That Food Guy: Harold Seltzer's Steak House

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Harold Seltzer's Steak House

Harold Seltzer’s

3500 Tyrone Blvd N, St Petersburg, FL 33710
(727) 954-7777 http://seltzerssteakhouse.com/

About this day: Some days are easy to keep track of; The Fourth of July, New Years, Christmas and Thanksgiving are a few. Some other dates have a way of falling through the cracks; birthdays and anniversaries are prime examples of two of those dates. My wife remembered and, luckily, so did I. So, we made plans to go out to dinner to celebrate. But where? That was the question. After deliberation, we decided to return to Harold Seltzer’s where we celebrated our anniversary the year before – sort of like making a family tradition.

About the restaurant: Harold Seltzer opened his first restaurants in 1995; he named them Sam Seltzer’s in honor of his grandfather, Sam. Sam was a butcher in Montreal. As a young apprentice in his grandfather’s shop, Harold learned about beef. The restaurant was successful and expansion followed. The company opened seven stores and employed upwards of 300 people. A downturn 6 or 7 years later led to infighting. Harold sold his interest in the company in 2004 and his cousin Michael Seltzer was in charge. The company acquired heavy debt and went through a period of reorganization. There was no turnaround and about 2009 Michael ceded control of the company to the creditors. Although the restaurants were doing business as normal, including selling gift cards, the creditors, without forewarning, closed all of the existing restaurants, locking out the employees and leaving gift card holders with a worthless piece of plastic.

In 2010 Harold opened a couple of restaurants under his name as the Sam Seltzer name was entangled in bankruptcy court. It is reported that he wanted to clear up the Seltzer family name and one of the steps was to make it right for the holders of the Sam Seltzer gift cards. Although the name has slightly changed, you would be hard pressed to point out difference between the Sam Seltzer of the past and the Harold Seltzer of today. The restaurant we visited today, located on Tyrone Blvd., in St Petersburg, is the same facility, the same look, the same feel, and the same delicious prime rib that we visited many years ago when it was Sam Seltzer’s.

We have actually been to Seltzer’s several times since the reopening. We went there on our last anniversary and signed up for the wife birthday special. An e-mail reminder some months later brought us back to Seltzer’s for the wife’s birthday and the complimentary bottle of wine with dinner. There have also been a couple of well remembered lunches with her Aunt Effie and Uncle Gil. I have included a few photos of those happy times at the end of the blog.

For out day out together, we went in the midafternoon, after the lunch crowd and before the dinner rush. It was quiet in the restaurant and it had a nice laid-back easy feel. We were shown directly to a table. Our server, David, was almost immediately there. He was a soft spoken man but with a good-humored demeanor. He has acquired that essential server trait, attentive without hovering. He kept watch over his tables and seemingly anticipate our needs before we were aware of them. He did add to the enjoyment of the meal.

We perused the extensive menu, snacking on the croutons much as you would some peanuts or crackers. There is a full dinner menu and the late night-lunch men as well as selections for children. There are sections for soups and salads, appetizers, entrees including lamb, chicken and beef selections, seafood, add-on to your meal and side dishes. Also listed are specialty mixed drinks, beer, wines and cordials. There is also a dessert section with lots of sweet and luscious things to make you really go off your diet. The reading of the menu was mostly for curiosity sake as we both already knew it was going to be a prime rib night. The only question was what size? We both chose the one-pound cut. I would eat all of mine there, in the restaurant, while Janis would take half of hers home for dinner the next day. Tomorrow I would be on my own for dinner.

The One-Pound cut of prime rib ($19.99 “The best prime rib in town. Our superb roast prime rib of beef, perfectly aged for 35 days or more, perfectly prepared, rubbed on the outside with Harold’s Secret Steak Spices & simply delicious!” Served with choice of “Au Jus,” creamy horseradish sauce or regular horseradish. The Star of the Show! All dinners served with our homemade garlic croutons, bakery fresh rolls, choice of traditional or Caesar salad, and your choice of baked potato, Harold's homemade French fries, homemade garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato puffs, seasoned black beans and yellow rice, creamed spinach, broccoli, or vegetable medley. Choose from one of Harold’s six signature homemade salad dressings: blue cheese, classic vinaigrette, French, garlic ranch, honey mustard or thousand island.)

Janis ordered the Caesar salad, the one-pound cut of prime rib, medium rare, with garlic mashed potatoes, Au Jus. I ordered the traditional salad with thousand island dressing, a one-pound cut of prime rib, medium rare, Au Jus, and a baked potato with all the fixings. Our salads and rolls arrived soon after. Janis Caesar salad was Romaine lettuce with a creamy Caesar dressing and a generous portion of shredded Parmesan cheese. She said the salad was good, average but perhaps a bit too much garlic and Parmesan isn’t one of her favorite cheese. That being said, she did finish her salad.

My salad was of mixed greens and a bit of red cabbage and some cherry tomatoes for color and texture. The house thousand island was creamy and smooth, adequate for the amount of salad and very tasty. With the freshly baked roll, it was a good start for the meal. A few of the crouton snacks also went well in the salad. About the time we finished our salads the entrée arrived.

The prime rib is served on an oval platter. Even though the baked potato on mine was of medium size, there was little extra room on the platter for the portion cup of Jus and a sprig of parsley. Janis’ serving was very lean, only a small piece of fat on one edge. It was beautiful medium rare, a pinkish red, enough to get any carnivore very interested. Accompanying was a substantial serving of garlic mashed potatoes. She said the beef was very tender and delicious. The garlic mashed potatoes were also very good she said. They were of a rustic variety, bits of potato in a creamy potato and garlic mixture garnished with a bit of parsley. Except for the half piece of prime rib that went into the take-home container she managed to clean her plate quite handily.

My prime rib was also a perfect rosy red medium rare piece of meat. Being a steak house, the standard table setting is a steak knife. This cut of meat was tender enough that a standard place setting butter knife was all that was needed to cut through the thick slice of prime rib. The 35 day aging does a good job of breaking down the fibers and the result is a piece of meat that is almost butter smooth. Even if I had planned to eat only half and take the rest home, it would never have happened that afternoon. I ate it all. Harold seasons the outside of the roast with their seasoning blend. Much of that seasoning is still on the edge of the prime rib slices. To my personal taste, that seasoning doesn’t need to be there. All that cut of meat needs, even though my cardiologist says no, is a slight sprinkle of salt. It was an excellent cut of meat, flavorful and tender to the max. The baked potato, of medium size, was one that is cooked in batches and kept warm for the upcoming service. That makes for an okay potato but not the best. The butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese and chives added to the top surely made it seem better than it was. Normally I eat the skin of the baked potato but that was not the case this time.

Other than a couple of little things that I think could be done better, it was still a delicious and enjoyable meal, more than ample to sate even the heartiest of appetites. The service was quick and courteous. It all made for a memorable interlude and a nice way to low-key celebrate our wedding anniversary. If anyone asks me, I’ll simply say, ”Sam Seltzers is a good place to go.”