SHANE Sutton's restaurant isn't big or glitzy, following neither fad nor fashion. Its decor can be most generously described as "rustic." Sutton has no use for splashy ad campaigns and, what's more, his restaurant doesn't have that frantic hello-how-are-you-sit-down-hurry-up-we're-booked-time's-up pace associated with so much of the contemporary dining experience. French fare
served up
with graceHow un-American! And appropriately so. Sutton has taken over Le Guignol, a restaurant that has changed hands several times through the years, but endures because it is so charming, so quintessentially French -- the kind of place where meals are hearty, the pace is leisurely and hospitality reigns. It'll make a good addition to your itinerary of things to do during the French Festival that starts Saturday around town and continues through Nov. 22. (See details below, left.)
There's nothing like escargot in garlic butter ($8.50) or onion soup ($6.50) to put you in the right frame of mind for the fete.
Even so, there's an all-American story behind Sutton's success. In a past life, the 23-year-old chef -- still working toward his culinary degree at Kapiolani Community College -- was an automotive sales guy with dreams of terrines. not tires. These days, he and his brother Travis work the kitchen, while mom Leilani waits on tables and papa Dan lends a hand washing dishes. Good old-fashioned Hawaiian hospitality accounts for the restaurant's warm, intimate ambience. To Leilani, customers aren't just walking billfolds; we are "her babies," to be cooed over and pampered.
Don't ask her to give up any of Shane's recipe secrets, however; she says he won't even share them with her!
IN addition to the escargot, one might start with smooth foie gras ($8.95), goose liver pate served with a sweet jam of onions and berries. It's tempting to fill up on this and bread alone, but you would be cheating yourself out of other good eats.
In another classic dish, Les Saint-Jacques a la Champenoise ($8.95), tender sea scallops are blanketed between two thin layers of puff pastry and surrounded by a creamy sauce bearing a hint of curry.
Nearly every sauce is a cream sauce here, but none of it seems heavy. If you don't know what to order, chill a while and sniff out the wonderful aromas emanating from the kitchen. The Roast Rack of Lamb ($26.95) smelled wonderful, but alas, I had already settled on shrimp flambeed with Pernod ($18.95) and served with a precious pink sauce of garlic, basil, butter and tomato. Also wonderful, the filet mignon ($19.95) in a rich brown sauce dotted with green peppercorns.
The menu offers several veal dishes, poached salmon and Chicken a la Dijonnaise. And nightly, the chef offers a special prix fixe menu, with appetizer to dessert running about $20.
Desserts here, too, are no mere afterthoughts. This is one of the few places that serves Cherries Jubilee ($6.50) and an Ice Souffle with Grand Marnier ($6.50), with the texture of custard.
Le Guignol is truly a rarity these days -- an intimately staffed eatery stressing labor-intensive preparations and quality over quantity.
Le Guignol: 1614 Kalakaua Ave. (park in back of building)
Hours: 5:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays
Prices: About $48 to $55 for two; BYOB
Call: 947-5525
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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
