Youngstown Eats: Harbor Inn Seafood Restaurant

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Harbor Inn Seafood Restaurant - Portage Lakes/Akron

Where can you get away when you don’t have time to get away? Try the Harbor Inn Seafood Restaurant on Portage Lakes just outside of Akron. The name of this establishment came up casually in a conversation a week or two ago with a friend of mine. It passed right by me. But later that night, looking for a new place to try out, I thought “Mmmm….Portage Lakes and seafood.” So I found its web site, and last night made the trek to Portage Lakes.

I didn’t know this area existed. Think Lake Milton on steroids! I did some research and found out this is one of the highest areas in Ohio. The terrain is rolling hills. The lakes themselves are at the confluence of a number of rivers right on the divide of the Lake Erie/Ohio River watersheds. The lakes were built to feed the Ohio Lake Erie canals which traversed some old Indian trails. When the canals were abandoned, the lakes were improved to serve as a source of water and water control for Akron and the surrounding area, much like Lake Milton and Meander and Berlin Reservoirs do for Youngstown.

Also like Lake Milton, there are old homes and cottages that go right up to the lakes. This is a relatively old area surrounded by buildings that look like they were built in the late 1930’s through the 1950’s. Drive around and it is like stepping back in time. For you golfers, it is about five minutes away from Firestone Country Club, located just on the opposite side of Main Street.

As for the Harbor Inn itself, it is a throwback. It is built on a small lake harbor along with several other restaurants. Boats can, and do, use the myriad of docks to “park” while the owners eat and drink and the two main establishments located here.

The Harbor Inn apparently tries to be all things to all people. There are three different dining areas, each with a somewhat different menu. There is an inside tavern, the outside deck and patio, and the restaurant and bar itself. The two former spaces have a casual type menu…burgers and stuff. The restaurant is much more ambitious, offering a well selected menu of various seafood and steak entrees on the more pricey side.

The interior is filled with knotty pine and tables placed along windows covered in white paper that looks like white table cloths. Blue is the accent color with blue napkins and candle holders. The architecture absolutely mirrors the period in which the building was built, and I felt like I was back in the 50’s and 60’s again. A baby grand piano was in the middle of the dining room with a pianist playing, annoyingly non-stop, music that matched the décor.

There is a lot of good here, and some bad. Let’s start with the bad. That pianist didn’t stop for a break. He was like a machine. It all sounded alike, and given the size of the dining room, it was loud no matter where you sat. Nice touch in this day and age, but a foot on the damper pedal would have been helpful. In addition, the building is built right out to the street providing limited parking. The primary parking lot is across the street, and not paved…gravel! That’s fine if you are going to the patio or tavern, but if a woman is wearing nice shoes…it is problematic. The street is also busy, especially at 6:30…run like hell!!

That being said, it is refreshing to see a locally owned restaurant trying to maintain some class and dignity in this blue jean hoodie age. Nice class of folks patron the place, although it still basically a casual dockside restaurant with lots of shorts and T’s…but nice shorts and T’s. And the food was very good.

I had crab cakes, which were much better than average, but not as good as the Springfield Grill’s version (the crabcakes by which all others are measured). It was accompanied by some outstandingly crisp oven roasted potatoes and perfectly crispy green beans. My wife had what looked to be an amazing caramelized salmon on a bed of greens and potatoes topped with caramelized onions. She said it tasted as good as it looked.

My wife started her meal with a wonderful salad served with warm goat’s cheese. I love innovative salads and this one filled the bill. But for me, the most memorable part of the meal was the onion soup, served piping hot (like I like it). It was obviously baked for about ten minutes before serving…and the topping was a crust combination of puff pastry, cheese and seasoning which were to die for. Presentation was outstanding, and so was the soup, albeit it could probably do with a little less salt.

Service was prompt, professional and attentive. Our waiter was a pro in every sense of the word, and given that place was packed, it’s clear management doesn’t skip on the wait staff to save a buck as is often the case.

Would I make this a destination restaurant that warranting an hour’s drive? Probably not. On the other hand, if I were in Akron or Canton for a visit, this would be definitely on the top list of places to eat, and I might just make a visit Akron and include this on my itinerary.

I give it 3 ½ meatballs, with the annoying pianist and the gravel parking lot making up the ½ meatball deduction from an otherwise strong 4 meatball restaurant. Call for reservations, this place packs them in.