The Weekly Eater Nadine Kam

KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM Canoes' open lanai offers a relaxing setting for afternoon cocktails and pupu.

Dishes confirm
Canoes’ worthiness
of Taste honors

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Taste of Honolulu wrapped last Sunday with attendees contributing a little more than $200,000 for Easter Seals Hawaii and gaining an inch or two around their midsections ... but all for a good cause, right?

Perhaps the biggest score of the event went to Canoes restaurant, where three out of four offerings took top honors in the Best of Taste competition among participating restaurants, chosen by popular vote. Canoes won Best Seafood honors for crispy crab risotto cakes, the Best Salad title for a duck salad Napoleon and the Best Dessert award for a caramel apple cobbler.

The only other restaurant earning multiple honors was Tony Roma's, with its barbecue chicken taking the Best Poultry title and its baby back ribs getting the nod for Best Pork.

Unlike many popularity polls out there, there was little chance of ballot stuffing as each of Taste's 44,160 attendees received a single ballot upon entry.

Many of the critics' darlings were conspicuously absent, having taking themselves out of the running by staging a more exclusive Chefs du Jour event, requiring a separate $35 admission for six to seven courses with a single wine sample. The offerings at Chefs du Jour were outstanding Saturday night when I dropped in, and I'd recommend it to anyone. A smoky flat-iron steak from Randal Ishizu, of J.W. Marriott Ihilani, had me thinking I'd better get back there.

But first, I wanted to stop into Canoes for a taste of what enthralled so many Taste guests.

THE ONE THING the Taste crowd missed is Canoes' No. 1 asset, ambience. In the open air overlooking the Ala Wai Yacht Marina, it is a thoroughly relaxing place to spend an afternoon or early evening just before sunset.

Because the restaurant is outdoors and requires no formal reservations, it can feel undermanned. Overall service is a bit too laid-back for my taste, and one large party can easily throw the staff's equilibrium off.

I'd been here only once before, ordering for lunch nothing more challenging than a grilled salmon salad ($11.95), which was quite wonderful even if my date wasn't.

Chef Skip Hawkins continues to throw down a laundry list of just about everything people find delectable -- shrimp, jumbo scallops, beurre blancs, beer, filet mignon -- put together in chop suey combinations you almost have to be local to appreciate. So many flavor sensations await, you don't want to miss anything.

This could work in your favor now that it's summer, when the heat has a way of shrinking appetites. Rather than go for the large entree, you may go the Taste of Honolulu route and sample a variety of appetizers instead. There are plenty of choices.

Before you rule out evening entrees entirely, one worth checking out is the petite filet mignon laulau and leek-crusted mahimahi combination ($26.95). Those with big appetites should be warned that the beef -- topped with shiitake, bacon and spinach and cooked in ti leaves -- will disappear in two bites. The mild mahi is served in a light Kona tomato vinaigrette with a chiffonade of opal basil.

Other entrees are more straightforward: New York strip steak with roasted garlic mashed potatoes ($26.95), five-spice duck breast ($20.95), ahi steak ($22.95) and spice-seared opakapaka ($22.95).

IT TURNS OUT that the Taste-winning crab cakes will be offered as a special at a later date, but you can get the duck salad Napoleon ($7.95), three layers of won ton pi, each topped with a layer of micro greens, shredded duck and miso and hoisin vinaigrettes. There was more hoisin than the amount of duck could justify, but there are quite a few hoisin fans around. A better choice, I think, would be the sticky hoisin ribs ($9.95), a half-rack of baby backs much more succulent than the duck.

More flavors people love together: smoked salmon and goat cheese, which are combined in a smoked salmon cake ($7.95) dotted with roasted Kahuku corn and topped with papaya salsa. The flavor was there, but with more cheese than salmon, it was more cheese log than salmon cake.

There were only two scallops to the Thai seared scallop appetizer ($9.95), served in a chow mein "bird's nest" atop purple sweet potato hash. With the scallops gone in a bite, there wasn't much opportunity to savor its guava-tamarind glaze. But you'll have other opportunities to try tamarind. I'm certain this sweet-sour fruit will be the next big culinary star.

There is a separate taste of the tropics menu which features mussels steamed in beer, although the alcohol rendered the sauce sharp and bitter. The spiciness of the dish was a welcome surprise.

For dessert, I had to go with the Taste winner, the warm caramel apple cobbler ($5.95) with vanilla ice cream. Again, the flavors were there, but some might quibble about the way the caramel seals the cobbler's warty texture.

Differences between public and critical opinions can generally be expected, but from what I can see, hungry Honolulans don't lag too far behind the foodies.

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Canoes Renaissance Ilikai Hotel, 1777 Ala Moana Boulevard / 944-6358 Food Service 1/2 Ambience 1/2 Value 1/2 Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily Cost: About $25 for two for lunch; $55 to $60 for two without drinks for dinner

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See some past restaurant reviews in the
Columnists section.

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Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:

	excellent;
	very good, exceeds expectations;
	average;
	below average.

To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com