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Barfly Jason Genegabus |
‘Mortinis’ don’t skimp
SOME people decide where to go for drinks based on how much they have to spend. Others are looking for ambience, an atmosphere that makes them forget about all the stress from their day.
There are even a few who make their decision based on the highest odds for interaction with the opposite sex.
If your timing is right, it's definitely possible to drink affordably in a sophisticated setting amid a crowd of young professionals at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
No, the Barfly didn't end up at the Mai Tai Bar this week -- and if you call that sophisticated drinking, forget about this review and meet me at Magoo's for a few pitchers instead. The new hot spot at the mall is Morton's, The Steakhouse during their "Mortini Nights" happy hour.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
It's not all about the beer. The Barfly steps up and into Morton's, The Steakhouse at Ala Moana Center, where complimentary steak sandwiches and $3 martinis are available from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. See Barfly, Page 25.
NOW JUST wait one minute there, you might be thinking. Morton's? Affordable?
Sure, a steakhouse is expected to be an elegant place, and this restaurant is no different. It's intimate, with dim lighting and polished wood everywhere.
But it's also the home of a $44 porterhouse steak, and dinner for two can easily set you back $200 or more.
The trick, young grasshopper, is to visit the lounge at Morton's between 5 and 7 p.m. and take advantage of $3 martini specials and complimentary tenderloin steak sandwiches.
"Mortini Nights" first started back in November 2002 as a three-nights-a-week deal, but its success convinced the restaurant's management to expand it to every weeknight early last summer. Five martinis are offered at the special price -- an Appletini, Chocotini and Cosmopolitan for those who like things a little sweeter, and traditional vodka and gin martinis for the purists out there.
They come served in the big glasses, too, not those mini-Martini glasses that some other bars like to use when offering discounted drinks. Just be sure to keep track of the time while knocking these back, since prices jump to $8 or more (depending on the drink) after 7 p.m.
Morton's, The Steakhouse
Hours: 5 to 11 p.m. Mondays through
Saturdays; 5 to 10 p.m. Sundays
Location: 1450 Ala Moana (Ala Moana
Shopping Center)
Phone: 949-1300
THURSDAYS and Fridays are probably the busiest "Mortini Nights" of the week, according to the bartenders on duty during my visit. It was about 5:30 in the afternoon this past Monday when my drinking partner and I grabbed the two remaining seats at the bar.
Each of the three tables in the lounge were occupied, and ten seats that lined the room's opposite wall were taken as well. If this was a slow night, I'm not sure I'd even want to stick my head in here on a Friday. But that's the best night for guys to come down, one bartender said.
It seems that more women than men are firmly in the grasp of the martini craze that's grown over the past few years, she told me. If you're looking for single women in their early 30s, Morton's is the place to go.
Then again, I'd recommend a stop here based on the complimentary steak sandwiches alone. They're that good.
Slices of Morton's filet mignon are served on cut-up hamburger buns with a dab of mustard and mayonnaise, and are circulated throughout the lounge on a platter carried by one of the restaurant's staff. Expect a wait of 15 to 20 minutes between platters, and be sure to ask nicely if you can take more than one sandwich. It was this approach that allowed me to get full off the free food in the hour and a half that we were sitting at the bar.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STAR-BULLETIN.COM
Morton's Steakhouse bartender Erin Offenhauser pours a Cosmopolitan at the bar. Free steak sandwiches and $3 martinis are available Monday through Friday.
WHILE THIS joint is probably one of Honolulu's best-kept secrets for pau hana, there is already a group of regulars that make the lounge at Morton's home. The good news is that they tend to stay away from happy hour, especially later in the week.
Maybe I'm being a bit selfish, but when there is only so much room to move, I really don't want to be stuck next to the retired guy who insists on calling me a rookie because I started my night with a chocolate martini.
I'm on a first name basis with Mr. Daniels, and can do 34-ounce curls with the best of them (if you don't know what I'm talking about, then you're the rookie). Don't doubt my skills, folks; I'm a trained professional.
At least when I had that encounter this week, the guy left a few minutes after we arrived.
I mean, how messed up would that be, drinking an old man under the table?
How much for a Bud Light?
Domestic bottles will set you back $4 at Morton's, but why spend the extra buck on beer when you can take advantage of their $3 martini specials?Get things to do?
A single television set hangs in a corner of the lounge near its entrance, and was showing a basketball game on ESPN the day we stopped by. Between people watching and chatting up the bartenders, there isn't much else to do. Make sure to bring someone with you if you need some conversation to go with the drinks.What about the grinds?
Patience is a virtue here when it comes to the complimentary steak sandwiches. If you're just too hungry to wait for the next platter to come your way, Morton's full menu is available, but be warned -- the food isn't cheap. The smoked Pacific salmon ($14) was delicious, but it's easy to run up a tab here if you're ordering stuff like the shrimp cocktail ($19), jumbo lump crab cake ($13) or oysters on the half shell ($14). Side dishes like a jumbo baked potato ($7), sauteed mushrooms ($6) and steamed asparagus ($9) are also on the menu.And the help?
There are only a handful of bartenders assigned to work in the lounge at Morton's, so it's a good bet you'll be treated like a regular after just a couple of visits. The duo of Erin and Keith behind the bar earlier this week meant well-mixed drinks, prompt service and a willingness to stop and talk story for a bit. Expect a bit of a wait, especially on busy nights, if you're sitting anywhere else besides the bar.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Barfly appears every Friday in Star-Bulletin Weekend.
E-mail Jason Genegabus at jason@starbulletin.com with suggestions of neighborhood bars to visit.
