Culinary Hybrid -- Ponti's Chef Has A Mix-And-Match Style Called Fusion Cuisine

Jan 17, 1993

John Hinterberger

Fusion cuisine? Or just media confusion? Everyone's trying to figure out what to call Alvin Binuya's cooking.

A few months ago, CNN, the Cable News Network, sent a film crew to Seattle to investigate what that network's lifestyle reporters were describing as a new and innovative form of American cookery.

The place they went to uncover this phenomenon was Ponti, a self-described seafood grill on the ship canal south of Fremont at 3014 Third Ave. N. The cook they showcased was Alvin Binuya. What Binuya was doing, said CNN, was "fusion cuisine."

If so, what was it?

"I don't know," says Binuya, a young Filipino-American chef who spent more than a decade learning his art in some of Seattle's most innovative restaurants. "Frankly, I have a hard time with all of those names. But then again, I don't know what the hell you'd call it."

He paused for reflection:

"I do blend a lot of different ethnic ingredients in the same dish. And I don't stay within ethnic boundaries. If I am cooking Italian, for example, I may end up combining Japanese elements into the completed recipe - I use a lot of Japanese ingredients and techniques - or I may add in some Chinese touches.

"I guess I use a lot of Japanese, Chinese and Thai ingredients - sometimes all at the same time - and come up with a dish that isn't really any of them; not Thai, Japanese or Chinese. What is it, really? Gosh, I really don't have a word for it."

Others, however, have had many. Like "great" or "imaginative" or sometimes, simply, "Wow."

Individualistic and original as Binuya is, he is not the sole Seattle innovator of these multicultural approaches. He is in many ways the beneficiary and apostle of ideas, themes and techniques that have been simmering in some of this city's most original kitchens for the past dozen years, all of which have this much in common:

The incorporation (or fusion) of Asian elements with Pacific Northwest ingredients and standard regional favorites. It has frequently been called Pacific Rim cooking; in any case, it represents a culinary hybrid of considerable, and growing, sophistication.

BINUYA DECIDED HE wanted to be a cook by the time he was 17. Just graduated from Vashon Island High School, he entered the culinary program at South Seattle Community College (where his mother, Victoria, a pastry chef, had preceded him). He spent five quarters at SCCC and went to work at Rosellini's Other Place with Robert Rosellini.

The Other Place, which has since folded, was the first of Seattle's restaurants to stress (almost in a dogmatic fashion) the virtues of local products, down to the ludicrous extent of rhapsodizing on the qualities of the grass the lamb had been pastured upon. Still, it was a serious, dedicated kitchen made up of gastronomic true believers.

"I started in the pantry," Binuya recalls, "worked up through all of the other stations in the kitchen, and at that time Bruce Naftaly was the head chef. Bruce had a real influence on me."

Binuya thought that he should get a four-year degree and headed next to Washington State University for a year in the hotel and restaurant program there. "But I really enjoyed cooking. And I missed it. I came back and talked to Bruce. He told me: `You seem to have a love for this, and a knack for it.' "

BINUYA CAME BACK TO Seattle, worked again with Naftaly ("He was, of course, on the extreme cutting edge of things. His style is still vivid in my memory").

He then followed chef David Springer to the kitchens of the Sorrento Hotel and the Hunt Club - a bigger dining room, a high-pressure operation (it still is). He was promoted to banquet chef. It was 1982. He was 20.

Two years later, he passed up an invitation to work with Dominique Place at Dominique's Place in Madison Park. "I still regret that," he said. "I miss not having worked with him and his saucing techniques."

Instead he was recruited to Cafe Sport as assistant to Tom Douglas - then in the process of becoming his own legend.

"Tom was great. He opened my eyes. He was an Asian chef in a white man's body. He was more Asian than I was - I am finally getting my own Asian feel and touch. He ran a kitchen that was a casual place, where creativity was allowed in every stage of the operation."

After three years with Douglas, Binuya was recruited to open the Brooklyn Cafe as head chef. The owners took him to San Francisco, he recalls, to show him the kind of imagination and sophistication they wanted to recreate up here.

Instead: "They kept changing things back to a basic steak and fish house. I resisted. And I got fired. It was a bad time for me. It was Christmas. I went to the Philippines for two months and tried to get in touch with myself."

He came back to Seattle and "bumped into" Jim Malevitsis, the gregarious owner of the Adriatica. "Jim told me about a project he was working on with Rich Malia (formerly of Mrs. Malia's). They wanted me to design and run the kitchen."

But it would be two more years before the project restaurant, Ponti, would clear all of the environmental concerns of near-water construction and actually get the walls up. Ponti celebrated its second anniversary in late November of 1992.

