11/01/2017
Pompano Grill in Cocoa Beach welcomes former Mango Tree chef Luca Filadi
Maria Sonnenberg, For FLORIDA TODAY Published 5:33 p.m. ET Oct. 31, 2017
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(Photo: Erika Sampson/Pompano Grill)
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If you haven’t visited Pompano Grill in recent weeks, you’re in for a real treat, for owner Jackie Sampson recently welcomed Chef Luca Filadi to her restaurant.
You remember Filadi, he of the great, late Mango Tree in Cocoa Beach and Cibo in Rockledge? Yup, he is now creating his culinary magic at Pompano Grill in Cocoa Beach.
“Luca has been with us about a month now,” said Sampson. “We have been working on some exiting new menu items.”
Irma did some damage to Pompano Grill, but the restaurant is back to normal. In fact, it reappeared better than ever, thanks to a remodel. With the new look and the new menu, things are rosy.
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“Exciting things are ahead for us,” said Sampson.
Sampson is providing the perfect opportunity to get reacquainted with her restaurant, to enjoy the chef’s dishes and to get a head start on holiday merrymaking during Pompanos first annual Holiday Wine Mixer from 6 to 9 pm., Tuesday, Nov. 14.
Enjoy a sampling of Filadi's special hors d’oeuvres and Sampson's scrumptious desserts, while Sampson’s daughter, Erika, and Brian Kerney of Augustan Wine Imports pour a selection of aperitifs, white and red wines and bubblies as the Harbor City Trio entertain with live music during this “Sip, Swirl and Twirl” fest.
The mixer menu includes agnolotti al plin from Italy’s Piedmont, with fennel confit, langoustines and tarragon orange spuma; suppli di riso, Italian rice balls with zucchini and saffron; tuille with parmesan and cognac mousse; New York strip with red onion jam and horseradish sauce, fried goat cheese with beet gel and candied kumquat, grouper cheek scapece and a selection of mini-desserts paired with digestifs.
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Chef Filadi has accomplished serious tweaking of the menu, with the addition of dishes such as the softshell crab tacos ($13) appetizer.
“No one else that we know of is doing them,” said Sampson. “It’s a tempura-battered softshell crab, deep fried and topped with a scapece of vegetables (Italian-style picked veggies) with a chipotle mayo.”
The pasta dishes at Pompano, all housemade, are definitely worth the stop.
“My personal favorite is the branzino ravioli,” said Sampson. “The filling is divine.”
Divine indeed, since the $26 entree is bathed in a lemon compound butter with a hit of rosemary and garlic, blistered grape tomatoes, a shrimp ragu and pesto garnish.
Wasabi crusted yellow fin tuna at Pompan Grill is served
Wasabi crusted yellow fin tuna at Pompan Grill is served with baby bok choy and forbidden rice with a soy ginger and lime vinaigrette. (Photo: Erika Sampson/Pompano Grill)
Other house specialties include the wasabi crusted yellow fin tuna (market price), served with baby bok choy and forbidden rice with a soy ginger and lime vinaigrette, the Day Boat Scallops, jumbo scallops served with Peruvian green chili sauce and Pompano’s housemade bacon-fig jam ($32), and Shrimp & Grits ($26), blackened shrimp served over Vermont white cheddar and jalapeno stone ground grits, topped with shrimp bisque and bacon lardons.
In addition to the crab tacos, you can also get started with appetizers such as escargot ($9), sauteed in a brandy cream sauce with leeks and capers, or the Panko-coated deep-fried brie wedges, also $9, served with a lingonberry compote.
From the land, Pompano Grill features entrees such as Jerk Chicken Mac & Cheese ($22), jerk-marinated chicken breast with onions, peppers and pineapple served the restaurant’s signature Vermont white cheddar mac ‘n cheese, topped with house-made pickled vegetables.
As for endings, there are plenty of happy ones at Pompano Grill, since Sampson well knows her way around drool-inducing desserts.
Have you tried
What: The new menu
Where: Pompano Grill, 110 N. Brevard Ave., Cocoa Beach
Info: 321-784-9005 or pompanogrill.com
Also: The Holiday Wine Mixer will be 6 to 9 pm. Nov. 14. Cost is $65 per guest, plus tax and gratuity. To reserve, call 321-784-9005.
Email [email protected].
