Description: Located in the historic Cheney Building at 942 Main Street, City Steam is the perfect place to enjoy a pre- or post-theater libation. Designed by R.R. Richardson, this is one of the finest Romanesque building in the country. Previously the home to the prestigious department store Brown Thompson & Co.,
It now is home to an upscale brew pub and a weekend comedy club.
We choose to dine at the bar over its several dining rooms. It has a relaxed atmosphere, a bright wall mural,
big-screen TVs, and of course, copper brewing vats. The tables are all wood and the seats are bar stools.
You can begin by choosing one of their own brews, which I did, like The Naughty Nurse, or one of their specialty martinis, which the girls chose. The Naughty Nurse is amber ale, slightly bitter with a deep color and hearty aroma; it was also, I thought, slightly flat. It was good nonetheless, but perhaps it could be great. Kasey had a Strawberry Starburst Martini, which tastes like a very adult watermelon jolly rancher. Inez had a Lady Slipper, which is banana liquor, Godiva white, and a splash of hazelnut. They loved them. Irene had Bourbon on the rocks.
The menu offers plenty of appetizer choices, salads, sandwiches, their brew house specialty, and stone-baked pizza. We began with an appetizer of crackling calamari,
served with both tartar and marinara sauce. Their calamari is excellent here; the crust is light and the calamari tender, a superior rendition. Among their other offerings is a giant pretzel served with mustard and seared Ahi tuna, sliced and served over wasabi greens with a lemongrass dipping sauce.
For our dinner we all chose sandwiches, I chose the chipotle pulled pork, served with melted cheese and onion frizzles on a hard roll with coleslaw on the side.
A word here about their coleslaw: it is spectacular, it’s not like anything you get elsewhere, it is Asian-inspired and delicious. The pork has very good flavor and was tender; my only complaint was that it is served without any sauce, and there really isn’t any sauce on it. Again, it is good, but it could be great. It just falls a little short. Inez had the fresh turkey panini, and it looked wonderful; Irene had the vegetarian melt, which again looked great; and Kasey had the gorgonzola burger, slightly undercooked but delicious.
However, besides the drinks, what keeps us coming back is Lisa’s pie.
It is absolutely to die for – a mile-high coconut ice-cream pie with a layer of macaroons, an Oreo crust, and a fudge sauce base. I can’t begin to tell you how good this is, and next time, we aren't sharing!
Close