Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
The Weekly Eater
SIDE Street Inn co-owner Colin Nishida has a new gig on the side, and it looks as if he picked up pointers from friends like chefs Roy Yamaguchi, Alan Wong and wine guy Chuck Furuya. Side Street goes
uptown in styleWhere Side Street built its reputation on local grinds, the new Fort Street Bar & Grill carries on a little of that tradition, then adds Ratatouille Polenta, Chevre and Olive Tapenade to the menu, fancy ingredients for a guy best known for no-nonsense grilled pork chops served with ketchup.
Not to worry. He and partners Joe Takata and chef Don Maruyama show few signs of betraying those roots. Even at their most extravagant, dishes at Fort Street retain a comfort food quality. Side Street's motto of "Simple food, done right" holds up well here.
It's a perfect lunch escape and pau hana hangout for downtown Honolulu's office crowd. If you have a half-hour for lunch, opt for take-out, available from 10:30 a.m. Plates of local staples like Hamburger Steak and Chicken Hekka run $4.25 (mini) to $5.75.
FORT STREET BAR & GRILL
Food 1/2
Atmosphere Service Value
Address: Amfac Center lobby, 745 Fort St.
On rare occasions when you do have a project-free afternoon, you can dine upstairs. Those who have been to Side Street know it's no looker. Fort Street Bar & Grill offers an improvement. Though it still has a lounge look and 1980s color scheme, the room is meant to have a softer, unisex appeal.
The heavier items will tempt you, but trust me, leave these to your rivals, who'll waddle back to their offices in need of a siesta. A combination of Nishida's famous Guava Baby Back Ribs ($14.50) paired with garlic smashed potatoes, or Peppercorn Rib-eye Steak ($15.95) with horseradish cream sauce will do that to a person.
Meanwhile, you'll be closing deals left and right thanks to a vitamin-rich Spinach Salad ($7.95), with crumbled bacon, egg and chevre, or goat cheese.
If you prefer a sandwich for lunch, choose from the likes of a Grilled Portobello Mushroom ($8.95) topped by twin pestos of basil and sun-dried tomato on an onion bun, and a Vietnamese-style Chicken Breast Sandwich ($8.25) topped with sweetened Asian slaw. You don't even have to fear cutting your gums on the French baguette.
IN the evening you can choose items off a Light Supper Menu from 5 p.m. or a Pau Hana Pupu Menu from 4 p.m. I don't know how the light supper will fare. The entrees are divine, but a tad antisocial if you're there with your work buddies, when it seems only those famous Pork Chops, Chicken Wings ($8) and Guava Ribs ($11) will do.
Some items, like the Poke Tower -- layers of rare, seared steak, ahi and tako poke on crispy won ton -- are easy crossovers between the dinner crowd and the pau hana crowd.
You'll definitely want to share the Fettuccine with Char-broiled Chicken Breast ($13.95) because they serve a vat of it. Though nicely al dente, with a mild basil pesto cream sauce, this is too much carbohydrate for one.
Miso-Marinated Salmon ($12.95) is wonderful, seared to retain its succulence. And you won't go wrong with desserts of a Cabernet-poached pear, or Ka'u orange chocolate mousse cake straight from Alan Wong's.
I hope Fort Street Bar & Grill is a success. Then, with luck, Nishida's next move will be to my neighborhood, Kailua.
See a listing of past restaurants reviewed in the
section online. Click the logo to go!
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:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com
