Southern California without sunshine isn’t much fun, and 1992 was a year without sunshine for the area’s restaurant industry. Smart, sassy and even smug, the same Los Angeles entrepreneurs who had upstaged New York City by launching a seemingly unending succession of hit restaurants and food trends were not prepared for the painful reality of 1992.
The poor economy, a sharp fall-off in business visitors and tourists from Japan, the riots, increased competition from supermarkets and fast-food stores all played a part. Wolfgang Puck still has lines at his Spago and Chinois on Main, but few others do. Most speak in depressed terms about “holding on.”
Looking for a symbol of hope, creativity and determination, I was directed to Piero Selvaggio, who recently opened his third stylish Italian restaurant. His formula for success is to avoid having a formula. Each restaurant appeals to a different audience and is priced accordingly.
At 46, the still-youthful Selvaggio is widely admired or envied by colleagues for his flair, commitment and ability to please both the press and the public. While this last owes something to his movie-star good looks, it owes even more to a personality that blends practicality and a passion for freshness and flavor.
One example: in the early 1980s, sensing that his first restaurant, Valentino (3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica), was tired after a decade, he went to Italy and came back with an updated menu and a team of young chefs to execute it. He then spent the better part of $1 million to make the antique setting contemporary and raised prices accordingly.
Another: At sleek Primi (10543 Pico Blvd.), opened in 1986 with a dazzling but confusing menu of first-course dishes only, business soared, then sagged. Selvaggio reorganized the menu, discreetly lowered prices and made the ambience more informal. It worked. Semi-pricey salads and exquisite pasta and risotto dishes continue to draw a tony Century City crowd despite recession.
Last year, in response to the uncertain mood of 1990s L.A. (business is up at Primi and down at Valentino), he refused to hunker down. Instead, he opened a third restaurant.
But he located Posto (14928 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks) in the much-maligned San Fernando Valley-justly considered a culinary wasteland but full of hungry, affluent people-and opted for “a restaurant of simplicity and good things.” At Posto, the dining areas are bright and lively, there are nearly a dozen pasta and risotto dishes on the menu, and the grill turns out swordfish steak, butterflied “little” chicken, lamb chops and hand-made sausages. To conform with suburban custom, the grilled items come with “mini baked potatoes and veggies.”
The chef is Italian, portions are large, prices are moderate, the staff is young and charming-in sum, the formula for a ’90s hit. Selvaggio is pleased, but his smile is bittersweet. He won’t be content until Valentino, his much-loved first child, is full again.
Here is a recipe from each of Piero Selvaggio’s three restaurants.
POSTO’S POACHED PEARS WITH MASCARPONE MOUSSE
4 or 8 servings
1 bottle Italian red wine, dolcetto d’Alba preferred
3 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
Peel from 1/2 lemon, cut with a vegetable peeler
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
4 Bartlett pears (not too ripe), skin, base and seeds removed with a vegetable peeler, stem not removed
250 grams (half a container) mascarpone cheese+
6 tablespoons sugar, superfine or confectioner’s preferred
1 egg yolk (optional)
2 tablespoon whipping cream
4 or 8 sprigs mint
+Sold in Italian markets and specialty food stores
1. In a large, non-corrosive pan combine red wine, water, 2 cups sugar, lemon, peppercorns, cloves and the cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, add pears and reduce heat so the liquid is at a simmer. Cook until pears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat, but allow pears to cool in the liquid. Transfer to a smaller container, cover with liquid and refrigerate overnight.
2. Meanwhile, transfer 2 cups of liquid to a saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce by half. Remove from heat, cool, pour into a small container and refrigerate overnight.
3. Ten minutes before serving, remove pears from refrigerator and place on plates. Using a whisk or hand mixer, beat mascarpone with 6 tablespoons sugar until blended, about 1 minute. Beat in optional egg yolk and whipping cream, a tablespoon at a time. If desired, transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.
4. Pipe or mound mascarpone mousse inside each pear’s base and then decorate the plate as desired with mousse and the poaching-liquid sauce. Garnish with a mint sprig.
VALENTINO’S FISH FLOATING ON VEGETABLES
4 servings
Note: This recipe requires 4 plates, preferrably white, that can be used in a microwave or conventional oven.
2 large zucchini
2 fresh tomatoes
1 garlic clove
4 fillets snapper or whitefish, divided into 4 portions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 glass (6 ounces) dry white wine such as pinot grigio
1 glass (6 ounces) clam juice
1. Slice zucchini into very thin julienne strips. Set aside. Bring water to a boil in a small pan, then add tomatoes and blanch for 30 seconds; cool them under cold running water, peel, seed and chop. Set aside. Peel and mince garlic. Set aside.
2. Select a saute pan large enough to hold the fish in a single layer and two others for the vegetables. Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in one of the smaller pans. When it bubbles, add the zucchini and saute until wilted, about 3 minutes. In the other smaller pan, heat the olive oil. Add chopped tomato and minced garlic and cook until just soft, about 3 minutes.
3. Make a circular bed of zucchini on each of 4 plates, leaving room to spoon tomato garlic mixture in the center. (Plates should be small enough that vegetables will cover them.) Add tomatoes and set aside.
4. Combine wine and clam juice in the fish pan. Bring to a simmer. Add fillets, cover pan and poach until fish is opaque but not flaky, about 4 minutes. Place a fillet atop the vegetables on each plate. Keep warm in a conventional oven or set aside to reheat in a microwave.
4. Bring fish cooking liquid to a boil and reduce to 3/4 cup (about 3 minutes). Taste and season as desired.
5. If using microwave, heat each plate for 45 seconds. Alternatively, remove plates from warming oven. Spoon 2 tablespoons hot juice onto each plate so it seems fish is floating atop the vegetables. Serve at once.
PRIMI’S SHRIMP WRAPPED IN SWORDFISH
4 servings
1 (8-ounce) swordfish steak, cut about 2 inches thick, chilled until almost frozen for easy slicing
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 lemon, cut in half and squeezed
1 bunch fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried leaf thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
12 large shrimp (12 to 15 count), shelled and cleaned
1 cup dry vermouth
1 tablespoon chopped green peppercorns
1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into 8 tablespoon-size pieces
1 head radicchio, washed and separated into pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tomato, blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped
1. Cut swordfish into 12 thin slices about the size of bacon slices.
2. Place 1/3 of the shallots, lemon juice, thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Wrap swordfish slices around each shrimp and fasten with toothpicks. Add the wrapped shrimps to the bowl, mix well, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Heat broiler or grill. In a saute pan, combine remaining shallots, vermouth and green peppercorns. Bring to a boil and reduce to 2 tablespoons liquid. Remove from heat to cool slightly, then, working off and on the heat, beat in butter with a whisk, a tablespoon at a time, so it liquefies without melting. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm off the heat or in the top of a double boiler.
3. In a separate pan, heat oil and saute radicchio until it begins to soften. Portion onto 4 plates and keep warm.
4. Remove shrimp rolls from marinade and broil or grill, turning once, until done, about 4 minutes.
5. Remove toothpicks and place 3 shrimp on the bed of radicchio on each plate and spoon butter sauce over them. Garnish with chopped tomato and serve at once.
