How Many Downtown Restaurants?

[ytowner]

SUBTRACT SKEETERS

[northside lurker]

I can't really answer your question because my expectations are much lower.  My own "repertoire" includes: chili, spaghetti, pot roast, and a wide variety of microwavable "stuff."

Additionally, some people are also interested in atmosphere.  IMO, Cedar's, Overture, and Rosetta Stone provide this.  Cafe Cimmento, while attractive, isn't special in any way.  I'd say Martini's is on par with Cafe Cimmento.  And, I can't speak at all about the Youngstown Club or Anthony's on the River.  B&O would provide great atmosphere, but they are no longer a restaurant.

[Towntalk]

Maby because of the fact that I'm use to eating out at the sort of restaurants that would be featured on the Food Channel both in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, I'm a wee bit too pickey which leads me to ask ... would a "Fine Dining" restaurant in the sense of those featured on The Food Channel and PBS go here or are we a "Down Home Cooking" type?

Certainly you pay more for a dinner at a "Fine Dining" restaurant but the whole idea for me in dining out is to get dinners that are special as opposed to the sort of meals that I could put together out of cans at home, and believe me, it's quite possable to put together a fantastic meal at home thanks to the greatly improved choices of food stuffs that are coming into our local supermarkets.

An example: Last night I had Steak, Seasoned Cabbage, Coffee, and Pears in Rum Sauce for supper and had the meal all put together in 15 minutes. Tonight I plan to have a all Cajun dinner.

Giant Eagle has a large selection of foods that were developed by some of the Chefs that are featured on The Food Channel, so when I go out to eat, I would like to have choices that go beyond that.

[northside lurker]

I would also like to see them broken down into the kind of food they serve. For example, if I'm taking out of town family out to dinner, I wouldn't take them to a pizza parlor or sandwitch  shop, but to a restaurant that has a full menu such as the Youngstown Club for the kind of food you wouldn't or couldn't fix at home. Aside from the Youngstown Club is there a restaurant that serves the sorts of food that one would see on such shows as "The French Chef"?

Also, in regard to nationality foods, I would like to see a breakdown of these.

From the Shout Youngstown blog, about the Rosetta Stone:

Picking out some (but not all) items

For breakfast: bagels, croissants and muffins will be baked daily.

For appetizers: asiago stuffed mushrooms, spinach pies, and vichyssoise, etc.

For salads: goat cheese and fruits with baby greens, Chilean caeser salad, etc.

For meats: fillet, ribeye, ny strip, and surf and turf, etc.

Other main courses: trout almandine, butterflied shrimp in tumeric

For vegetarians: mushroon ravoli, ratatouille, etc.

For desserts: lemon souffle, mousse cake, etc.

Keep in mind there is a whole bunch of stuff from the menu that I did not include, including other entrees, soups and sandwiches. I just chose those things that jumped out at me and my palate.

I would hope that fits the bill.

Other places downtown that also could be worthy of such a dinner would be:
Martini's (Maybe.  I've gotten lunch here, and I wouldn't consider them to be just a sandwich shop.  But, I don't know if they serve dinner.)
Cafe Cimmento
Cedar's (though their food isn't consistently good, IMHO)
Overture (though I've never been there)
Anthony's on the River (I haven't been here, either)

Notice that this is a fairly short list, especially when removing the places that I'm not sure about.

[northside lurker]

Isn't the former owner of the Bean Counter going to operate/manage Maria's?

[jay]

Three additional eateries could be added to the list in 2008.

Lemon Grove Cafe
Maria's
Bean Counter (if reopened somewhere downtown)

[Towntalk]

I would also like to see them broken down into the kind of food they serve. For example, if I'm taking out of town family out to dinner, I wouldn't take them to a pizza parlor or sandwitch  shop, but to a restaurant that has a full menu such as the Youngstown Club for the kind of food you wouldn't or couldn't fix at home. Aside from the Youngstown Club is there a restaurant that serves the sorts of food that one would see on such shows as "The French Chef"?

An old friend of mine at one time owned such a restaurant on the East Side and had two trained Chefs and their meals were fantastic both in presentation and quality. He catered a number of Executive Banquets each year, and won awards for his food.

Also, in regard to nationality foods, I would like to see a breakdown of these.

[northside lurker]

First of all, I think you're stretching the definition of eatery.  What is on the menu at Imbibe and Core?  Would you really go to Plaza Doughnuts for an evening meal?

