RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Pickled Steamer
Mediterranean jewel in Avon
is a favorite of Half Vasters

by Rick & Shelby Kinnaird

The Pickled Steamer in the Food Lion shopping center in Avon is one of our favorite restaurants on Hatteras Island. It’s our “go-to” place when we’re in that “I don’t know, where do you want to go” mood, which is frequent. The Dare County magistrate first introduced us to Pickled Steamer. In 2004 we were looking for someone to cater our wedding and someone to marry us (hence the call to the magistrate). Only on Hatteras would you ask a public official who spends a lot of time at the jail for catering recommendations!

The Pickled Steamer is small but you always seem to find a place to sit; cozy would be a good description and it doesn’t seem to matter if you sit at the bar and watch the staff preparing food in the kitchen or if you take one of the high-stooled tables or one of the more conventional tables.

Staff and patrons are equally friendly, yet not nosy; if a large party comes in and gulps because the only big table is taken by a party of four, I’ve seen the foursome get up and move to tighter quarters so that the brood has a place to sit. Usually, with “don’t worry about it” comments and suggestions about what’s good on the menu that day.

One of Pickled Steamer's specialties is the flat top which is an herb tortilla cooked open-face on the grill with interesting toppings such as scallops, shrimp, tuna, chicken or vegetables sauteed in garlic butter. Some call it a Mediterranean-style pizza. Shelby's favorite is the Mango Chicken.

Besides the usual beach fare, Pickled Steamer prides itself on its large vegetarian menu – flat tops and wraps with fresh veggies, salads, soups and their famous black bean burger. Robin Alwine, the manager, emphasized that all of their soups are made from scratch (never dumped from a can).

Oftentimes there is something unusual on the list of daily specials (check the chalkboard when you go in). Once the featured dessert was fried chocolate cake. We weren't going to order it, but our waitress said she really liked to "smoosh it down on the grill." With that sort of sales job, how could we refuse? It was basically a warm cream cheese and chocolate cake-filled tortilla "smooshed" on the grill and covered with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream. It was to die for! Unfortunately, they haven't had it on the menu since. (Pickled Steamer folks, if you're listening ...)

Robin informed us that she loves desserts and they are always coming up with new tempting treats. Currently, they have chocolate peanut butter pie, cheesecake and they always have "something for the chocolate fanatic."

The Pickled Steamer's wine and beer selection rotates with the seasons and the clientele. "In the spring and summer we have more white wines, in the fall more reds. During the summer we carry Yuengling and Iron City beer because a lot of folks come down from Pennsylvania and want their hometown beer. In the fall we carry more pilsners because the windsurfers like them," Robin said.

We asked how they know how much food to prepare every day. "We watch the traffic on the road," Robin said.

The Pickled Steamer folks had planned to open a second restaurant in 2005. Unfortunately, the owner, Kim Mitchell, passed away last May and the plans had to be scrapped. Kim's partner, Anne Andrews, kept the Pickled Steamer with Robin as manager. If you're ever at the restaurant, take notice of the photo on the wall behind the bar. That's Kim. Her memory is alive and well.

The Pickled Steamer is open in January for lunch Mondays and Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and lunch and dinner Thursdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. They will close for the winter between January 29 and March 3. March's hours will be similar to January's. In April and May the restaurant will be open six days a week (closed Sundays). Robin hopes to be open seven days a week during June, July and August, but "it depends on getting enough help."

Down the highway in Buxton is Wahini’s Surf Grill, a cousin restaurant to the Pickled Steamer (some of the women who opened Wahini’s used to work at Pickled Steamer and still help out in a pinch). Wahini’s has a unique blend of food similar to Pickled Steamer with an outdoor deck and upstairs game room. We'll review Wahini's in a future issue of the Half Vaster.