in the spaghetti, even in this town. The churches and the ITAM’s in town do that, but I believe the Wave is the only restaurant that does it.
By the way, that is the correct way to make your spaghetti for anyone who is curious. You toss the sauce in the pasta before serving, rather than throwing the white pasta on the plate and putting some sauce on there. Only problem with The Wave is they skimp on the sauce big time, and you have to ask like ten times to get extra sauce here. Sometimes they are good about it, and sometimes they aren’t. Just how it goes though.
And for the best…
1.) The Elmton: It is the small Struthers bar and restaurant that everyone in town knows about. Ironically, it is also the very first place I went after I was born. I came home from the hospital, and we went to the Elmton for pizza. Of all the places you take a newborn, it is a bar in the city of Struthers. No wonder I turned out the way I did. I think I even had a birthday party or two down there now that I am looking back on this, which is really unusual because kids that age typically do not want to have their parties at, well, a smoky bar. One time I think I downed an entire cup of those hot pepper seeds when I was there at one of those parties…
I love the Elmton, and in fact I was there tonight for chicken parmesan. They have the classic red sauce which is the right consistency and they give very generous amounts of it with dinner. Is the sauce tossed? No, but it is not a hassle, because frankly there is so much of it I can easily mix it myself without getting a hodgepodge of dry noodles. It is perhaps a nuisance, but one that is easily fixed.
We are dealing with a sweeter sauce here, which is something I am fine with. Other places have a spicier sauce, but here we have a sweeter variety. Some people are not big fans of a sweet sauce, but I happen to enjoy it. Now, I doubt this sauce is made in house like everything else, but really I do not care so much about that as long as their supplier gets the sauce right. The texture and consistency and thickness of the sauce is typical of what you would find at most restaurants in the Mahoning Valley, with a unique taste. So the fact the sauce is not made in house is fine by me at this point.
Portion sizes are huge, especially for the money. $8 for a huge plate of chicken parmesan and spaghetti is a pretty good deal, since most places you’ll be paying $11-15. Granted this is a small town bar and restaurant, but damn, the food is fantastic.
Honorable mentions: Belleria Pizza, Café 422, Dona Vito's, and Alberini’s. Each of these places has good food and sauce, and like some of you that have commented about doing this as well, I have used Belleria Pizza sauce in my own cooking at home when I want to make a quick pasta meal. I believe it is good, but I cannot say it makes the top 10.
Many of these were tossups and can be interchangeable, but it was hard to drill down a definitive list without stepping on a few toes.
One of these days I will get around to pizza, but it is going to more reminiscent of a March Madness Bracket than a top 10 list, because there are too many independent pizza shops in this town.
Salute,
Alex Mangie
The Mang
Candidate for Canfield Township Trustee and Conservative Capo of Youngstown
No comments:
Post a Comment