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Monterey County Weekly
July 13th, 2010
Loving the mini sensation next to a Marina laundromat, Frutti De Mar Grill
By Adam Joseph
You’ve probably driven by it unknowingly, given its humble hideout between an industrial-sized Vietnamese market and a laundromat in an unassuming, pink Del Monte Boulevard strip mall in Marina. In that way, it’s easy for Frutti De Mar Grill to go unnoticed.
But its minimal menu of fresh seafood and straightforward pasta dishes – inspired by the cuisine of northern and southern Italy but given a Latin touch – can’t be ignored. Same goes for the simple elegance of Salvadoran transplant chef-owner Tito Perez – who’s worked as a chef everywhere from the Rio Grill to Flaherty’s since 1980 – and his cleverly concocted dishes.
Perez’s old school-meets-new school Italian recipes shine brightly on the small tabletops of Frutti’s dimly lit, cozy dining room. The ambiance is charming and the visible kitchen attached to the dining room yields a neighborhood feel; it’s a place where you can feel comfortable drinking wine and chatting with friends into the night, after eating a satisfying meal.
Friendly waiter Frank started me out with a glass of 2008 Lockwood Sauvignon Blanc ($6; $20/bottle), one of 12 wine selections including the nuanced 2008 Carmel Road Pinot Noir ($7.50; $29).
As someone who comes from an area close to Chesapeake Bay, I’d like to think I know a thing or two about crab cakes, and it’s rare that I find anything in California that can compete with what they do in Maryland. But Frutti’s crab cakes ($8.95), pan-seared and drizzled with a lobster cream sauce, have an über-fresh essence that comes damn close to the goods back East. The morsels of fresh crabmeat are intertwined with a mellow blend of spices that doesn’t overpower the sweet crustacean taste. And the cream sauce’s light covering ensures a consistently moist texture with every bite.
For a second appetizer, I order the carpaccio ($8.95). The thinly sliced filet mignon with wild arugula, Parmesan, mushrooms, virgin olive oil, lemon and capers is a medley of flavor. The slices of filet melt in your mouth; the acidity of the lemon and capers are tangy delicious. But the crab takes the cake in the appetizer category.
In between our apps and main courses, Frank brings us some complimentary bruschetta, with roma tomato, virgin olive oil, kalamata olives and garlic on a grilled baguette slice – a nice palate cleanser before our entrées.
For the main course, my dinner partner goes with the championed Frutti De Mar fettuccini ($15.95). The seafood splendor of shrimp, scallops and crab is sautéed in a garlic cream sauce and tossed with the fettuccini. The intensity of the garlic plays well with the silky sauce and together they enhance the flavors of the sea. And the plate’s also as big as tide pool – I dare you to try finishing it.
I go for the fusilli con luganega ($14.95), sausage and chicken pasta in a pink sauce. The real standout of this dish is the sauce, a fusion of marinara and cream sauce – not too heavy on the cream – that brings out the best of both the sausage and the chicken, and is definitely a worthwhile choice for folks not in the seafood mood. Other non-seafood options include the bisteca alla griglia ($19.95), a grilled center cut rib eye smothered with sautéed onions and mushrooms and pollo piccata ($14.95), free-range chicken breast sautéed with artichoke hearts, white wine and lemon caper sauce. There’s also the rich cannelloni ($12.95), and rolled pasta with veal, spinach, mozzarella cheese served with meat sauce and basil cream sauce.
For a second meal, we start with the fried calamari ($6.95). The ubiquitous appetizer fares well: The lightly breaded, medallion-sized curls are impressively fresh, not too greasy, but in need of a touch more pounding. The velvety, homemade tarter sauce, meanwhile, is a quite good (and quite crucial) detail.
After learning that the snapper ($14.95) is line-caught and sourced from the Monterey Fish Co., I’m ready to place my order. The fish is grilled Cajun-style with basil and mint pesto and has a nice New Orleans kick. Overall, the snapper – served with seasonal steamed veggies and dirty rice – is a tasty choice; a couple bites, however, taste too fishy.
My friend gets the coveted vegetarian lasagna ($12.95) with béchamel, mushrooms and a light cream marinara sauce. He leaves happy.
Tonight, there’s no complimentary bruschetta but Frank indulges us with a stellar dessert instead, on the house. After a first bite of the warm pecan cake topped with cinnamon sorbet – yes – words like “addictive,” “heaven” and “Hawaiian beach” flutter my mind.
In addition to the quality of Frutti’s seafood and its lovingly constructed dishes, they get a gold star for service. On my first visit, Frank noticed the high beams of an SUV blasting through the front window. Without uttering a word, Frank quickly made for the front entrance to close the blinds.
I could see again – and see even more clearly that the service and the food demonstrate that their in-the-know local following is well deserved.
Happy Customer Reviews
I had seen your menu on line before leaving Virginia on our trip and decided to give you a try. That was a great decision. We were there before you opened that Tuesday night and what a magnificent surprise when we entered. Linen Tablecloths and napkins, sparkling silverware, and a bright overall appearance that clearly said "welcome".
The appetizers were very tastey and the Fruti De Mar fettuccine was out of this world. We both had the same entree. The fact that every thing was fresh and made in front of us added to the delightful meal. Oh, and the fresh baked bread, I can't forget that.
Service was also perfect and we enjoyed chatting with the young man who served us. We had dinner out twelve times during our trip, and yours, without a doubt was the most memorable.
Ron Keeler
Woodstock, VA
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.