I was sitting with Pumpkin Boy, our three foot tall Halloween decoration reading when my buddy Jim drove up and honked his horn. I hopped in his car and we took off for lunch. I gave him four choices. He chose Steamer’s Seafood Café by Titlow Beach.
It was a gorgeous fall day. A collection of nine carved pumpkins (in both orange and white) sat atop pilings among the cormorants. The rest of the view was the blue waters of The Tacoma Narrows, beach, trees, and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The views are a particular joy of dining at Steamers.
Jim ordered from the blackboard menu near the entrance. He asked for the Seafood Stew, a tomato base soup with vegetables, clams, bay shrimp and Chef’s choice of fish. I had considered it as well as the clam chowder. Jim enjoyed the stew and tomatoey flavors playing with the vegetables and seafood.
After considering, the stew and the chowder, and the Calamari Rings and Tentacles, I chose the Pacific Fried Oysters. The six oysters were browned, crispy, and tasty. The tarter sauce made them even better. The salad/slaw was rather nondescript, but I enjoyed the fries and the spicy cocktail sauce.
Jim and I talked for nearly two hours. When we had entered the restaurant there were perhaps four groups (from 3 to 5 people). People came and went while we chatted. The lunch hour was very good for Steamers. There were a constant thirty to forty people. The staff is friendly and the restaurant clean. It was a pleasure sitting, talking, enjoying the view, and watching Amtrak and Burlington Northern trains whip by less than forty yards away. Steamers is one of the treasures of Tacoma.
Steamers is the only place we ever go. I love it there and the food is awesome and the staff so very wonderful.
My husband love a bowl of the seafood stew and I get whatever I feel like that day. We go at least once a week for an early dinner and like I said would not go any place else.
Martha,
Thanks for writing. I like loyal patrons. My buddy’s seafood stew did look good. He enjoyed it. Next time I will try the chowder. I’ve been toying with the idea of having a clam chowder contest to see who has the best in Pierce County . . . perhaps we could have a side competition of fish stew. What do you think>
Thanks, again for sharing.
Don
After dining there for many years, we stopped going as their food quality declined. An example, the Cod fish n chips had overdone fish, and the extra crispy fries ordered were soggy and limp. Their quality control was absent.
So, we found better consistent seafood elsewhere….
Dear P,
I think they closed some time ago and then re-opened. The view is excellent and the food okay. Some really like it, some don’t. For Fish N Chips my favorite places were The Spar, Katie Downs, and Anthony’s. The Spar has gone down hill. A new one on my list is the Fish Shack (19th & MLK), but there are only two or three tables . . . and lines at lunch time. Someone recommended the Fish Peddler . . . and then commented negatively on their last visit. Where do you like? Beer battered? Or?
Thanks for sharing.
Don