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New pizza joint spices up West Steamboat restaurant scene

Artist Jason Rideout joined the new general manager of How Ya Doin Pizza N Eatz Michelle Polacheck and owner David Eliason in the new west-side Steamboat Springs restaurant.
John F. Russell

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Restaurant owner David Eliason has been serving up food in downtown Steamboat Springs for years, and later this month, the owner of Backdoor Grill and O’Neil’s Tavern and Grill will move his efforts west and open How Ya Doin Pizza N Eatz.

“I’m not trying to give Steamboat another high-end eatery,” Eliason said. “I’m trying to give them a fun, street-style, totally different experience. The inside is littered with really cool graffiti artwork all throughout, and it feels really neat in there. It feels like you are in a big city like Chicago, New York, Denver.”

Eliason, who owns the Steamboat restaurants with his wife, Brandi, said he hopes to offer a family-style restaurant that can give people on the west side of Steamboat a different option.

How Ya Doin, at 1885 Elk River Plaza, is located right next to Storm Peak Brewery. It has a take-out window and patio seating and will offer daily lunch and slice specials.

Storm Peak will have menus on hand, and customers can come next order to order food and the staff at How Ya Doin will bring it to their table at the brewery.

And once the operation is up and running, the restaurant will offer free delivery to neighborhoods west of Steamboat, including Elk River Estates, Steamboat II, Silver Spur and Heritage Park, as well as downtown. Delivery to the mountain area will come with an additional charge.

Eliason expects the restaurant to open at the end of this month.

How Ya Doin will offer 18 different specialty pizza pies as well as make-your-own pizza options. The menu will also include a selection of salads and sandwiches ranging from meatball to white truffle egg salad, calzones and burgers.

One of Eliason’s favorite specialty pizzas is the Lil Homie, a Mexican pizza featuring enchilada sauce, re-fried beans, scallions, chorizo, jalapeños and sour cream topped off with fresh avocado that was inspired by his childhood in Southern California. He also likes the How Ya Doin pizza pie with meatball, Italian sausage, salami, ham, bacon, soppressata, red onion, artichoke, mozzarella, fresh garlic and an olive oil sauce topped with ricotta and fried egg.

The Eliasons have installed a special system that will make the crusts of their pizzas unique.

“We have done a hard water system to create water that is very standard on the East Coast, and that system will help us produce a different style of pizza crust,” Eliason said.

He’s also excited about his new pizza oven.

“It’s special order and something different for Steamboat,” he said. “Most pizza ovens have bricks or stone where the pizza is cooked. In our’s, the stone actually wraps the top of it and the back to maintain its heat. It just cooks better.”

Behind the bar, customers will find a large selection of beers, including six on tap, and eight different wines by the glass.

“I can’t tell you how many emails, phone calls and texts that I get about this place every day,” Eliason said. “The vibe on the west side is that people are excited about it, and they are ready for it.”

To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.


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