Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Paul (left), Linda and Mark Matulich introduced a new menu at Steamers to remind customers that everything is steaming even though Old Town is being renovated.

The catch still steams at popular Old Town eatery

By Suzanne Cristallo

Local fishing boats are hauling in fresh catches daily for Steamer's restaurant in Los Gatos in anticipation of the holiday season and diners craving seafood.

Salmon, halibut, calamari and sea bass--grilled, seared, baked, roasted and poached. The fish are drenched or steeped in special sauces and are given a new treatment by co-owner and chef Paul Matulich, who introduced a new menu over Thanksgiving week.

"Since we're an island these days, we want to do new things to attract new business," says Matulich, referring to the major construction surrounding his restaurant in Old Town.

The only business to continue operating while the old shopping center gets a total facelift, Steamer's offers happy hour specials, new menu items and reserved parking for customers to remind them that Steamer's is still steaming.

Shellfish-lovers should consider this: From 4 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, a half-price oyster bar serves clams at $4.50 a pound, mussels at $5 a pound and a batch of rock shrimp for $3. Fresh dungeness crab and lobster have been added as entrées.

Matulich, 48, with brother Mark, 44, who runs the front of the house, and sister Linda, 42, who runs the office, have owned and operated Steamer's since 1979. Until 1982, it was located on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, where it shared a common wall with Domus and utilized a covered area on the corner for outside dining.

The construction of the Old Town Steamer's was an opportunity for the whole family to take part in the design. Wanting a nautical atmosphere, they chose an art deco style using exotic woods from Africa, South America and Hawaii to panel the dining area.

The Matuliches, all Los Gatos residents, grew up in Gilroy. They enjoy cultural influences from their father, a Croat from the northwest part of Yugoslavia, and their mother, who was born in Piemonte, the northwest area of Italy.

While "seafood prepared in different ways" is the focus of the menu, Paul is taking advantage of his training at California Culinary Academy--and possibly of his heritage--to invent new luncheon dishes such as grilled calamari marinated Italian style, seafood cannelloni with homemade pasta and a grilled portobello sandwich. A new butterleaf salad includes olives, feta cheese, fried calamari and fresh tuna.

Dinner includes grilled sea bass with guajillo sauce, grilled salmon, flat-iron grilled halibut and char-grilled, pepper-crusted New York steak, priced between $10.95 and $18.95.

The new menu also sports a new look. As a result of a contest staged at local elementary schools, Steamer's is using art created by students who interpreted in color what "steamers" means to them. Every menu cover is different. Children dining at the restaurant also get paper and crayons to create their own interpretations.

Steamer's, 50 University Ave., Los Gatos. Open for lunch and dinner Mon.-Thu., 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Fri., 11:30 a.m.- 11 p.m.; Sat., noon-10 p.m., Sun., noon- 9:30 p.m. 395-CRAB.

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]