March 28, 2023 – Some blessings, it turns out, dress in disguise.
At least that’s how chef/co-owner Klaus Georis is viewing the reboot of Maligne on Broadway/Obama Way in Seaside.
The high-end wood-fired seafood restaurant, which boasted a house fermentation program, a robust raw bar and big city ambitions, closed for two weeks to reconsider a menu more compatible with its audience.
Maligne 2.0 debuts Wednesday, March 29. It will add lunch, casual backyard seating next to the oak-fired oven (should rains ever cease) and strategic partnerships designed to capture efficiencies to lower price points.
So long $180 “royale” seafood tower. Hello, $27 “royale with cheese.” Bye bye $75 ribeye, hello $25 lamb gnocchi with meat from a Cream Co.—whole animal purchased biweekly and used snout to tail.
Other items on the menu express a neighborhood bistro vibe more than upscale seafood sit-down—mussels frites ($24), chicken Parmesan with prosciutto ($28), smoked and roasted trout with Violini Farms asparagus and hollandaise made with Bee La Forte duck egg hollandaise ($29).
Speaking of the pioneering organic agroforestry outfit that is La Forte, Maligne will stock their duck eggs exclusively and stake out a dedicated garden and chicken coop next to where the La Forte llamas roam.
Smaller plates, which still keep some raw elements in play, include a half dozen oysters ($24), prosciutto prawns ($15) and burrata ($18). (Sidenote: Reports it would be a pizza joint were off-base.)
When Maligne opened, sous chef Greg Delgadillo joked that their team—as it was slow drying fruit for days over the hearth and crafting their own koji by ancient methods— “basically want[s] to make everything as difficult as possible.”
After learning that the Broadway Renaissance we reported on pre-COVID was put on hold, and that the concept wasn’t as copacetic with the area as they hoped, Georis and company took a listening tour around the area.
They heard from blue collar workers, and seized the chance to snack on humble pie and perspective.
The result is a shift away from labor-intensive top-shelf dining that took a large amount of skilled workers and required more butts in the seats.
“Even if I wanted to do thought-provoking food, that’s not necessarily what people want to eat,” Georis said. “I can cook tasting menus all day, but instead of putting my culinary needs ahead of everybody else’s, I realized: You can have the most creative restaurant in the world, but if no one in your area is eating there, are you really that creative?”
It’s inspiring to hear him reflect and reimagine, and appetizing to anticipate what comes next.
“I’m going to get out of my own way,” he says. “I don’t feel like I have to prove anything. I know how to cook fine dining. But I don’t think that’s the answer any more.”
Maligne’s new hours at 600 Broadway Ave. in Seaside are noon-2:30pm, 5-8:30pm Tuesday-Saturday. More at Maligne’s Instagram page.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
