The Food Chain

Porter House’s Michael Lomonaco Says Osteria Morini’s Seafood Salad Takes Him Back to Italy

Osteria Morini's seafood salad.
Osteria Morini’s seafood salad. Photo: Melissa Hom

Here on the Food Chain, we ask a chef to describe a dish he or she recently enjoyed. The chef who prepared the dish responds and then picks his or her own memorable meal. On and on it goes. Last time, chef Jimmy Shaw of the Los Angeles taqueria Loteria had high praise for the truffled mashed potatoes at New York’s Porter House, as made by chef Michael Lomonaco. And now it’s time for Mr. Lomonaco to tell us which dish recently moved him. Take it away.

“The last thing was this great salad that Michael White is doing at Osteria Morini. I sat at the bar right in front of the station and I watched them make this really great octopus salad with capers and potatoes, and it reminded me of trips that I’ve taken to Sicily.”

Chef Michael White explains what makes his seafood salad so good:

“It’s a light salad that provides a nice alternative to all of the heavier dishes in the region; it’s really about showcasing fresh ingredients and letting their freshness shine. Sometimes we use octopus, but it always has scallops, shrimp, sepia, calamari tentacles, all blanched in a very light white wine and lemon juice, then shocked. We use a caper, olive oil, lemon juice, apple, and red-wine vinegar that makes a simple vinaigrette. For some texture, we add celery and red onion to taste.”

Porter House’s Michael Lomonaco Says Osteria Morini’s Seafood Salad