Every entrepreneur dreams of overnight success, but empires are generally built over time. For restaurants, a type of business often perceived as least likely to survive five years, a second outpost can take a long time to materialize.
None of this applies to GRYLT. In two decades I haven’t seen any local restaurant grow as fast as this creation. The first GRYLT opened its doors June 16 at Manoa Marketplace, next to First Hawaiian Bank. The second arrived at Waikiki Shopping Plaza July 21. No. 3 is also set to open in Waikiki this fall, and plans are in the works to cross the pond to San Diego in early 2012.
All this for a plate lunch, but one built on a farm-to-table ethos and health and environment consciousness, trends that could be quite cloying if undelivered.
Overprocessed food is often the price for fast fare, but GRYLT’s owners, Allen and Mayu Farinas, set out with the belief that "healthy, tasty food can be convenient and affordable," Allen said.
More important, unless you have the chops to play in the realm of food as art, it’s generally best to remain close to farm-fresh with minimal tampering.
GRYLT is the commercial equivalent of the backyard grill where greens are served fresh or simply grilled, and chicken, steak, kalbi and fresh-caught ahi also come straight off the grill, all within sight of diners. There’s that nagging danger of carcinogens in charring, but there’s still such a thing as self-control and moderation when it comes to eating grilled foods.
Sans smoke, you’d have something more like Red Ginger Health Cafe (www.redgingercafemanoa.com), upstairs, at the opposite end of Manoa Marketplace, also with a build-your-own salad concept, with a broader array of toppings.
Ordering at GRYLT involves a build-your-own-masterpiece ($9.95) format of four steps. First, make your bed with a choice of brown rice, white rice, whipped potatoes or mashed cauliflower. Then choose your salad and protein, and finish with one of four homemade sauces. How hard can that be, right?
Well, after a handful of visits to try six plates, they got four of those wrong during slow periods. Either the employees are not listening or they are not yet familiar with the ingredients and assembly line, which is quite possible, given the newness of the business.
Maybe they should be poaching employees from the nearby McDonald’s, where servers tend to be fast and accurate. For now you are just going to have to watch them all the way down the line.
I was lured by the mashed cauliflower listed with the "starch" options. Mashed with olive oil and sea salt, it is healthier than other options, though you might miss the fluffiness of mashed potatoes. Whipped potatoes here also get the olive oil and sea salt treatment, rendering them heavier and soggier in texture than regular mashed. In this respect, GRYLT tends to preach to a choir of health enthusiasts. Those not ready for the message pine for butter.
You won’t go wrong with any of the greens: grilled veggies; a spring mix with a few pieces of mandarin orange and tomato tossed with Thai vinaigrette; whole heads of baby romaine topped with a small sprinkling of sun-dried tomato, sautéed onions and Parmesan tossed with honey-mustard dressing; and baby spinach also topped with sun-dried tomato, sliced apples and balsamic vinaigrette.
Top it all with five ounces of certified Angus flank steak, which is flavorful with a tendency to be chewy; large chunks of fresh-caught ahi; hormone- and steroid-free chicken; shrimp; or tofu. You have the option of doubling that portion for $4.95.
Then choose your sauce: Asian Fusion, a sort of teriyaki; or oils infused with roasted garlic and chili, citrus herb or sun-dried tomato. The latter works well with meat, while the citrus herb works well with the seafood. I was disappointed by the roasted garlic with sweet Thai chili sauce only because I was expecting a more Tuscan-style sauce.
Salads and sandwiches are other options. The braised kalbi sandwich ($6.95) is on its way to becoming a local classic, the sweet, tender beef topped with Asian slaw, kimchee, mint, basil and cilantro.
If you like the sauces, plans are being made to bottle them for home use.
As you’re walking out the door, you might feel better knowing that you were eating off plates and sipping from straws made of sugar cane, salad containers and cups made from corn, and utensils made from potato, all toward reducing your carbon footprint.
Most people don’t think about environmental harm on a daily basis, as is evident by the number of plastic bags they accept at grocery stores and the gas guzzlers so many still drive. But by putting out their message loud and clear, the Farinases are helping with the all-important task of enlightenment, and that’s a tougher job than putting food on the plate.
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Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com or 529-4775.
