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The Weekly Eater Nadine Kam |
Niche cuisines need
a boost to reach the
public palateWHAT we lack by living in paradise is the "cool factor" that allows for the survival of funky little shops and cafˇs that tend to make city life so colorful and fun. Retail space is just too expensive for wild, crazy, youthful guerilla retailers.
It's too much to ask our broke state and city government to pony up the cash, but if I were a woman of means, I'd buy a massive building and warehouse complex and create cheap spaces that would allow artists to create and sell their wares. In return, as they become successful, they would move out into the general retail community, form their own little co-op ventures, and make way for and nurture the next generation.
Another Portuguese dish by Braz, Costeletos de Vitela a Maneira a Beira Alta, marinated and breaded veal cutlets with white wine sauce.
Unfortunately, the high cost of living doesn't make it easy for people to think of buying into someone else's dream, so artists of all types -- musicians, painters, fashion designers -- have turned to restaurants as incubators.
Visual artists were the first to latch onto the restaurant-as-gallery concept. Restaurateurs had the blank walls and paid the rent; the artists brought in the color and the possibility of extra income if any of the art sold. It was a win-win situation. These days, when the dinner crowds dissipate, various promoters take over on certain nights for parties, club events and fashion shows.
Budding restaurateurs might do well to consider this portable model. There are pockets of people who can cook up Jamaican, Brazilian (beyond rodizio) and Portuguese fare, but the task of opening a specialty restaurant can be daunting for these moms and pops. Rents are high and the learning curve is steep, not only for the novice restaurateur, but for consumers. For every epicurean, there is someone who wonders if that's the name of a toenail fungus.
I've long lamented the dearth of culinary diversity here. Someone recently asked me if I'd been to a certain Italian restaurant in New York, and I was like, "I don't do Italian when I travel." Look for me instead, sampling cuisine I can't get at home, whether its Afghan, Pakistan, Nigerian or Caribbean cuisine. So, what if people who could create this type of cuisine were allowed to take over an established restaurant one night a week, with a theme night overseen by the restaurant's in-house pro?
Visits from high-profile chefs are not unusual, but how about extending invites to those versed in ethnic cuisines? A few days ago, a Sugpiaq Eskimo woman was allowed to take over the kitchen at Sam Choy's Diamond Head Restaurant. I applaud Sam's generosity.
Plantation Cafˇ executive sous chef Mark Braz prepared two Portuguese dishes, Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa, left, a casserole of salt cod with potatoes and onions, and Lombo de Porco Assado, marinated pork loin with tomato and paprika sauce served with boiled potatoes and fresh vegetables.
OVER AT THE Ala Moana Hotel, there's another twist on the idea. In this case, executive sous chef Mark Braz toils at keeping the menu at Plantation Cafˇ current, but tame enough for a mainstream crowd of visitors looking for familiar key words such as "filet mignon" and "tuna melt."
Serving the tourist market can be a bit like running on a treadmill, so to break the monotony, Braz was given the leeway to showcase his Portuguese heritage this month, by hosting a Portuguese Festival at the cafˇ on the hotel's ground floor, near the valet.
This is the third and last week of the event that has featured three different dishes weekly. Dishes have a homespun elegance that has won raves from local Portuguese who have mobbed Braz in the dining room. And while dishes, such as a roasted pork loin, look familiar, the flavors definitely hail from other shores. For instance, tomato sauce that accompanied last week's pork loin assado looked like any other tomato sauce, but its strong paprika flavor couldn't be missed by kama'aina for whom paprika has merely served as a coloring agent for brightening potato or macaroni salad.
I was also able to sample a comfort food casserole of shredded salt cod layered with slices of potato and onion, and breaded veal cutlets served with a white wine sauce.
Today is the last day to sample any of this trio of dishes. From Tuesday through July 25, a new menu will be in effect: Slow-cooked squid stew (lunch $14.50/dinner $15.50); steamed mussels with prosciutto, tomatoes and white wine ($14.50/$15.50); and sauteed opakapaka with garlic and onions in tomato sauce, garnished with brine-cured olives and anchovies.
Each entree comes with a bowl of filling caldo verde, potato soup with kale and linguica (Portuguese sausage); a garden salad topped with marinated roasted red bells and hearts of palm; and a huge dessert helping of flan.
More such experiments with themes and cuisines are welcome and would go a long way in stirring up excitement on the dining scene.
Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Drive / 955-4811 Plantation Cafˇ Portuguese Fest
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays through July 25. Select items only during Friday and Saturday night buffets ($25.50 for adults, $13.50 for children) and Sunday brunch ($25.50/$13.50).
Food 
Service Ambience Value Cost: $13.50 to $14.50 for lunch; $14.50 to $16.50 for dinner
See some past restaurant reviews in the Columnists section.
Nadine Kam's restaurant 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.
