Dear Hawaii Diner Reader,
Summer is here and that means lots of travel, which has already brought friends from afar to the Islands with more scheduled to visit in July. Doing what I do means that everyone wants me to tell them where to go eat. (Can you tell that all my friends are food-lovers, too?) And that leads to the pleasant dilemma of learning more about their preferences and what they want to try here that maybe isn't so readily available for them at home. With friends from Guam, I know it is pointless to send them to Asian restaurants as Guam's Thai, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese restaurants are as good as, if not better than, those here on Oahu. Even the sole Indian restaurant is very good and Hawaii Regional Cuisine has been all over Guam for years just like it is here. So, where to suggest?
At this writing, the first group have eaten at many spots that they enjoyed, but two have really stood out for them, and those are 12th Ave Grill (see my review below) and town. Part of town's appeal for them is been the fact that they are open all day, making it easy to pop in when it's convenient rather than trying to juggle their schedule around a restaurant. They haven't hit every place yet - 10 more days to go - so I will have a round up of hits and misses for the next newsletter.
We would like to welcome the newest member of the HawaiiDiner.com and Everybody Eats Ohana, the legendary Highway Inn in Waipahu. The history (nearly 60 years) of this family-owned and operated enterprise is a testament to the dedication of the generations who take tradition seriously. Did you know that they receive approximately 6,000 ti leaves each month which are then hand washed before being used to prepare lau lau? The recipes and methods of preparing their classic dishes hasn't changed since founders Seiichi and Nancy Toguchi opened the restaurant in 1947. It's a great story and great food.
If you're traveling, go safely and enjoy your holiday. If you're staying home, make time to get out and appreciate our lovely natural environment. And, in anticipation of next month, Happy Fourth of July!
Mahalo nui loa,
Gail
Food and Restaurant News Around the Islands
Opening Soon
Chin's Chinese, aka Chin's at Kahala, is scheduled to officially open in early July. Chin's is located in Kahala across from the mall where Tony Roma's was until it closed a few months ago. The chef involved in the project, Kwok Wah "Sunny" Chan, is widely considered to be one of the very best Chinese chefs here in Hawaii. He and his partners in this venture evidently believe that the time has come for a fine-dining Chinese restaurant in the East Oahu area. My hope is that the Szechuan dishes offered will be fiery and flavorsome! Check in with 'Diner Dish' for updates on this much-anticipated opening.
Out of the blue, I learned that the newest IHOP in the state is not going to be at Windward Mall - it's going to be in Waikiki inside the Ohana Waikiki Malia Hotel on Kuhio. This one almost passed under my radar screen but it appears that it will open Tuesday June 13.
No exact date has been given yet but E&O Trading Co will open their fourth location at the Lahaina Cannery Mall on Maui sometime this month. The one here in Honolulu seems to be doing well and was endorsed by Wanda A. Adams of the Honolulu Advertiser during our podcast conversation. She is particularly fond of the Indonesian Corn Fritters. We love them so much we undertook to replicate the recipe, which you can see here.
Other News
Shokudo is headed for Beverly Hills. Their goal is to open 50 restaurants nationwide during the next 10 years, and Honolulu was the first stop. When they opened here just a year ago, I think everyone was keeping their fingers crossed to see whether the concept would take off. Thanks to a combination of interesting food, good service and an excellent value-price ratio, it has become a hit. The next stop for them is on La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills. La Cienega is the 'Restaurant Row' of Los Angeles with such notable spots as L'Orangerie and Sona. Barring the usual delays, they plan to open later this year. Congratulations to everyone at Dream Dining Corporation!
George Mavrothalassitis has added one more in-kitchen class and lunch at his eponymous restaurant, Chef Mavro, for Saturday, November 4, 2006 from 9am-12:30pm. You might think this is early to reserve for a cooking class but the June and September classes sold out months ago. I'm not surprised at the popularity of his classes. He is a particularly charming and engaging person with a genuine passion for sharing his vast culinary knowledge. The cost is $165 plus tax and includes the class, a three-course meal with wine as well as a lavish goodie bag. This is a perfect gift to give the foodie in your life. For more details and to reserve, visit gourmetcookinghawaii.com.
John Heckathorn's radio show 'Heckathorn's Hot Plate' is on hiatus. John said that he didn't realize how tired he was until he didn't have to do a show every week day. Hopefully, he'll be back on the air after the summer.
Mariposa, inside Neiman Marcus, remains closed until Thursday June 15 as they undergo a kitchen renovation. According to Marianne Schultz, Neiman Marcus has removed part of the swimsuit section to expand the coffee bar on the 1st floor to accommodate guests who refuse to go anywhere else.
