Bravo Franco: Seafood feast
The culinary genius of Pittsburgh chef Franco D'Amico can be found on the menus of many of this area's Italian restaurants. One of his numerous proteges is Peter Lauterbach, who co-owns Bravo Franco Ristorante, in the Cultural District, with his brother, Mark.
The restaurant's name is no coincidence, says Peter Lauterbach, whose has been good friends since high school with D'Amico's son, Joseph, of Franco's Trattoria, in Dormont, where the legendary Joseph Tambellini is executive chef.
"I remember when Joe (D'Amico) and I were students at Seton-LaSalle High School in the mid-'80s and we would be at Joe's house to rehearse our lines for a school play," says Lauterbach, a graduate and former faculty member of Johnson & Wales University culinary school, in Providence, R.I. "Franco would come home from work, and he would start cooking. He'd make an egg and some hot sausage and put it on a little sandwich. It was the best sandwich I ever tasted."
Lauterbach credits Franco D'Amico with launching his career.
"He really molded me and inspired me," Lauterbach says. "I followed him around like a puppy dog for the next 10 to 15 years."
Many of the recipes at Bravo Franco, in the Cultural District, Downtown, are based on D'Amico's cooking, "accented and finessed" to reflect the Lauterbach brothers' culinary philosophies.
D'Amico also inspired Lauterbach to mentor young chefs, passing along years of wisdom and experience to the next generation. Which brings us to head chef Joshua Ross, who has been working at Bravo Franco for seven years.
"I started working in the saute line," says Ross, who is self-taught in the kitchen. His initial experience was cooking in a nursing home while in high school. A short stint of waiting tables convinced Ross that his true calling was behind the stove.
Peter Lauterbach lauds Ross, who follows a mainly fixed Italian menu but is encouraged to draw outside the lines with weekly specials.
"I love hot, spicy foods, and Asian (cooking)," says Ross. "You get bored cooking the same things all the time, so I like to mix and match (ingredients and cuisines)."
The specials are especially popular with theater-goers -- business is so busy near curtain times that, Ross says, "we're turning out three meals a minute. If you can work here, you can work anywhere."
Stocks, soups and desserts are made in-house from scratch, and "our pasta sauce is awesome," Ross says. Osso buco is a big seller, as well as classic Italian and contemporary veal and chicken dishes. Stuffed Trout Florentine, a house specialty, features rainbow trout stuffed with lump crabmeat mixture on one side and a spinach Rockefeller mixture on the other, finished with a champagne cream sauce.
Patrons can order popular appetizers, such as fried zucchini, greens and beans, fried or sauteed calamari and Crabmeat Hoelzel. Pastas -- from capellini to ziti -- come with a choice of meat, marinara, tomato basil or oil and garlic sauce.
Fish is flown in fresh -- swordfish, tuna, wild Pacific salmon, sole, scrod, spots, scallops and lobster, as well as seafood. Bravo Franco features a bouillabaisse of clams, shrimp, mussels, scallops, calamari and a 6-ounce cold-water African lobster tail served over garlic toast points with a saffron broth. Meat lovers can tuck into three different cuts of beef or lamb chops.
Bravo Franco has a modest wine list put together by Mark Lauterbach, bar manager and bartender, as well as top-shelf liquors, liqueurs, after-dinner drinks and gourmet coffees.
Ross shares the following recipe, which was served as a special and became so popular that Bravo Franco is adding it to the menu.
Bravo Franco Ristorante , 613 Penn Ave., Downtown, is open for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays. The full-service bar usually stays open after the kitchen closes. The restaurant is open on Sunday depending upon the district's theater schedule, usually for dinner only; call ahead for information. Details: 412-642-6677.
Baby Floridian Grouper with Nantucket Bay Scallops and Prince Edward Island Mussels Poached with Lobster Mushrooms in a White Wine Saffron Broth
- Shiitake mushrooms can be substituted for the lobster mushrooms.
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
- 1 fillet (8 to 10 ounces) baby Floridian grouper
- 2 tablespoons minced green onions
- 1/2 teaspoon capers
- 3 or 4 fresh basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
- 12 Prince Edward Island mussels
- 12 Old Nantucket Bay scallops
- 1 cup julienned lobster mushrooms
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 8 to 10 ounces fish stock
- 1/8 teaspoon saffron threads
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Sea salt, to taste
- Minced fresh parsley, for garnish
- Paprika, for garnish
Heat the oven to 450-500 degrees.
In a cold ovenproof pan just large enough to hold the fish fillet, place the softened butter, then the fish. Place on the stove over high heat. Sprinkle with the green onions ( see Photo A ), capers and basil. Place the mussels in the pan around the grouper, then add the scallops and mushrooms.
Pour in the white wine and fish stock ( Photo B ), then add the saffron. Season with black pepper and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Transfer the pan ( Photo C ), uncovered, to the hot oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the mussels have opened and the fish and scallops are opaque. Remove the pan from the oven.
Remove the fish from the pan, using a fish spatula or slotted spoon. Place it in the middle of a shallow bowl or dinner plate. Place the mussels decoratively around the fish, followed by the mushrooms ( Photo D ) and scallops.
Return the sauce to the stove and heat to simmering to reduce slightly. Pour the sauce over the fish ( Photo E ). Garnish the plate with parsley and paprika.
Makes 1 generous serving.
