The lifeblood of Carmel restaurateur Rich Pepe runs through the old country in Southern Italy, by way of the rough-and-tumble streets of New Jersey. He embraces tradition, but also likes to stir the pot — both in and out of the kitchen.
So if anyone was going to succeed in conjoining two contrasting culinary cultures (something that almost always results in a dissonant, distasteful clang), it would be Pepe.
Are you ready for Italian sushi? That’s just the way he rolls.
It’s all the rage now at Vesuvio in Carmel, flying out of the tiny corner of the large Italian kitchen now shared by Yoichi Saito, a well-traveled and versatile Japanese chef who once trained under original “Iron Chef” Hiroyuki Sakai.
Yoichi and Pepe share a very special friendship. It began 12 years ago at Bamboo, a trendy Asian-fusion restaurant in the SoNo district (South Norwalk) in Connecticut, about 30 minutes north of New York City. Pepe and his childhood friend, actor Joey (Pants) Pantoliano, invested in Bamboo, with Yoichi running the show, using ingredients from all the far-flung corners of Asia.
“He was a star. I called him Iron Chef Yoichi,” Pepe said. “We had limos coming up from the city every night loaded with celebrities, wise guys and big shots.”
In a few years, Pepe and Pants pulled out of Bamboo, and Yoichi followed Pepe home to Carmel. Pepe introduced his friend to Pebble Beach management, who hired Yoichi as executive chef at Roy’s in 2003. After five years Yoichi returned home to Japan, until surfacing earlier this year after Pepe agreed to sponsor his working visa.
But where would this Japanese chef fit into an Italian restaurant in Carmel? As it turns out, Yoichi worked for years at an all-Italian restaurant in Japan, so he fit in quite well.
Called Itameshi, Italian food has long been popular in Japan (many restaurants have served spaghetti since the 1920s). And in the 1990s, with the collapse of the Asian economies, expensive French food fell out of favor. Japanese chefs who’d trained in France were now shifting their focus to Italy.
“I’ve cooked Japanese, French, Italian and pastry,” Yoichi said. “I learned everything at (culinary) school. And of course I’ve made sushi before.”
But never Italian sushi?
“Never.”
It took Yoichi’s culinary versatility along with Pepe’s imagination to pull off this culinary alchemy. It’s served nightly as a menu addendum, and one or two items as nightly specials to the regular menu. Currently the special is a surf and turf, with grilled flatiron steak glazed with ginger barbecue sauce and topped with a giant tempura prawn, drizzled with sweet soy reduction.
The major focus is on sushi, yet that word almost needs to be in quotes. It certainly looks like sushi (and the plating is visually stunning). And it tastes, well, it tastes great, but it doesn’t necessarily scream sushi, despite the use of sushi rice. Yet, they aren’t the flavors that necessarily remind one of dining at a trattoria either.
Yoichi and Pepe knew they couldn’t force together, say, raw tuna and marinara, or teriyaki and basil pesto. But what if they make a wasabi guacamole with rock shrimp tempura (or “fritto misto” as the Italians call deep-fried items)?
What if they started with salmon, snow crab and avocado, but added saffron to the sushi rice (turning it a pleasing yellow)? And make the crunchy bits atop the roll deep-fried capers?
Now we may be onto something.
Or start with a wholly Italian idea, beef carpaccio. It’s called the Ferrari Roll (with a Ferrari price at $16). But it’s as delicious as it is inventive. Pepe came up with the concept, and Yoichi ran with it, using the Ferrari colors of yellow, green and red as his guide. He starts with a green seaweed sheet, then a layer of saffron sushi rice (yellow), wrapping it around tempura asparagus, and topping it with thin slices of rare beef (red). A drizzle of mustard vinaigrette and a sprinkle of crispy garlic breadcrumbs tie it all together.
Yoichi also makes a Fiery Dragon Roll (saffron rice, BBQ eel, avocado, spicy tuna, garlic oil, sriracha mayo), and a New Wave California Roll (Italian black rice, Dungeness crab, cucumber, avocado, wasabi pesto, sweet soy reduction). He mixes black rice with sushi rice, turning it a unique purple. He also creates a few non-sushi appetizers, including an Asian Pork and Shrimp Pot Sticker, made “ravioli style” (ginger-alfredo sauce, roasted scallion-infused soy reduction, extra virgin olive oil, micro celery).
“The sushi program is going well, and Yoichi is adding some refinements to my other Italian dishes as well,” said Pepe, who noted that fusion is not a new concept at Vesuvio. He serves a few Mexican dishes, including a polenta-lamb shank tamal, as well as street tacos. “I guess I just like to have some variety when I dine in my own restaurant.”
Don’t look for Pepe to abandon his Neapolitan (and New Jersey) roots.
“I’m not trying to open a Japanese restaurant,” he said, although if he ever stumbled on just the right spot he may unleash Yoichi on Carmel in a separate venue.
For now, though, Pepe is just happy to tinker.
With the tasting complete, Yoichi was asked if he would ever venture into karaage, that decadent Japanese fried chicken that torches the Colonel and ranks right up there with anything served in the American south.
Yoichi’s eyes brightened. “I make best karaage” he said. “You will see.”
Then he began to unveil the secret. “It starts with potato starch,” he said.
Pepe interrupted, seizing the opportunity.
“Write a shopping list,” he said. “Carmel will have fried chicken.”
Mike Hale can be reached at thegrubhunter@att.net. Listen to his weekly radio show “Food Fodder” at noon Wednesdays on KRML, 102.1 FM.
