By Steve Cooper
Foodie Foursome
Steve Cooper
If you have been searching for healthy comfort food that includes seafood, Tex-Mex and American fare, Joey C’s Boathouse may be right for you. Chef Joey Catalano, a Culinary Institute graduate, and his wife Chef Ania Catalano, a cookbook author and former natural food store owner, collaborated to start their first restaurant in Milford a few decades ago. The “hole in the wall” location just off the Boston Post Road grew into the current roadhouse location and Joey C’s Boathouse on the Housatonic River at Dockside Marina in Stratford just over the Devon Bridge. During the pandemic they merged to combine the menus into the larger boathouse location.
The atmosphere and design of the restaurant lends itself to casual family dining, relaxing with friends and enjoying weekend entertainment. There are multiple dining rooms, including a private party room and an expansive outdoor deck on the water. The bar area is huge and has multiple television screens. The walls and ceilings are adorned with vintage and nautical props that give the place a cool vibe.
I was joined by friends Mike, Kevin and Dan for a guy’s night out. We order different apps and entrees and divide it four ways so we can all try everything and talk about it. I recommend this style of “tasting” for a fun night out.
We started with four different appetizers. We always like to encompass classics, with a restaurant’s own take, as well as signature dishes. The East-West tuna tartare covered both of those. It was an extraordinarily sizable portion of fresh cubed tuna, expertly seasoned for a gentle kick and served with their creamy guacamole, red cabbage slaw, a wasabi aioli and their homemade tortilla chips. This was a unanimous favorite.
We had to try Joey’s famous beef chili. It did not disappoint. It was meaty and tasty with just the right spices. It was served with crunchy tortillas I decided to top with some fresh pico de gallo.
We went with the seafood lovers nachos. It was a huge serving of their fresh chips topped with an abundance of lobster, crab, scallops and scallions with a creamy garlic sauce. The freshness of the seafood balanced against the cheese-engulfed chips was a nice change of pace from a normal nacho platter.
We had to try their take on an American classic app – chicken wings. These were jumbo and juicy wings. We ordered them with a mild spice so we could try a couple different sauces. The herb garlic parmigiano was smooth and tasty, while the Asian fusion sauce had a beautiful balance of sweet and spice.
As a transition before the entrees we shared one salad. The lobster cobb salad is a meal all by itself, so sharing worked out to perfect servings. The romaine base was adorned by succulent chilled lobster, crispy bacon, avocado, tomatoes, red onion and blue cheese. I asked for the dressing on the side so we could try both their balsamic and Caesar. The balsamic was not acidic and beautifully emulsified while the Greek Mediterranean dressing was a great pairing for this salad.
Since we had been bouncing between seafood and Tex-Mex, this was the perfect night for “prime rib Thursday.” We chose an end cut because of the great seasoning and the fat cap that teases your taste buds. It was done to a medium temperature to savor the taste of the beef and maintain a tender texture. As the end is usually more well done, it is not always easy to achieve, but Joey pulled it off to perfection. The sides were both creamy, with a nicely crusted top. The mac and cheese was extra cheesy and easily trapped by the twisted pasta, which was cooked perfectly with great bite. The scalloped potatoes were layered perfectly and had a wonderful taste and texture.
Next up was a true classic seafood choice. The fisherman’s platter was a combination of fresh wild cod, shrimp, clam strips and calamari in a tasty, light and crunchy beer batter crust. It was served with homemade slaw, tartar sauce and French fries. The fries had a great crunch on the outside and were creamy inside. They were the perfect partner for the fried seafood.
We decided to follow that with some excellent barbeque. We decided on the roadhouse style barbeque baby back ribs. They ribs were meaty and fall-off-the-bone tender. Joey C’s own proprietary seasoning and sauce had the perfect smokiness, tang and sweetness.
We finished with one of Joey C’s heralded entrees, their boathouse lobster roll. The sweet lobster meat sautéed in butter, piled high on a toasted split-top brioche bun was done perfectly and served with some incredible seasoned fries. It was a great ending for our road trip to Joey C’s.
The food used is natural and properly sourced from the region’s top purveyors. The restaurant also features vegetarian and vegan friendly versions of some of their house favorites, so be sure to ask
Joey C’s Boathouse is located in the Dock Shopping Center behind BJ’s on the water in Stratford. For reservations call 203-870-4838. They are open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and later Thursday through Saturday.
Steve Cooper is a local, national and international award-winning photographer, culinary influencer and executive director of the Milford Performance Center. Contact him at 203-723-3672.