Cooking Class: Monterey Bay Fish Grotto's Salmon Honey Lime

Monterey Bay Fish Grotto's executive chef Edwin Smith and general manager Jennifer Marshall just can't leave Pittsburgh.

And they say their guests are enchanted, too.

“People say, ‘I had no idea how pretty the city was and how great the people are,'” says Marshall, 43, of Robinson. “We love it so much, we put a mural of the city on the wall” in Sakari, the small-plates and sushi area downstairs from the main dining room.

The view from Monterey Bay's tall glass windows overlooking the spectacular Point of Pittsburgh helps with the enchantment, as does a $2.5 million renovation project that ended earlier this year and made way for Sakari.

But so does the menu, which features sustainable seafood and other entrees cooked using fresh ingredients, a layering of flavors and attractive presentation.

Monterey Bay's renovation project began Dec. 1, then forced a total closure Feb. 1 for 10 weeks. When the restaurant reopened, Sakari became a new space where diners can try duck wings, pork belly and scallops and “a killer grilled-cheese sandwich,” among other offerings, including sushi.

“We want to try a bunch of different things,” Marshall says.

Upstairs is the fine dining area, where the wine room is behind glass doors and service bars for servers and bartenders are hidden. The old dark-coal wall has been replaced by luminous silver and gray wallpaper, and gold upholstered chairs and booths sit on black and gold abstract carpeting, which replaced the previous blue decor. Marshall says the choice of Pittsburgh black and gold — from William Pitt's coat of arms and the three major Pittsburgh sports teams — is coincidental.

“We wanted the space to seem natural and warm,” Marshall says. “It's cozy at night.”

Monterey Bay has a sister restaurant in Monroeville.

Smith, 38, of Shaler, oversees the culinary staff. Smith says the seafood Monterey Bay serves is “completely sustainable.” It is named as a restaurant partner by the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch in California. These restaurants train their staff and help raise awareness in their communities on which types of seafood are sustainable and which could endanger species.

“I know exactly where it was harvested from,” Smith says as he opens a shipment of Skuna Bay salmon. “This product is made specifically for chefs. No one's allowed to open it but us.”

Monterey Bay offers plenty of fish entrees, often with different preparation options. Diners can order Chilean sea bass for $38 and can have it prepared either Caribbean style —with jerk spices, pineapple, red peppers and chives — or Chimichurri, with cilantro, basil and chili lime sauce. Both dishes are chargrilled.

Rainbow Trout is $24 and prepared either meuniere, with lemon brown butter, or nage, with chive nage sauce and Yukon gold and red potatoes.

The priciest seafood dish on the menu is the 8-ounce lobster tail, stuffed with Monterey Bay's crab cake, red pepper and green onions, jasmine rice, wilted spinach and topped with shallot madeira cream sauce, for $55.

While the emphasis at Monterey Bay is on seafood, the restaurant does not neglect carnivores and vegetarians. Prime filet and bone-in rib-eye are available for either $45 or $58, prepared with rubbed spices, butter, pickled banana peppers, mushrooms and house steak sauce or with blue cheese, Dijon mustard, lime juice and butter.

Vegetable dishes include vegetarian ravioli, with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, shallots and shaved parmesan cheese, for $20.

Sakari's small plates include crispy duck wings, with sesame waffle, chipotle syrup, Thai basil and toasted sesame seeds and green onion, for $14; and a Wagyu beef slider with herbed mushrooms, tomato, Havarti cheese and micro basil for $9.

Sakari's Asian influence is reflected in dishes such as togarashi shiromi, a blackened whitefish with red-pepper slaw, for $12. Charcuterie is also available, with artisan meats and cheeses, onion jam, honeycomb and whole-grain mustard, for $30.

Smith began his culinary career early on, helping his grandmother with her catering business.

“That's what I grew up with,” Smith says. “I knew at a young age that was what I wanted to do.” He spent four years in culinary classes at A.W. Beattie Career Center in McCandless during his high-school years, then went on to classes at the former Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. He has worked at P.F. Chang's and the former Stone Mansion restaurant in Franklin Park.

Smith's culinary philosophy is to use very few ingredients that have to be of good quality.

“I really don't believe in adding a lot of things together,” he says. Fewer ingredients “can be very simple and taste just as good.”

Sandra Fischione Donovan is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.

Salmon Honey Lime

Edwin Smith of Shaler, executive chef at Monterey Bay Fish Grotto on Mt. Washington, believes a few fresh ingredients attractively presented can make a delicious dish. Among the dishes Monterey Bay features that conform to this culinary philosophy is Salmon Honey Lime, which uses just a few basic ingredients that give fresh salmon a flavor pop.

The salmon can be prepared on an outdoor grill, making it a good choice for a summer meal. And Monterey Bay's Cool Spiced Salad makes a refreshing accompaniment.

2 pounds fresh salmon filets, cut into 8-ounce portions

2 cups of your favorite teriyaki sauce

Nonstick cooking spray

¹⁄₂ cup Monterey Bay Honey Lime sauce (see recipe)

Fresh chives, for garnish

Marinate the salmon in teriyaki sauce for 1 to 4 hours. Coat the grill grates with nonstick spray. Turn the grill on medium-high heat.

Remove the salmon from the marinade; discard the marinade. Place the salmon on grill, skin side up. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes; turn over and grill for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, until the fish is firm.

Place the salmon on a serving plate. Pour 2 tablespoons of the Honey Lime Sauce on top. Garnish with fresh chives.

Makes 4 servings.

Honey Lime Sauce

3 whole limes

1 cup honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Juice the limes into a saucepot. Simmer the limes and the juice until the limes are tender. Pour the liquid through a fine strainer and combine it with the honey and mustard. Mix it well, and store the sauce in the refrigerator.

Cool Spiced Salad

For the dressing:

1 cup rice vinegar

1 cup olive oil

4 ounces sugar

1 teaspoon salt

For the salad:

1 seedless cucumber

1 head red bibb lettuce

2 ripe avocados

1 cup sour cream

Smoked sea salt

1 medium red onion, minced

1 roasted poblano pepper, minced

1 Krim tomato, diced

4 ounces chili oil

To prepare the dressing: Blend the vinegar, olive oil, sugar and salt. Set it aside.

To prepare the salad: Cut the cucumber into long ribbons. Separate the bibb lettuce and place it in small bunches; wrap it at the base with the cucumber to make small, upright bunches. If necessary, cut uneven leaves at the base so it stands upright.

In a blender, blend the flesh of the avocados and the sour cream until the mixture is smooth. Season the avocado mixture with a small pinch of the salt. Place a small amount of the avocado mixture on a chilled plate and spread it into a line. Top the avocado mixture with the onion, pepper and tomato. Place the bunch of bibb on the plate and drizzle it with the dressing. Drip the chili oil all around the plate to the desired spiciness.

To eat the salad, cut up the lettuce and cucumber, then mix all the contents on the plate.

Makes 4 servings.