American Eats: Ohio. Naples Spaghetti House
Dean Martin did not hail from greater New York, like Sinatra did. Dean Martin was from Steubenville, Ohio. You will learn this anytime you actually go to Steubenville because they talk about it frequently.
Nobody goes to Steubenville on accident. Even more so, nobody goes to Downtown Steubenville by accident. It is a somewhat dying former steel town desperately trying to salvage a future while being paid lip service by politicians who want their votes, but not to be bothered doing anything useful.
Steubenville is best known for its ties to the Franciscan University of Steubenville, which is usually content to forget the city exists. But in downtown Steubenville, there is a gem of a place where the aforementioned Dean Martin actually ate.
I present your Naples Spaghetti House.
In what appears to be a house in a crumbling city sits real, honest Italian food with absolutely no frills whatsoever. If you like Italian food, you will not find a bad meal in the joint. But the go to meal? It’s a sandwich.
Naples is famous for their “Heel” sandwiches, which is exactly what it sounds like. They take a loaf of Italian Bread, cut it in half, hollow it out, and shove all sorts of hot delicious goodness in the middle of it. The most famous of which is the Meatball Heel. After all, you can’t properly judge an Italian restaurant without eating their meatballs.
Naples makes venturing into Steubenville absolutely worth it if you ever find yourself wandering into the area. You will not at all be disappointed by the food and the value.