HOW often does the following happen to you? You're walking through a store, spot a lovely objet d'art, flip it over to get a peek at the price tag (gauche I know, but you cannot resist), and, pleased to see so many digits, you tell a friend with pride, "Ho hum, I always pick the most expensive thing in the store." Mariposa aims for
the stratosphereYou will have much to feel proud about at Neiman-Marcus, for nearly everything you touch will be worth gold. The first item I picked up was a $750 crystal-beaded evening bag. Very dangerous. Luckily, I had no time for monetary exchanges. I had reservations at Mariposa.
I guess they expected a riot because the store-side entrance was cordoned off. Perhaps someone had too much Studio 54 on the brain. Instead of the infamous red velvet rope, however, Mariposa's is blue. Guests didn't know whether to step over the thing or yell over to the hostesses yards away. (There is no problem at the valet entrance.) Once inside, the world of designer totes and gowns seems distant. The room has an open feel and ocean view of a resort, rather than a mall tenant.
Mariposa's menu is a couple of tiers above that of other retail kitchens, with prices aiming toward the stratosphere occupied by top Hawaii Regional Cuisine chefs, who are its real competition. You'll pay about $15 to $24 by day for entrees, but think of it this way: at night, when entrees run $20 to $29, dinner for two is among NM's most affordable offerings.
Executive chef Douglas Lum, formerly of Sunset Grill and Maui's Joe's Bar and Grill, created a menu that attempts to balance NM's chile-infused Heritage Cuisine with Hawaii regional sensibilities. It's the newer NM portion that will attract the most attention from kama'aina.
AT night, start with three dainty, but meaty, buttonlike wok-fried shrimp-and-crab cakes ($13) served with a creamy mustard-soy-butter sauce. If you're really hungry, try one of NM's signature dishes of smoked pork ribs ($10). This is brushed with understated Red River tequila barbecue sauce and accompanied by fresh coleslaw and crisp-fried tobacco onions.
At least two evening entrees are disappointments. To a newcomer, the flavor of lemongrass is intense and exotic. To the rest of us, the flavor is too faint, too pedestrian, as used in lemongrass-crusted opah (market).
Spiced jumbo prawns ($25) went the opposite route, offering too much of a good thing, that is, chile powder liberally poured onto the grilled prawns. It's too bad because the accompanying tomato risotto was excellent, topped with fresh corn kernels.
My favorite dishes were the rack of lamb ($29) with ancho chile aioli and smoked tomato demi-glace and failproof seared scallops ($23) on garlic linguine, served with mounds of sauteed spinach and mushrooms.
To finish, heavy desserts ($6), such as the macadamia pie drizzled with butterscotch sauce and Kona coffee-infused mocha brulee, can be divided four ways.
Mariposa stays open past store hours so my friends and I hoped we could go on a spree through the empty store. No such luck.
Mariposa: Neiman Marcus, third floor, Ala Moana Center
Hours: Lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday; afternoon menu/ tea 3 to 5 p.m. daily; Sunday brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Prices: For two, $35 to $45 for lunch; $55 to $65 for dinner without drinks
Call: 951-3420See a listing of past restaurants reviewed in the
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Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
-- excellent;
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com