Fundraising Events
We were delighted to learn that the recent Hale Aina Golf Tournament took in a record $32,000 for culinary education. Celebrity chefs joined in the golf game and later enjoyed a meal from several great places including Roys, The Bistro at Century Center and town. The best part of this fundraiser is that it allows the Hale Aina Ohana to sponsor programs like the visiting chef intensive learning experience and workshops throughout the Islands. A worthy cause and we'll keep you posted on the when and where for next year's event.
Taste of Honolulu is coming up at the end of this month on Friday June 23 and Saturday June 24. Sadly, all the tickets for the increasingly popular Chefs du Jour dinners are sold out. I don't think they were ever offered to the public this year and the limited number of seats may have been snapped up by corporate types. No worries though, the real fun is with the crowds and there will be plenty of great restaurants to choose from as well as what promises to be the most popular offering there - a sushi and premium sake both sponsored by Marukai - yes, that Marukai where you think only your Japanese grandmother shops!
Agriculture Report - Fine Weather Benefits Crops
Excellent weather conditions have prevailed over the entire state during the past few weeks leading to good fruit set and ripening for fruit and vine crops. The dry conditions have required irrigation in some areas to maintain proper crop growth. Overall, fields and crops are in good condition.
A look at some specific crops:
Tomato - The Windward Oahu crop which was replanted following the heavy rains earlier in the year are coming along nicely. On the Big Island, the greenhouse crop is doing very well and the hydroponic crop is yielding enough fruit to supply the local market as well as for shipping. Reports from the local Farmers' Market indicate that we should see local tomatoes in our grocery stores on Oahu in July.
Sweet Corn - East Hawaii fields are in active harvest mode and light harvesting is expected in Leeward Oahu fields. Newly-planted corn is benefitting from the warm, dry and sunny conditions. There should be an adequate supply of sweet corn for the local market as the summer progresses.
Eggplant - Active harvesting of Windward Oahu fields is heavy and the crop is in good condition. New plants are doing well also.
Banana - Some irrigation has been required to support the development of the new banana crop in Oahu orchards. Harvesting is good for mature plants and there should be an adequate supply for the local market. Kauai and the Big Island are also harvesting.
Papaya - Perhaps the crop most damaged by the recent rains, many Oahu fields had to be abandoned. New and young plantings are showing good progress due to the warm, sunny conditions. On Kauai the crop is in much the same condition as Oahu but the East Hawaii orchards are in somewhat better shape with production increasing steadily.
Dry Onions - The Maui crop is doing quite well and sustained less damage than anticipated from the extended rain. Fields currently being harvested are showing good yields.
Green Onions - Planting and harvesting of Windward Oahu crops continues at a steady pace. The quality of the harvested crop is good.
Entertaining at Home - Do Something Different, A Southern-Style Picnic
Since next month's newsletter will not arrive in time for the extended Fourth of July weekend, we are including one of our favorite 'Entertaining at Home' ideas - a scaled down version of a real Southern feast. This is such an easy party to execute. Most everything can be done in advance and we fully support 'out sourcing' any of the stuff you don't feel up to doing. Get the plan.
12th Ave Grill - Like Your Own Kitchen But Better!
12th Ave Grill and I got off to a rocky start. Regular readers will recall a brief report on a less than happy experience at the restaurant a month or two ago which may lead some to wonder why I decided to return.
The answer is three-fold. The first reason applies to my general philosophy of restaurants and knowing that a single bad experience, especially when it is service-related, doesn't usually give a true picture. When it comes to service, I know that most places can have an 'off-day'. On the other hand there are places where the service problems are systemic and great food is not enough to make me a regular customer. That said, I didn't believe the experience I had at 12th Ave Grill was typical, especially in light of the mostly positive reports I've heard from diners I trust.
The second reason was the recent hiring of Kevin Dee, one of Honolulu's most talented young chefs, and pastry chef, Samantha Choy, who is a master of desserts. The two of them have proven ability to forge devoted followers amongst people who appreciate great food, and I knew their talents could really shine in a spot like 12th Ave Grill. Evidently, the food menu hasn't changed much since Kevin started and I certainly hope to see some of his influence on it sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, the dessert menu has changed and it is stellar.
The clincher was when long-time friend and successful restaurateur, Ronnie Calvo-Perez, told me she was planning a vacation in Honolulu and asked where I thought she and the family should eat - 12th Ave Grill was one of the places that kept coming to mind, and when they asked me to join them for dinner there one evening, I went along. Might I say, it was a good decision.
I arrived on-time but my dining companions were delayed due to the challenge of getting a taxi and loading the children into said taxi. I was seated right away even though I would have understood if they wanted to wait until all of us arrived. Water and the wine list appeared promptly and after ordering a glass of wine, I sat back to enjoy being alone and observe my fellow diners. Dessert was just being delivered to the threesome next to me and it was a pleasure to see the delight on their faces as they dug into Sami's desserts. (Full disclosure here: I adore Sami and her desserts so I can in no way pretend to be neutral in this regard!) A few minutes later the booth across the aisle received their desserts and the murmurs of "It's so good!" and "You must try this!" followed by the passing of plates started all over again. I blame this experience for the ordering decisions which were to follow.
