The Gossiping Gourmet: Steam kettles a sight to behold
Orange County has very few Cajun/Creole restaurants, so I was delighted to discover the recent arrival in Huntington Beach of Ritter’s Steam Kettle Cooking, which also has a location in Santa Ana.
The concept is based on the use of 12 stainless steel kettles lined up behind the counter.A big boiler in the back of the restaurant pumps steam through a network of pipes to heat the kettles.
Customers can sit at the counter and watch the chefs work their magic, handling several orders at a time. They’ll toss minced garlic and squirts of oil into one of the funnel-shaped kettles, add raw seafood or chicken and sauté until ready. Then they will add a generous amount of one of their secret sauces and let simmer. When everything is perfectly cooked, a bowl is set under the kettle, which is tilted for pouring.
The very friendly staff are helpful with recommendations and choosing the hotness factor for each dish.
Calamari lover that I am, I had to try the Cajun calamari, and it was excellent. The seafood was tender, while the thin, crisp crust was seasoned with black pepper and heat and had no greasiness at all. Cocktail sauce and horseradish could be added to the sauce for more heat.
The Cajun calamari was served in a tall, open, metal basket that had a little dish for the sauce attached.
Served the same way was the bacon-wrapped, deep-fried shrimp, which had been marinated in molasses, wrapped with mozzarella and bacon and served with a sweet molasses mustard — a bit of overkill. It was cooked too long, and all the parts kind of melded together. It wasn’t bad, but everything else that my companion and I had was so good that this fell short.
The red beans and rice were probably the best I have ever tasted. The beans were almost creamy in texture and loaded with flavor; tiny bits of andouille sausage added zest to the rice. The Creole seasoning was complex and spicy.
Ritter’s famous pan roast is a house favorite, according to our sweet waitress, so we ordered that and cilantro chicken for our entrees. We were not aware of the size of the dishes. They are large, easily enough for two.
The pan roast is a large bowl of the protein of your choice: shrimp, clams, crab, lobster, chicken and sausage, or The House, which is shrimp, crab, clams and lobster. We chose the latter. It came in a bowl of wonderful, thick tomato cream sauce that had a slight underpinning of sweetness. The proteins were finely chopped, except for three big juicy shrimp. A mound of rice rose up from the middle.
We couldn’t begin to finish it, but we certainly requested a doggie bag since we didn’t want to waste an ounce. The same was true of the cilantro chicken. Chunks of perfectly cooked chicken breast and small pieces of salty andouille sausage were mixed with linguini pasta in a glorious lemon garlic broth topped with tomato and cilantro sprigs. The broth was ambrosial.
Ritter’s is a casual, friendly spot for dinning. It has no desserts on the menu and no beer and wine license yet. It’s a place not to be missed.
TERRY MARKOWITZ was in the gourmet food and catering business for 20 years. She can be reached for comments or questions at m_markowitz@cox.net.
Ritter’s Steam Kettle Cooking
Where: 180 5th St., Huntington Beach
When: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Prices:
Appetizers: $4 to $19
Po Boy sandwiches: $10 to $12
Entrees: $14 to $26
Information: (714) 536-7733 or rittersskc.com