The Monterey County Herald
4/24/2008
Chefs are fond of underplaying the importance of culinary school, pointing instead to the practical applications of learning on the job. In short, you often can learn more in six months on the line at a successful restaurant than in two years in the classroom.
Tito Perez took the practical route, and it has finally paid dividends with his own restaurant, Frutti de Mar Grill in Marina, a modest-cute, strip-mall space serving Italian seafood and pasta with a Latin American flair.
Perez has paid his dues at some of the Peninsula's most successful restaurants, including 14 years learning the art of Italian cuisine from restaurateur Maureen Signorella at the former Pasta Mia in Pacific Grove.
Perez came to this country from El Salvador in 1980 and got his first restaurant gig at The Rio Grill in Carmel. He's also spent time at Flaherty's (Carmel), arguably one of the finest seafood houses in the area.
Perez drew on all of his experiences, as did his wife and partner Sonia, who spent nearly 20 years working the front of the house for Julio and Marie Ramirez at The Fishwife — a local restaurant brand known for reasonably priced seafood and expert service.
The menu at Frutti de Mar features seafood (squid, snapper, petrale sole, sand dabs and tilapia), pasta dishes (ravioli, lasagna, cannelloni — and linguine in various applications, including a seafood medley) and meats (veal parmigiana, chicken piccata, grilled rib-eye). It's an amalgamation of different
ethnic styles and preparations. Flavors lean more to the Mediterranean than Latin America, but the use of such items as achiote and chile pepper is evident.Tito is the cousin of Thomas Perez, wine director for the culinary triumvirate of Bouchée, L'Auberge and Cantinetta Luca in Carmel. The small yet broad wine list features several by-the-glass options at around $7.
A kids' menu includes penne pasta with meat sauce ($5.50), chicken Parmesan ($6.25) and the all-time favorite among the pickier set — fettuccine with butter ($5.25).
|HE SAID|
Our experience at Frutti de Mar begins with two glasses of Morgan sauvignon blanc and a lively language debate: Does the restaurant name insult Italy (technically it should be Frutti di Mare) or El Salvador (Fruto del Mar), or is it just a playful poke at culinary border blurring?
We hoped for the latter, because Italian and Latin flavors make for an interesting relationship.
Sonia is utterly charming, and without hesitation leads us by the hand to the best of the menu. We choose crab cakes to start, and our conversation turns to strip-mall restaurants, and how a deft decorating touch can heighten the culinary experience. Here, the standard acoustical tile ceiling is painted dark brown to remove the office-cubicle vibe, fresh flowers adorn each table, and everything is impeccably clean.
The crab cakes ($8.25) arrive, the size and shape of silver-dollar pancakes, pan-seared crisp, but with too much rich lobster cream sauce ladled on top. This causes a textural issue for me. The flavors work beautifully, but the sauciness outmuscles the delicate crab and renders the cakes mushy; I would prefer a small pool of sauce on the plate with the cakes set on top.
The seafood linguine ($15.95) is a familiar dish, but often seen at a much higher price point. A bistro bowl is filled with al dente pasta, along with New Zealand mussels, clams, prawns and scallops, a garlic white wine sauce melding nicely with the natural juices from the freshly opened shellfish.
It's a simple dish pulled off quite well. Two criticisms: farm-raised black mussels are much sweeter and more tender than the green New Zealanders; and the small calico scallops are no match for the larger sea scallops.
Lunch the following day brings an inventive chicken sandwich — pounded breast meat rubbed with red-hued achiote paste and grilled, then layered between a foccacia roll. It helps prove one thing: This is no ordinary Italian restaurant.
|SHE SAID|
There's something about good service that prompts eager expectation. Everything is instantly more pleasant and well-received. It can compensate for many things (a strip-mall location, for instance). You immediately understand that here are nice people who sincerely care about what they're offering, and who seem genuinely concerned for your well-being. This service model pervades our evening at Frutti de Mar.
A smiling Sonia, who spies us walking up from the parking lot, greets us as we open the door. She deftly delivers our wine and an amuse bouche of bruschetta (chopped tomato, onion, garlic, capers and kalamata olives). Next appear a basket of sliced foccacia with olive oil and balsamic vinegar — almost requisite these days (isn't it?) in every Italian restaurant.
I long for lasagna with bechamel and wild mushrooms ($11.95), but turn to healthier alternatives. The list of fish is long and impressive and sends me diving for my Seafood Watch guide. Despite my wariness, I succumb to temptation by ordering tonight's special — swordfish (my favorite, but unfortunately often not sustainable, depending on where and how it's caught). I love that fish-topped salads are offered. Served Fishwife-style, this brilliant idea drapes hot-off-the-grill fish over cold, fresh greens. The steak is beautiful — large and grilled perfectly and topped with housemade pesto, a tangy and original addition that brightens the personality of the simple salad beneath (lightly dressed mixed greens and nice, ripe tomato). For sure, it's a healthful choice that doesn't sacrifice any flavor ($14.95).
Of course, every perfectly healthful meal cries out for dessert. We share the homemade pecan cake (served warm with cinnamon ice cream, for crying out loud — think pineapple upside-down cake with a caramelized praline crust).
I'm rooting for the Perezes, who are nothing short of a classy breath of fresh air in Marina.
Monterey County Weekly
1/03/2008
Better Late… I just got home. The clock in the downtown right-hand side of the screen says 2:50am. That’s absurd. You can’t go out around here and get home at 2:50am.
The night – actually, the afternoon – no, the late morning, started innocuously enough. My Sweet Thing was going to accompany me for the day. We’d do a few work-related things and then see where the day took us.
Things got off to a wonderful start with lunch at a brand new cute little restaurant in Marina called Frutti De Mar. The menu, like the name, incorporates Italian-style dishes with a Latin-American flare, all stylishly combined by Chef-owner Tito Perez. He and his wife, Sonia, longtime local restaurant folks, are living the dream of owning their own place and have a bevy of relatives and friends helping.
Tito is the cousin of Thomas Perez, the gifted wine director for David Fink’s restaurant group, Bouchée, L’Auberge Carmel and Cantinetta Luca. Tito, who was chef at Pasta Mia very soon after Maureen Signorella opened it and for the subsequent 10 years, has been out of the kitchen for a few years and is excited about being back. His touch was apparent with each thing we tried – bruschetta, crab cakes and a delicate salad topped with sole (done with a zippy spice rub), as well as one topped with the sweetest and most delectably seasoned prawns I’ve had in a long time. They indicated a truly caring cook with that ability to make his food taste delicate and delicious.
Sonia, who spent a couple of decades at the great Fishwife in Pacific Grove, comes with that generosity of spirit and graciousness all of Marie and Julio Ramirez’s employees and former employees possess. The service is family friendly, unpretentious and just right. This is a welcoming and comfortable spot to come regularly for lunch or dinner, get to know this lovely couple and their family and enjoy honest, delicious food at moderate prices. I know my man Todd “Where We Going Next” Sharp, owner of Cuqui’s Cars on Reservation Road, will be eating there regularly.
Thomas is helping them assemble an interesting wine list to complement the menu. I am really happy for the Perez family, really happy for Marina, which has another nice spot to bring folks, and really happy for me, who travels past here a lot and can add a place to call my home base along with my pals Andre and Gudrun Vadas’ Dishes Bistro. So get yourself up to the Del Monte exit at Marina and just ahead on the right at 3056 Del Monte Blvd. is Frutti De Mar Grill, 384-8525… you’ll be glad you did.