Observing the daily specials on the chalkboard above the kitchen I noted other smaller chalkboards in the kitchen where they were marking off the number of specials still available. One of these looked suspiciously like a highly desirable dessert - written on the board was "PB" and the numbers 1-6 in circles, three of the circles were x-ed out. Feeling a bit of panic I flagged down our server and asked him what the "PB" was and, as I suspected, it was Sami's famous Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Tartlet. He promptly said that he could set one aside for us. I confess to breathing a sigh of relief - great desserts can do that to me.
Ronnie and family arrived and the staff immediately decided it would be better to seat us in a booth rather than the table which they had reserved. This turned out to be a very good idea providing more room for us and more space for food.
We piled into the booth and set about studying the menu and the wine list. Despite juggling a squirmy three year-old boy (is there any other kind?) and a more sedate six year-old girl, a lively discussion of what to order ensued. We settled on three appetizers, two entrees and four (yes, four!) desserts and a bottle of Reisling for the adults.
Let me take just a moment to talk about 12th Ave Grill's wine list. While the list is not huge (27 offered), it is well chosen and affordable. 10 of the wines are available by the glass. The most expensive wine on the list is $44.50 and half of the wines are less than $30. It's the right-sized and right-priced list for this restaurant. New World wines dominate but there are some French and Italian selections as well.
On to the food. The appetizers arrived and from that moment on it was every man and his fork for himself. The famous Mac & Cheese ($5.95) with a creamy blend of white cheeses was almost instantly appropriated by the three year-old. We did the smart thing and ordered another one. The Brie Bruschetta ($8.95) topped with fresh tomatoes, olives and fresh basil reminded me of why simple dishes are so hard to do well and so magical when they are. When you only have a few ingredients they must be perfect - crusty bread with a yeasty warmth, brie with a mellow smoothness, juicy ripe tomatoes bursting with fresh flavor, briny olives for bite and the heady perfume of aromatic basil. If any of these had been inferior, the dish would have been acceptable, but everything was good and that made this simple dish a pleasure to eat.
Calamari Fritti ($8.95) appeared and it was very nicely presented with a zesty roasted tomato sauce providing a colorful and tasteful counterpoint to the rather bland cephalopod. The drizzle of garlic aioli across the top added yet another layer of flavor. I like fried calamari very much, but I do prefer one that has a less thick coating. It's really just a matter of personal preference as the batter was crisp and light in taste without a hint of excess oil. The squid itself was surprisingly tender.
For entrees we selected the single most raved about item on the menu, Kim Chee Marinated Skirt Steak ($18.95) and a less heralded salmon dish, Hickory Roasted Organic King Salmon ($19.95). Every single person and every single food writer who has eaten it has gone on and on about the Kim Chee steak. In fact, I simply refused to order it on my first visit as I really wanted to try other things like the Cinnamon Braised Short Ribs ($19.95) and the Grilled Pork Chop ($19.75). [Please forgive a brief detour to dinners past. I highly recommend the ribs. They were fork-tender and the scent and taste of cinnamon enhanced the beef so well that it reminded me of old-fashioned mincemeat. The pork chop was perfect but the accompanying potato pancake suffered from an overly-generous dousing of horseradish creme fraiche - next time I'd have them skip it or bring it on the side.]
And now, back to the steak. I'm glad we ordered it this evening so I finally understand what everyone has been raving about. A near fork-fight ensued as the just slightly less than medium-rare slices were greedily consumed. The chef did a brilliant job of cooking this meat to its optimum temperature, ensuring full flavor and the right amount of chew. The meat is well-seasoned but not spicy and the kim chee flavor is so subtle you probably wouldn't recognize it as kim chee if it didn't say so on the menu. The vegetable melange accompanying the beef was a bit overdone and would have been a better complement to the dish if it had retained a touch of crispness.
The salmon paled in comparison but it was a worthy dish that salmon lovers would surely appreciate. The portion was a very nice-sized filet and the goat cheese crust balanced the strong salmon flavor while the fresh corn, roasted potatoes and shrimp in a mustard-dill sauce it was resting atop pulled the whole dish together.
Before moving on to the desserts I would like to make mention of the outstanding job the entire staff and kitchen did in accommodating the children. Just one example of several I could mention will suffice. We asked our server if it would be possible for them to make a grilled cheese sandwich. He said he would check with the kitchen and when he returned he told us that they only had a couple of cheeses that might be suitable and suggested the milder of the two. The sandwich was presented just as carefully as any of the other dishes and looked so appetizing that we all had a bite before passing it on to the children.
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