I'm pretty sure at least 7 of the places in your list are only open for breakfast or lunch.  Are the 5 eateries in the Chevy center open when there isn't an event?  I don't think Overture is open during the evening if there isn't an event at the DeYor center.

I could go on like this by breaking the eateries into a few small categories.  For example, more places could be crossed off of a potential downtown goer's list by excluding bars and grilles. (BW3's, B&O, Barley's, Draught House, and Skeeters)

And, finally, how many eateries are on an equivalent stretch of 224 in Boardman?

[jay]

Downtown Eateries

East End

BW-3
Georgines
Martini's
Cafe Cimmento
VIP (Chevy Centre)
Steel Grill (Chevy Centre)
Chow Hound (Chevy Centre)
Face Off (Chevy Centre)
Blue Line (Chevy Centre)
Youngstown Club

West End

Core
Yogurt Corner
Pizza Joe's
Wok Inn
Capitol Grill
Franko's
Old Precinct
Rosetta Stone
Cedar's
Imbibe
Overtures
Plaza Donuts
B&O
Anthony's on the River
Draught House
Tomasino's Pizza
Barley's
Skeeters

Total Downtown Eateries = 28

How many more do we need?

[northside lurker]

Cafe Roma has closed, but Georgine's has opened in its place.

Additional entries:
Tomasino's
Barley's
The Old Precinct

[Towntalk]

Anthony's On The River – 15 Oak Hill Ave.
Buffalo Wild Wings – Square
Café Cimmento – 120 E. Boardman St.
Café Roma – 17 N. Champion
Cedar Lounge and Restaurant – 23 N. Hazel
Martini 100 – 100 Federal Plaza East
Mc Donald's – 570 Fifth Ave.
Overture – Federal and Chestnut
Rosetta Stone – 110 W. Federal
Taco Bell – 420 Fifth Ave.
Youngstown Club

Inner Circle Pizza – 318 Elm St.
University Pizzeria and Italian Eatery – 133 Lincoln Ave.
Charlie Staples BBQ – 372 W. Rayen

[jay]

I would like to know exactly how many restaurants are currently downtown.  If I have time this week, I'll compile a list to post on the Forum.

I would also like to know how many people dine in the restaurants on a weeknight,  on a Saturday night, and on a night when an event is taking place at the Chevy Centre or the Symphony Center.  I'll probably need a few people to help conduct this survey.

[Towntalk]

In going through my Sanborn Maps, I have found that throughout the years there were many downtown restaurants. Some of them were major restaurants with full menus others were speciality restaurants such as sandwitch shops, seafood, the hotels each had two restaurants, the Ohio Hotel had three - The Blue Room - The Crystal Dining Room both of which were upscale, and The Purple Cow. The Tod Hotel had an upscale restaurant, and the Youngstown Hotel had a Grill. The Mural Room was an upscale restaurant, the Shrine had a restaurant, there were at least two Chinese Restaurants. The Moose Lodge had a restaurant on West Boardman, On the Square there was The Blue Ribbon, The Palace Grill. On Wick between Rayen and Commerce was The Wedgewood that served upscale food, and on Commerce was the Town Diner. Then there was The Youngstown Club another upscale restaurant, Strouss had two, McKelveys had one. On South Hazel there was The Dutch Girl and Josephs (Joseph's served Jewish foods). The YMCA and a number of Grills were located on East Federal Street.

As has been pointed out, these restaurants opening up could be the catalyst to drawing more folks downtown, and the more people coming downtown the more small businesses would be encouraged to locate there.

The key is traffic. The more traffic can be generated to the area the better.

We tend to forget that all of the stores were on East and West Federal Streets while Commerce, East Boardman, and Front Streets were primarily wholesale.

Isaly's had three restaurants downtown, and the 5&10's all had grills.

[northside lurker]

Are there too many restaurants in downtown Youngstown?

No.  As more places open, downtown becomes more of a destination.  Currently, people come downtown because they already decided they want to go to a certain place.  But, as more places open, more people will start to come downtown because they know there are a variety of places to choose from. (like 224 in Boardman)

[jay]

Most downtown restaurants serve lunch, some are open for dinner, and very few serve breakfast.  A new eatery opens this week and two more are scheculed to open within the year.

Are there too many restaurants in downtown Youngstown?