FROM THE OUTSET, there was a certain ethnic confusion. The restaurant's name suggested an Italian bill of fare - Ponti means bridges in Italian. "A lot of people still wander in and wonder why they can't have spaghetti and meatballs," he smiled.

A few of the dishes are frankly Italian - notably a splendid Marsala-Braised Ellensburg Lamb Shank with Grilled Sage Polenta for a modest $13.95. But most of what's on the card borrows little from Italy other than inspiration.

A stunning example is the penne.

This is no mere penne pasta with a tomato sauce. The menu description says it comprehensively: "Thai Curry Penne, Dungeness Crabmeat, Ginger Tomato Chutney and Fresh Basil Chiffonade." It's $16.95 worth of sheer heaven.

It looks Italian - kind of. It smells Indian or Thai. But its taste breaks all international boundaries. How did Binuya come up with it?

"A national trade magazine had come in and done an article on the restaurant. They had a lot of nice things to say. But one of the negatives - and it was true - was that my pastas weren't as strong as they could be. I knew that. My strong points have always been my grills.

"So one night after that, I couldn't sleep. I thought about it until about 3 in the morning. And then I came back down here and opened up the kitchen. I worked on it until morning and knocked this out. Now it practically flies out of here every night."

Some other examples of Binuya's menu:

An incredible Brazilian Lobster Stew with Mussels, Tomato, Coconut Milk Ginger and Cilantro Pesto ($19.95), is one of the most popular items, almost always on the fresh sheet. The half lobster is curled over a mound of broth-drenched basmati rice (I wondered if a Thai jasmine rice might not work better with the other Southeast Asian flavors).

Chilean Sea Bass Wrapped in Smoked Grape Leaves with Pine Nuts, Lemon and Shallots ($16.50).

The prettiest arrangement is Broiled Alaskan Spot Prawns with Cilantro Vinaigrette and Jalapeno-Papaya Salsa ($19.50).

I also enjoyed a cayenne flour-dredged Monkfish with Ginger-Crayfish Sauce and some magnificent eggplant fritters ($17.95).

Binuya is not a kitchen recluse, although he works as lead cook on the hot line on busy nights. He finds time for continued menu and recipe developement, and makes time for field trips to wild-mushroom foraging sites on the Olympic Peninsula.

On my first visit to Ponti two years ago, I awarded the restaurant three stars. It is now up to three and a half - and climbing.

# # # 1/2 $$$ Ponti Seafood Grill, 3014 Third Ave. N. Lunch ($7 to $12) 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Dinner ($11 to $20) 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; until 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Sunday brunch ($7 to $13) 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lounge, full bar. Major credit cards. Nonsmoking area. Reservations: 284-3000.

------------------------------------ . PONTI THAI CURRY PENNE . ------------------------------------ . 2 servings .

. TOMATO CHUTNEY: .

1/2 cup rice vinegar . 1 teaspoon grated ginger .

1/4 cup brown sugar . 2 teaspoons lemon juice . 1 (16-ounce) can pear tomatoes, drained and chopped . 1 stick cinnamon .

. CURRY: .

. 1 tablespoon butter . 1 teaspoon chopped garlic .

1/4 cup diced onion . 1 large Granny Smith apple, cored and diced . 2 teaspoons curry powder .

1/4 teaspoon salt . Pepper to taste . 1 cup Marsala . 1 cup chicken broth . 3 teaspoons Thai red curry paste . 2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce . 1 cup coconut milk . 1 cup whipping cream .

1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package directions .

1/4 pound crabmeat . Chopped fresh basil .

. 1. To prepare the chutney: Combine the vinegar, ginger, brown sugar and lemon juice. Simmer 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cinnamon. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. .

. 2. To prepare the curry: In a large saucepan combine the butter, garlic, onion, apple, curry, salt and pepper. Saute over high heat until the onions are soft. .

. 3. Add the Marsala to the apple-onion mixture and reduce by half. Add the chicken broth, curry paste and fish sauce; simmer 10 minutes. Let cool and blend to a puree in a food processor or blender. .

. 4. Transfer back to the saucepan and add the coconut milk and cream. Cook until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes. .

. 5. Drain the pasta and combine with the crabmeat and sauce. Divide between two plates and top with the tomato chutney and fresh chopped basil. . Note: There was enough sauce in this recipe for 3/4 to 1 pound of pasta. .

. John Hinterberger's food columns and restaurant reviews appear Sundays in Pacific and Fridays in Tempo. Mike Siegel is a Seattle Times staff photographer. Cece Sullivan of the Times Food Department tested this recipe. .