Food for Thought
Chef Michael Pellegrino delivers the tastes of summer
Light fare at Max's Wine Dive.Photo by John M.P. Knox
What's better than a light seafood salad when it's hot outside?Photo by Marene Gustin
Juicy watermelon brings visions of summer.
Max's Wine Dive is a good summer locale.
What does summer taste like?
When I was little it was dripping orange Dreamsicles, hunks of watermelon, ears of sweet corn and thick steaks grilled outdoors.
I’ve long since given up Dreamsicles but a fleeting taste memory of them came back when I tried the pan seared halibut with orange buerre blanc at Bistro Calais the other day. It was the perfect marriage of summer flavors, citrusy with a hint of sweetness cocooning the seafood.
Summer is prime halibut season, which runs from March to November. It’s a delectable, flaky fish that hails mostly from Alaska and not, thankfully, the Gulf of Mexico.
“It’s been an odd year for seafood,” admits Michael Pellegrino, executive chef of that gourmet comfort pub Max’s Wine Dive. “The oyster season closed early, the crawdads were small and now this oil spill. So far Gulf Coast seafood is still available, but the prices are starting to climb. Luckily, the halibut are really beautiful this year.”
And they’re delicious. Pellegrino poaches his with olive oil and plates it with red bliss potato hash, gently roasted Brussels sprout petals, herb-roasted grape tomatoes and a jalapeño beurre blanc. It’s one of the items on his new seasonal menu.
“It’s a seasonal menu,” the chef says, “but it really changes daily depending on what is fresh and good. We’ve just come out of winter with its heavy foods and root vegetables so now people want lighter fare, seafood and salads.”
And chef Pellegrino does some mean summer salads. His heirloom tomato salad is a cornucopia of colors and flavors. Local heirlooms, four different varieties — cherry, beefsteak, Roma and green tomatoes — make up the base of this savory and tangy salad. But their rich flavor marries with pickled red onion circles and English cucumber slices tossed in a gremolata (minced parsley, lemon peel and garlic) vinaigrette. This plateful of summer favorite flavors is topped with crumbled Bosque blue cheese from Houston Dairymaids and hunks of crunchy applewood-smoked bacon.
So scrumptiously filling it’s quite possibly my new favorite salad in town.
Summer is all about the veggies and while I’m far from a granola-vegetarian gal, chef Pellegrino has a vegetarian offer that even meat lovers will relish. The house-made sunchoke gnocchi with smoked Texas tomato vinaigrette is hearty fare, with a smoky taste that brings memories of backyard barbecues.
“We put a little smoke into the vinaigrette just to remind you of a summer grill,” he says. And it does. The whole dish sings with the robust flavors of the season and a delightful crunch is added with Cheesy Girl goat cheese and Texas pecans. And, of course, more fresh tomatoes, in this case baby heirlooms.
There’re also some new duck dishes, again with a hint of smoke, and the chef’s favorite, the crackin’ chicken with spring mushroom risotto.
“We pan roast the chicken breast and you can actually hear the skin crackle in the oven,” he says, adding that his fondness for chicken goes back to his upbringing. “There were seven of us, so we ate a lot of chicken.”
Max’s is known for it’s gourmet comfort food made with locally sourced produce, and Pellegrino lives up to the legend with his new dishes. But what does a wonderful chef like this consider comfort food?
“Spaghetti sandwiches!” he laughs. “Growing up we always had a pot of Bolognese sauce around so we would take two pieces of white bread, spread butter and the sauce on it and add noodles. It’s still the best sandwich I ever had and I still eat it."
