Chowder House Cafe splendid place to indulge in fall food in Akron: Local Flavor

Chowder House Cafe in Akron's Merriman Valley is the perfect place to enjoy the colors and flavors of fall in a cozy setting.

My husband and I went to the seafood restaurant owned by chef Louis Prpich for some comfort food, now that October is upon us and the nights have become a bit crisp. The restaurant certainly delivered.

The high point of my meal was the delectable New England clam chowder ($6), a creamy delight, sans potatoes, that was loaded with sweet clams. As I dipped a crusty slice of bread into this luxurious classic, warm memories of my childhood years in New England surfaced.

Yum. 

Chowder House, of course, is known for its fish-based soups, which also include lobster bisque. The chef himself said clam chowder has always been one of his favorite soups.

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Seafood is Prpich's niche, and he has it brought in three days a week for his 60-seat restaurant, which is open five days a week. Cleveland Fish is his fishmonger.

Chowder House is also well known for its riot of color on the walls, both in its former location and now in Akron. Most of the Akron restaurant's dining room walls are covered with reproductions of the highly eclectic art that made Prpich's former location in the Falls so distinctive. (Most of that original art was created by restaurateur Jimmy Van Hoose and others who covered the inside and outside of the former Jimmy's Cafe, whose building Prpich took over to start his Chowder House Cafe in 2009.) 

After 11 years in the Falls, Prpich moved his restaurant to Liberty Commons in Akron's Merriman Valley last October. The building has an old Colonial look on the outside and an eclectically chic look inside. It most recently housed Craft Cantina and, years ago, the French restaurant Maison Martel.

Prpich used Central Graphics & Signs of Cuyahoga Falls to digitize the art from his former restaurant location, put it on vinyl and wrap the walls of his new establishment. My favorite piece, which I kept gazing at throughout our meal, was from a stained glass design made by Prpich's niece, Rachel Phelps, that evokes a mandala.

Now, a "Food, Art Joy" image inside is a piece that was outside at the Chowder House's former entrance in the Falls. That mantra also is reflected in the eatery's new exterior sign at its Akron digs.

Chowder House, which assumed a liquor license for the first time with its move to the Merriman Valley, offers a variety of wines and craft cocktails. The eatery also now accepts credit cards for the first time. And the chef finally has a full kitchen.

But back to our meal.

To start our evening, I enjoyed a glass of spicy red Zabu Nero d'Avola from Sicily ($8) and Steve had a Wicked Negroni ($10), a spin on the classic Italian cocktail that substitutes port wine for the usual vermouth and Aperol — an Italian bitters aperitif — for Campari.

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Even the ice is special at this restaurant. Prpich makes a "clear ice" in-house by putting a little cooler in the freezer with the lid off and filling it about three-quarters of the way with water. Through directional freezing, the oxygen is pushed down to the bottom of the cooler, forming an air pocket. After four hours, he takes the cooler out, flips it upside down and removes the block of ice to cut and score into chunks.

The benefits are both aesthetic and functional, Prpich said, with the end result being ice that's not cloudy, is colder than regular ice and doesn't melt as quickly.

At dinner earlier this month, Steve and I received knowledgeable and perfectly prompt service from David White, the general manager who was more than happy to chat about menu details. Specials Wednesday night included raw oysters and smoked blue crab pate appetizers, as well as entrees including crab cake, grouper and crusted halibut.

My husband enjoyed a wedge salad ($9) with silky White French dressing and gorgonzola, also featuring roasted tomato, egg and bacon. 

Our entree portions were just right, not too big and not too small. I went for scallop risotto ($29), which featured three plump, jumbo, pan-seared scallops over lobster stock-infused risotto.

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The risotto had a cool, fallish yellow color thanks to turmeric spice, and was served with a flavorful combination of fresh asparagus, cremini mushrooms and tomato. Lovely, semi-melted little slices of Romano were the perfect topper.

Steve's entree ($27) couldn't have looked more like fall: grilled salmon served over the striking orange of mashed sweet potatoes, accompanied by the lovely greens and yellows of zucchini and yellow squash, with the vegetables' flavors brightened by orange butter. The salmon, brought in from Scotland, was cooked medium, just as requested by Steve, and he was happy to report that its grilled flavor came through without dominating the dish. 

Entrees range from $19 to $36, with many seafood choices as well as filet mignon and chicken supreme. Seafood dishes range from Cioppino, a San Francisco seafood stew with mussels, shrimp, scallops and fish, to Black Grouper Oscar topped with crab bearnaise. (Prpich has an affinity for French cooking.)

His top-selling appetizers are lobster crepes, crab cakes and a seafood platter. The top entree by far is the seafood Pappardelle, Prpich said, with lobster, shrimp and scallops simmered in a three-cheese cream sauce. He cuts the wide Pappardelle noodles as well as other types from whole sheets of Ohio City pasta.

All the desserts are made in-house, too, including many from Prpich's grandmother's cookbook. They include berry cobblers made in little cast-iron crocks that can be shared.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Place: Chowder House Cafe

Address: 1244 Weathervane Lane, Liberty Commons, Akron

Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday

Phone: 330-794-7102

Reservations: Yes

Takeout: Yes

More information: www.thechowderhousecafe.com