Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Seafood Company is both store and restaurant
Larry Bly
Larry Bly has plenty on his plate these days. He's got two TV shows on Cox Cable Roanoke. Click ahead for details and showtimes.
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My old friend, Capt. Paul, has taken a slow boat to China. No one seems to know what's happened to the good captain, but we all wish him well. Some might say he was "washed up" (not true), others might say he just "dropped anchor and went ashore." Still others may beg me to stop doing this silly stuff and just get on with it.
In the place that was Capt. Paul's Seafood, near Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke, is a new endeavor: a combination restaurant and retail fish store. From the glass refrigeration cases are fresh fish, fresh oysters, shrimp, freshly prepared crab cakes, plus all the fixins' that can be bought for prep at home.
But gone is the fishy smell of old. There are fewer cases. A beautiful tile floor has been installed under booths for diners -- and an adjacent expanded area for yet more diners.
It's now called The Seafood Company, and Steve Van Metre holds forth in the open kitchen with his staff. There is full table service and fancy menus, though the prices are reasonable.
Van Metre owned and operated what was one of the Star City's favorite little restaurants: The Angler Cafe, until it closed last year in a confusing and convoluted effort to relocate it next door to what would become Noketown Bar & Restaurant. Some kind of falling out between the new building's owners and Steve resulted in him not having either his old location or the new by the time it was all over. And Roanoke felt the loss.
Unfortunately, the Noketown didn't survive either. That address, the very first Grand Piano & Furniture Co. store, lasted a lot longer as an antique emporium than anything since.
Anyway, The Seafood Company is good. It could be better, and will be, once Steve has tweaked the menu. For instance, the crab bisque is not nearly up to his old standards. But his island seafood chowder certainly was; as was the seafood burrito.
A recent appetizer of mussels in garlic, lemon and white wine sauce was divine, even if they were out of bread for sopping the marvelous liquid, which is half the fun.
There are some old Angler Cafe favorites on the new menu: black bean soup and black bean burrito, classic fish sandwich (on sourdough -- crunchy on the outside and white/fluffy on the inside), crab cakes, shrimp in various guises with garlic and pasta, marinara, and shrimp and mussel combinations.
I miss the old wait-staff from the Angler, but hey, they had to eat too, so they've scattered to other restaurants. The new people are finding their way and Steve watches over the place from his open kitchen, often coming out to say hello and chat it up with old customers.
There are a few "Baja" type dishes: a Baja fish taco, a Baja shrimp taco, etc., all in the $7.95 to $8.95 range; or the lobster burrito for $10.95.
Sandwiches include the grouper, the soft shell crab, scallop roll, classic fish sandwich, tuna salad sandwich, curried tuna salad sandwich (Steve use to have various soups and salads featuring the delicious curry touch), and even the classic burger.
Entrees are listed on the back and are expanded to larger portions with sides. You can eat dinner for less than $20 and get anything on the entree list. And for those of you who think that seafood cannot broiled, boiled or baked -- but must be deep fried -- there are "Southern Seafood Classics" such as fried shrimp, fried calamari, and fried oysters.
There is wine and beer service and a whole host of Stewart's sodas and other "pop," as we used to call it up in the Shenandoah Valley.
At The Seafood Company, Steve has picked up pretty much where he left off by preparing fresh fish dishes, seafood chowders and soups, and a smattering of other old favorites and new. The menu is considerably smaller than at the Angler. Steve, having been open since before Christmas, tells me that he'll make yet more menu changes. I'd reprint them with a new design to. The current ones look like someone spilled something on them. Come to think of it, now that I study it a bit, I believe it's supposed to look like rust.
The Seafood Company is clean and fresh and very casual. I'll be heading back for my favorite, fish and chips. Chips Ahoy! Isn't that a cookie? Oh yes, and there's a limited desserts lineup as well.
The Seafood Company
226 Broadway Avenue SW
(just off Colonial Avenue near Towers)
Roanoke, VA 24014
540-344-6155
