The Weekly Eater
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Viagra has the power to make men strong, but it may have zapped some of food's fun and allure. There’s romance on the plate,
even in the post-Viagra eraConsider our ancestors, rooting around in the dirt for plant bulbs, plucking pine nuts, shucking oysters or grinding up deer horn -- or other animal parts we do not wish to think about -- with the sole purpose of restoring or magnifying their libidos. But why root around when the secret lies in a little blue pill?
Well, a good part of the adventure lies in the creation of the perfect recipe for seduction. Will it work or won't it? The mystery is possibly more tantalizing than the physical experiments that take place after ingesting said recipe.
In my experience, it's men who most often compare the art of love to that of eating. Physiology seems to back them up as the human response to tactile and visual pleasures -- whether biting into a slice of cheesecake or staring at a picture of Colin Farrell (see the upcoming Bruce Willis movie "Hart's War") -- is euphoria.
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The little blue pill removes uncertainty about male virility, but can a pill provide as much euphoria as a rich dark piece of chocolate? Films such as "Like Water for Chocolate" and "Chocolat," after all, are as much about the magical product of the cacao bean as the people whose lives are bound by the substance.Modern chocolate -- with its fat and sugar content -- has little in common with the chocolatl or "bitter water" said to have been introduced to man by the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. In the 1500s the Mexican emperor Montezuma consumed it in such great quantities, and specifically before entering the harem room, that Spanish explorers eagerly spread the potion around the Western world.
TO THIS DAY, chocolate figures prominently on island menus. Over at La Mer, the most romantic dish is the Dreams of Chocolate dessert trio featuring Chocolate Brandied Cherry Mousse made with Valrhona chocolate, Gold Leaf Napoleon and Gianduja Ice Cream, at $18. This can be paired with a glass ($12) of Chateau Domaine la Tour Vieille 1999, a Banyuls from Rhône, France, which sommelier Randy Ching said "goes great with chocolate. It's a sweet red vin du naturel not as high in alcohol as port."
Chef Chai Chaowasaree of Chai's Island Bistro said the most romantic dish at his restaurant is no more complex than a Strawberry Fondue: strawberries served with a chocolate sauce made from Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate melted with heavy cream, Grand Marnier and orange peels.
Over at Alan Wong's Restaurant, Wong couldn't decide on the most romantic dish served there, but said, "Several people have proposed at my restaurant, and it usually happens after dessert. I think it's a champagne-and-chocolate kind of thing."
He said there's no particular day of the week when it's most likely to happen, but ladies (or gents) should be on guard if their dates surprise them by pre-ordering the chef's tasting menu: seven courses of the day's finest selections at $85 per person. A memorable event, after all, must be accompanied by a memorable meal.
LET'S NOT FORGET that other category of aphrodisiacs: seafood. It's the protein, mineral content and lightness of seafood that gives it mythical status as a food of love.
At Michel's, with its romantic beachfront location, general manager Philip Shaw and executive chef Eberhard Kintscher name the Salmon St. Jacques, at $36, as the restaurant's most romantic dish. Not content to stop with one type of seafood, Kintscher layers a salmon steak with salmon mousse, thinly sliced scallops and caviar, served with a red wine-butter sauce.Shaw pairs the dish with champagne, a Brillecart-Salmon.
"It's the color that's so outstanding. It's a Brut Rosé that's a perfect match, especially with the caviar," he said.
At Chef Mavro's, chef George Mavrothalassitis named an appetizer of Pacific Oyster Cressonniere as his most romantic dish. The oyster is served in its shell with a puree of potato and leeks, accented with lemongrass and topped with salmon roe and a bouquet of watercress.
Maybe the French don't need as much help as Americans, but the chef said eating oysters on Valentine's Day was new to him when he arrived in this country.
"In France it's not so big a celebration as it is here, where it's like life or death. I sold out for Valentine's two weeks ago, and the people who call now say, 'Oh my God, you kill me.'"
Neither Viagra, nor seafood, nor chocolate will save those who fail to make proper V-Day reservations.
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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:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com
excellent; very good, exceeds expectations; average; below average.
