SkilletReport Manifesto: Steubenville to Calif. to Columbus

After violent hours of highway thunderstorms through Oklahoma and my fifth Subway sandwich in as many days, I began to question our decision to drive from California to Columbus.

My wife Laura Lee was at the wheel; she can see better in the dark through the blinding sheets of rain.

Squalling one-year-old twins, a chronically carsick 6-year-old and one terrified cat filled the back of our “new” 12-year-old van. 

T

he unfolding horror of our 12-day journey meant Thelonius the cat remained constantly mutinous, despite heavy sedation.

When we finally skidded to a halt in Columbus, the corporate marketing job that was supposedly all lined up for me vaporized into nothing. 

Then, the cat ran away – or should I say, broke up with us.

Farm-to-Table Before it was Cool

I grew up in the woods outside Wintersville Ohio. I ate classic white-people food prepared with love by the matriarchs of the family – especially Nana. 

Nana’s cooking was frozen in 1953, and her recipes were to die for – quite literally, as she dolloped butter on her burgers and simmered peas in cream and sugar. Her Christmas cookies live on, however – more posts about them closer to the holiday.

Despite some outdated ideas about good nutrition and a subtle terroir of cigarette smoke, we ate well.

We did farm-to-table before it was cool, picking up a weekly order of beef, chicken and pork from McConnell’s Market and farm out on Route 43 in Richmond. Nan would then haul my brother and I across the road to the neighboring farm, where a nice old lady sold us eggs for cash out of her kitchen door. 

(I was six years old, so in retrospect, she was probably, like, 30 at the time).

Square Pizza, Gnocci and Sausages

The Steubenville/Wintersville area was full of first-, second- and third-generation Italian and Polish immigrants, who brought a hearty and Americanized Southern Italian cuisine.

I can still feel the rich and delicious Italian sausages from Capri’s elbowing their way through my guts.

DiCarlos Pizza was the O.G. pizza shop in Steubenville; the DiCarlo family launching in the Ohio Valley directly after WWII with their innovative “Italian Cheesecake.”

This is a square pizza baked with sauce, alone, then trapped in a box with mounds of fresh provolone that melted from the heat of the bread.

(Stay tuned for when I pay the Columbus location a visit!)

Giannamore’s was the rival in Wintersville, right outside Indian Creek High School and serving up awesome strawberry shakes. Sadly that location closed.

And the old regime’s Naples Spaghetti House in downtown Steubenville still serves the same meatball heel on DiCarlo’s Bakery or Downtown Bakery bread they did 80 years ago. My mom ate lunch there as a student at Steubenville High School in the 1960s, and I always looked forward to picking a toy out of the bin..

Paczkis, Perogies, Baklava and General Tso’s

The Greek and Polish factions in the Ohio Valley added their flavors – Yorgo’s Gyros is a highlight of Steubenville’s depopulated downtown.

The annual Steubenville Greek festival filled everyone’s Baklava craving for the year. 

And Paczkis and perogies turned up every winter leading up to Lent, reminding us of our Polish roots as a town.

HuNan’s was the classic Chinese restaurant, now closed with the retirement of the beloved owners.

What Did I Used to Eat before Mexican?

I moved to San Clemente, California in 2006 to take a job with the Orange County Register. I had graduated from Ohio University and had been working as the business reporter at the Wheeling Intelligencer in W. Va. when I got the job offer.

When I arrived and moved in with my significant other (Laura Lee Townsend, a fellow Ohio native who is my wife of 14 years), I found myself in a wonderland of street tacos, Mongolian BBQs, shabu shabu joints, Southern Barbecue spots, chicken and waffles, Korean short ribs, Vietnamese night markets with 30 different kinds of Pho…

But the Mexican food was the most plentiful and delicious – so much so that I forgot what used to populate my meals back in Ohio without birria, carnitas, mole and Al Pastor. I think it was pepperoni rolls, in retrospect.

In California, I did beat and investigative reporting, but also lifestyle and food reporting. I was assigned to cover Disneyland and the surrounding resort area exclusively for nearly a year. The experience showed me what world-class hospitality (and marketing) looked like.

Embarking on an Eating Journey in Central Ohio

My family’s start in Columbus was rocky, but a fellow Ohio Valley native, the burger chef behind a buzzy Alphabetical Comfort Kitchen in Budd Dairy food hall, inspired me to go after restaurant clients with my marketing business.

(Jordan Lamatrice is embarking on a brand new concept in the Columbus area called Alphaburger, and you’ll hear plenty more about it on The SkilletReport!)

As I researched the market and started following all the great restaurants and food influencers across social media platforms, I realized I had a story to tell and a potential publicity channel I could build for restaurants.

What’s Really Important?

I used to want to write about “important” things, like exposing crooked politicians, pointing out corporate malfeasance and bureaucratic inefficiencies…

But I learned from my time as a reporter that few people care – seldom enough to do much about it.

And no one likes the guy who insists on being right – especially when he is.

Now that I have three kids and I’m trying to establish my family in a new city, I realize a really important subject is the wholesome pleasure you take with family and friends. A huge part of that is the kind of camaraderie you can only get over a shared meal.

That’s why I’m so excited to explore the business and pleasure of food here in Columbus. 

Contact me with new spots to try or great, heartwarming stories featuring the chefs, restaurant owners, and fine food purveyors that add so much character to our town and texture to our lives.