May 1, 2002

Sentimental journey engenders culinary delights
Frank Pellino’s sojourn to Italy, his birthplace, benefits his restaurant’s diners

PRINTED FROM THE DANVERS HERALD
By CHAD KONECKY CORRESPONDENT

Frank Pellino is the ultimate self-made man. He’d never volunteer that, mind you. But it’s as self-evident as can be.

Born in Naples and an émigré to the U.S. at the age of 9, Pellino, the middle of five children, graduated with honors from East Boston High, earning a scholarship to Northeastern University. The Danvers resident and Marblehead restaurateur became the first member of his family to receive a college degree from a private university and was well on his way to becoming a CPA when he felt a familiar pull.

It was the same tug Pellino felt washing dishes at Stella’s in the North End as a gawky, peach-fuzzed teenager in 1978 — a tug he associates with the Italy of his childhood, a place where food wasn’t just served and eaten, but nurtured and savored.

Pellino, now 38, yearned to cook — not to strike it rich or to start a franchise — because it’s his passion, because uniting care, quality and cleverness in a kitchen, while exceedingly difficult, is the only sure way to produce an Epicurean experience. Otherwise, Burger King would have to take reservations.

Indeed, for Frank Pellino, the medium isn’t just the message. It’s the message, the messenger, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men.

" I think we have a good concept and a good restaurant, " says Pellino, a Danvers resident, who celebrated his 10th year in business last month as owner/operator of Pellino’s at 261 Washington St., Marblehead.

" In America, food is more of a necessity. I’m not knocking it, but we’re always on the run. In the whole of Italy, food is a lifestyle. It’s mandatory that everything is fresh, that the man and the woman can make a nice meal, and that you take your time. Food was a big part of growing up and living. And that’s never left me. "

Pellino’s hasn’t thrived for more than a decade by chance. The 50-seat establishment offers fine dining. The Zagat Review recently awarded the restaurant 24 out of 30 stars. ABC’s regional serial Chronicle has named Pellino’s a " Destination Spot of the North Shore, " while Wine Spectator Magazine has bestowed its Award of Excellence upon the establishment eight years running.

All that is good, Pellino reckons, but not good enough. So the exacting restaurateur embarked on a three-week tutorial in Italy last month. He connected with old friends and family. He networked. And in a whirlwind tour of Naples, Genova, Bra, Cuneo and Andonno Di Valdieri, he worked with some of northern and southern Italy’s finest chefs.

" You can never learn enough in this industry, " says Pellino, whose first substantive kitchen gig was as a part-time assistant chef at Marblehead’s Giancarlo’s (which Pellino ultimately bought out) in the late ’80s.

" When I went to Italy, I saw passion and love for what they do in the restaurant. Earning [potential] was second. The purpose of my trip was to accumulate the recipes of the Piemonte region [northwest Italy] and to implement those at Pellino’s. But that attitude reinforced to me that we’ve been doing things the right way. At Pellino’s, I’d rather do a plate right and make a dollar less than cut a corner. It’s the only way I know. That’s the most important thing, " he says.

Pellino considers voyages like the one he recently returned from as his own form of continuing education. He took a similar trip to Tuscany in 1996 in search of sophistication for his wine list. He enrolls annually in a one-week intensive workshop as a member of the Culinary Institute of America.

" I got more out of this trip for less than I ever could have imagined, " he says. " I was ready to go waiting for these guys at 8 a.m., but they’d stroll in around 9:30 a.m., prep until 2 p.m., then they’d take off until 6 p.m. Those guys don’t kill themselves but they do a lot. Very demanding. I learned a lot. "

A multi-day stint helping to run a Naples pizza shop fueled the fire of a new-business idea Pellino has been kicking around. He wants to open a second establishment with more of a family orientation: casual and informal dining, 80-100 seats, serving wood-fired, brick oven pizzas, grilled and barbecued meats and salads.

" These guys opened my eyes about pizza, " says Pellino, a two-way starting tackle and captain of the Jets’ 1981 football squad.

" Our pizza dough was very good but now it’s great. To make a nice pizza, you should be able to fold it without cracking. Not too much tomato sauce, nice fresh mozzarella that sticks to the dough and the dough has to be crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside with that nice wood-oak flavor. You need that wood-fired oven at 700 degrees; otherwise, you’re cooked, not the pizza, " he says. " These guys would make the dough that morning, let it sit four or five hours at room temperature, then make pizzas until closing. Whatever’s left over, goes in the garbage. "

Pellino is plenty thankful that his wife, Karen, and his children, Christina, Nicky and Anthony — all enrolled in the Danvers’ school system — are patient with his long hours at the restaurant. Learning the lessons of Genova and its grilled langostinos, shrimp, calamari, octopus and simple poached fishes is one thing. ( " You don’t need a big sauce; let the flavors speak, " Pellino says.) Implementing them is another.

From the looks of Pellino’s new spring menu, the owner isn’t shying away from the challenge. Whether it’s the polenta crusted salmon, the grilled chicken with watercress risotto or the new potato-semolina gnocchi ( " It holds better against sauces, " he says), regulars and newcomers will likely be thankful the self-made man went on a working vacation to Italia.