The new chef at Bali Steak & Seafood and Paradise Lounge at Hilton Hawaiian Village has quite the legacy to sustain.
Chef de Cuisine JJ Reinhart has launched the "Island Harvest Cuisine" menu concept at Bali just in time for AAA to present the storied restaurant with its 25th consecutive Four Diamond award Monday night.
Overseen by resort executive chef Jeffrey Vigilla and executive sous-chef Matt Alleshouse, Reinhart has revamped the award-winning restaurant’s menu following a multimillion-dollar renovation led by Honolulu-based Group 70 International architects, with interior design by San Francisco-based Puccini Group.
Bali has the longest-running AAA Four-Diamond status in Hawaii and is among the top 10 longest-running winners in the nation, according to publicity materials.
How nerve-wracking must it be to bring a new menu concept to such a consistently award-winning restaurant?
Reinhart acknowledges the "weight" of the assignment and the "honor" of having the restaurant recognized for so long, and he looks forward to "continuing that streak as we move forward into the future," he told TheBuzz.
"It’s what drives us forward," he said.
Island Harvest Cuisine recognizes and incorporates "not just our farmers, but creating that partnership with ranchers, fisherman and local artisans as well," he said. Many of Reinhart’s choices are likely to be seasonal, allowing for new tastes and dining experiences. Any time the culinary team finds a new product of "phenomenal quality, we want to bring it into the restaurant," said Reinhart.
The restaurant has chosen a line of Hawaii salts from Kona, for example, and uses the kiawe-smoked salt on every steak, and citrus salt for fish, and Reinhart has created vanilla salt to add to desserts to heighten flavor and balance sweetness.
Not all of the artisanal relationships result in something to eat.
The restaurant has locally sourced butcher blocks "to highlight our 36-ounce, bone-in Tomahawk steak."
It is a dry-aged, prime rib-eye steak, cut almost 2 inches thick, "with almost the entire rib bone" attached. "It’s just an amazing cut."
Were you to pick it up, it would look like a tomahawk, Reinhart explained.
The entree is $120. "We suggest it for two people," though some have taken on the steak as a solo challenge, he added.
If you ever fantasized about the giant hunk of meat that tipped over Fred Flintstone’s car at the drive-in movie, Bali may be one of your next destinations.
Bali opened 32 years ago, in 1982, and Reinhart, Bali’s head chef, is the newcomer amid a largely long-lived crew. Sommelier Steve Fuller has been at the restaurant all 25 years of its AAA Four Diamond status, manager Alicia Antonio has been with Bali for 19 years and just about everyone else on staff has been with the restaurant for more than 10 years, according to a publicist.
The AAA honor will be presented Monday night, while the restaurant’s normal nights of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m.
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On the Net:
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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
