CHEW ON THIS
Restaurant Report
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mariano Lalica, chef and part owner of Meritage, says the restaurant offers basic French and Italian fare.
Meritage Restaurant opens today in a corner of Restaurant Row that has seen many eateries try and fail. But chef Mariano Lalica, a partner in the new venture, is not worried about bad karma. Meritage opens with
French, Italian cuisine
Star-Bulletin staff
Meritage marks Lalica's first ownership stake, after serving as executive chef at Nick's Fishmarket, Acqua Restaurant and Don Ho's Island Grill. He's looking forward by turning back in terms of culinary trends.
"The theme I'm trying to avoid is Pacific Rim," Lalica said in describing his menu. "I'm doing French and Italian. I'm pretty much going back to the basics."
Although he plans to make good use of fresh local fish and produce, he's swearing off the notion of "fusion cuisine," which he says is not always successful. "Sometimes it worked out, but sometimes the flavor combinations are totally extreme."
One of the dishes he expects to be a Meritage signature is a traditional osso bucco on a bed of calypso beans, simmered with garlic sausage and duck confit.
Meritage (pronounced like "heritage") will be open weekdays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and daily 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner. Entree prices will range from $12 to $25 at dinner. From 9 p.m. to midnight, the restaurant will offer a late-night menu that's heavy on desserts (a soufflé of the day, for example). Music will be classical and jazz, on the soft side.
"All the people I know, that's their weakness: a good cup of coffee, good dessert and someplace to chat, enjoy people's company," Lalica said.
Call 529-8686.
Second for Sansei
Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar celebrates its second anniversary Oct. 15 with a benefit for the Nisei Project, a tribute to Japanese-American veterans of World War II.Owner D.K. Kodama will be joined by chefs from all three Sansei locations at the dinner and silent auction.
The Nisei Project is a dance performance conceived by choreographer Marla Hirokawa, formerly of Hilo, in honor of her father, Lawrence Hirokawa, a veteran of the 100th Battalion. She is taking her show on tour next year to raise funds for the Library of Congress's Veterans' History Project in Hawaii.
The silent auction and a portion of the dinner proceeds will go toward bringing Hirokawa's New York-based Covenant Dance Theatre to Hawaii next July.
The dinner celebration takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Sansei's Restaurant Row location. Cost is $100. Call the Nisei Project toll-free at 866-449-4409 or Vocational Management Consultants Inc. at 947-5702.
Special events
The Mariposa Cheese Culture: The monthly cheese-tasting at the Neiman Marcus restaurant includes a flight of three wines, 6 p.m. Wednesday. Cost is $20. Call 951-3420.Pau Cancer Party: Mexican pupus will be served at a benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Compadres Bar & Grill. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door (no-host bar). Call 488-1391.
Lanai Visiting Artists Program: Josiah Citrin of Melisse in Santa Monica hosts dinners Saturday and Sunday at the Manele Bay Hotel. Citrin's dishes will be paired by wines from Martinelli Winery of Sonoma County, Calif. Cost is $75, $150 with wine pairings. Julie Martinelli of the winery will host a wine tasting, 4 p.m. Saturday, and Citrin will hold a cooking demonstration and tasting, 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Both those events are free. Call 800-321-4666.
Celebrate the Harvest of 2002: The Robert Mondavi Family of Wines will be featured at a wine dinner, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 16 at Indigo Eurasian Cuisine. Chef Glenn Chu's menu includes Lobster with Fall Garden Vegetables (with Byron Chardonnay 2000), Rosemary Roasted Chicken and Iron Wood-Grilled Marinated Lamb Chops (with Grand Archer Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 and Robert Mondavi Zinfandel 2000), and Fresh Fig and Berry Pie (with Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 1999). Cost is $65 (or $60 prepaid in advance). Call 521-2900 for reservations by Friday.
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