Which leads to yet another challenge I have concerning The Steel Wheels. I have a hard time describing exactly what style of music they play. It is not really country. It is not really bluegrass. It is not really folk music. What I have told many people is that I consider it to be mountain music. As it reminds me of music I heard growing up in the mountains in the eastern United States. Whether you call them the Alleghenies or Appalachians, I spent my entire childhood living in one part or another of that extended range. Lived about five years each in four different towns in three separate states. Always somewhere close to a generous seam of good bituminous coal. That is where my Dad made his living for a good many years as an engineer and mine superintendent for Bethlehem Steel's coal mining group. I suspect that may be why The Steel Wheels music speaks to me so clearly. They seem to derive their inspiration from those very same mountains of my youth. Good news is that it plays pretty well in the flat land of Central Ohio too. They packed the house at Natalie's Coal-Fired Pizza and Live Music on Saturday night. If you have never listened to their music before, I have included a link below. I encourage you to give it a listen. I think you will be hooked pretty quickly too.
Since this is a food-related blog, I am sure you are wondering when I am going to get to the food. I have been watching my carbs lately, trying to once again get control of my dietary regimen. That meant a long hard look at the menu before departing, to be sure there would be sufficient offerings of the non-pizza variety to sate my evening hunger. I was pleased to find a handful of items that looked promising. Once we arrived and were seated at our table, I was concerned that a single item on my acceptable list might not quite be enough for me... Which ultimately turned out to be false, but after some brief agonizing I ordered the roasted prosciutto wrapped asparagus and also the meatball. Yes, you read that correctly, it was a single meatball. In it's own defense, it was a pretty good size meatball dressed in a deep red sauce with a sprinkle of cheese and other seasonings. I am not really sure how a single meatball really can be billed as shareable. If sharing requires knife play among people who are hungry and under the influence, it may not end well. The roasted prosciutto wrapped asparagus was portioned to ease sharing with a small group of 2 or 3. Any more than that and the aforementioned bladed weapons again come into play. I let my lovely wife sample both. She was a little upset with me that I didn't tell her about the veal in the meatball until after she tasted the moist and tender deliciousness. My subsequent assurances that it was humanely raised didn't seem to help much. The red sauce was a deep dark red and the seasoning had a certain sharpness to it and a little bit of heat. Not my favorite, but still a solid entry. In addition to her distaste for veal, my wife is not a fan of a sunny side up fried egg. So when I shared a bit of the prosciutto and asparagus with her, I was careful to avoid the egg placed on top. Good news is that once her portion was carved out, I could attack the egg and let the yolk mix with everything else on the plate. It was an interesting combination of flavors and textures. Sweetness from the sherry reduction... sharpness from the lemon parmesan vinaigrette... saltiness from the prosciutto...a little bit of crunch from the asparagus... and the egg yolk holding it all together. I am not saying this is better than my friend RJ's take on oven-roasted Schinken ham wrapped asparagus and cheese, but better than average. RJ sets the bar high. That is why I am not revealing the cheese he uses or the source of the ham. These are closely guarded trade secrets. -sly smile-
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| Indeed a wild combination of ingredients, but a tasty end result. Everything tastes better with an egg on top, right? |
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| That's a little less than half of a meatball. Once again your (hungry) dining scout needed prompting for the photo op. |
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| The Aurora Borealis of coal-fired pizza. You are going to love the chewy sourdough crust. |
My wife is not constrained as I am by the carb watch, so she opted for the Aurora Borealis pizza minus the hot pepper flakes. I teased her a bit, by telling the waiter she wanted the Aurora Boring pizza. Surprisingly, I didn't get smacked. She enjoyed it thoroughly and thought the Welsh cheddar was a nice touch. Even though it was a thin crust, the sourdough gives it some backbone that most pizza crusts lack at that thickness. The toppings were generous and cooked perfectly in the coal-fired oven. The crust had a narrow edge with a pleasant char on it. It was more than enough for two to share. She brought home three slices for later this week.
I washed it all down with a large bottle of Tieton Apricot Hard Cider. It was sweet and full of fresh apricot flavor, but pricey enough to yield an unpleasant inquiry on the ride home. As in "did you know HOW MUCH that cider cost?" It was really good, so next time I will probably skip the second shareable and keep the beverage. If I get to be too expensive a date, she may trade me in for another model. That would be disastrous, and I am looking forward to going back to Natalie's. The food was tasty and the emcee mentioned that Seldom Seen will be playing there later this year. Good food, good company, good tunes. What more do you need? -BIG smile-
Your Dining Scout and Shade Tree Chef,
Michael Hurd, aka Big Mike
Natalie's Coal-Fired Pizza and Live Music,
5601 North High Street, Worthington, OH
The Steel Wheels (official site)
You Tube Video
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