BLT Market
In keeping with the farm-to-table philosophy of freshness every day, the menu here is very much alive and changing daily, depending on what Hawaii’s earth and ocean provide.
Chef Johann Svensson, who moved over from BLT Steak, is up to the task, saying, “It’s taking me to a new level because I want to be challenged all the time. I never want to be bored.”
In a spare, open-air space overlooking the city, diners will find creative selections showcasing island products and produce for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They should never be bored either, when offered such lunch selections as Small Kine Farm crimini mushroom risotto or roasted Molokai tenderloin, and dinner selections ranging from charred octopus with Kahuku corn to a Maui venison loin with kabocha puree.
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Ritz-Carlton Residences, 383 Kalaimoku St., Waikiki; 729-9729; bltmarket.com. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. $$$$
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Bozu Japanese Restaurant
The old showbiz maxim, “Leave them wanting more,” as a way of generating repeat views and visits, doesn’t usually apply to the restaurant industry for obvious reasons. Restaurateurs want guests to leave fully sated and happy.
At Bozu, it’s a different story. I definitely leave full, but I always want more. Once an entire order has arrived and promptly been tucked into happy bellies, there’s always the question floating around, “Shall we get something else?”
Chef/owner Hoshi Katsu worked at Imanas Tei before striking out on his own. Working face to face with customers over the years, he’s come to know what people want, and whatever your comfort level, you’re bound to find something to love here. Selections range from tame nigiri sushi and grilled chicken wings, and the more challenging ika shiokara (fermented squid gut) pasta to stewed beef intestines.
The menu is augmented daily by about 20 specials. Recent selections included Hokkaido live octopus sashimi; Molokai sweet shrimp; aku, rather than the more ubiquitous ahi, tataki; and moi shioyaki.
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McCully Shopping Center, 1960 Kapiolani Blvd; 955-7779. Dinner. $$$
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Eating House 1849
With Eating House 1849, chef Roy Yamaguchi goes back to the roots of Hawaii’s restaurant scene, recalling Hawaii’s plantation heritage and the waves of Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Filipino and Korean immigrants that shaped our multicultural palate and food scene.
But don’t expect your great-great-grandfather’s chicken hekka or lumpia. Though rooted in our plantation heritage and the chef’s taste memories of his grandfather’s cooking, dishes are thoroughly contemporary to suit today’s more adventurous palate.
Something like Eating House 1849’s “Huli Huli” kim chee pork belly — laced with kochujang and miso aioli, and draped with kim chee — presents a riot of flavors that would have made your ancestors’ heads spin in their day. But we, their descendants, expect to be surprised or entertained in some way when we dine out, and Yamaguchi delivers on everything from pork and shrimp gyoza with garlic aioli and spicy XO sauce, to 1849 spicy ramen and a comfort-driven corned beef Reuben with local Naked Cow Dairy Swiss cheese, kim chee and Thousand Island dressing.
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International Market Place, Waikiki; 924-1849; eatinghouse1849.com. Lunch, dinner. $$$
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Stripsteak
Stripsteak, from James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Mina, puts a contemporary twist on the traditional steakhouse. Taking a cue from Hawaii’s strong Asian and chop-suey heritage, it breaks from standard steakhouse tradition to offer sushi bar selections and international fusion flavors.
The direction of the new restaurant is also rooted in Mina’s observation that people no longer feel joy by walking into a steakhouse and feeling too stuffed to walk out. He said most people today want to eat lighter and cleaner.
Not that there’s any shortage of decadence here. The menu is full of raw seafood options, starting with grand seafood towers. Sashimi is excellent here, and one of the best is kampachi with the crunch of thin sliced cucumber, lime-soy sauce, and the bright citrus and spice of yuzu kosho.
Steaks range from 10-ounce prime flat-iron Angus to Japanese A5 striploin, with add-on accompaniments such as classic bearnaise or miso-foie gras butter sauce, or a butter-poached lobster tail.
For dessert, the restaurant also goes local, putting out a credible take on malasadas filled with your choice of guava, Kona coffee or Tahitian vanilla cream. On the lighter side, there is guava shave ice layered over coconut-lime tapioca with slices of haupia.
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International Market Place, Waikiki; 800-3094; michaelmina.net. Lunch, dinner. $$$$
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Sushi Sho
Sushi literally takes center stage at Sushi Sho, where 10 seats are arranged in a semicircle around chefs preparing course after course of exquisite omakase.
Farm to table has come to the sushi bar through the vision of chef Keiji Nakazawa, Tokyo’s most influential sushi chef, famed for his mastery of ancient Edo sushi techniques. But don’t expect an old-school, traditional experience. Here, he combines fresh fish and shellfish with locally grown produce such as luau leaves, taro and Maui onions for something much more progressive.
Seating is limited to 20 each evening with two seatings of 10 at 5 and 8:30 p.m. Cost of the meal is $300.
The limited capacity ensures that each guest is accorded the chefs’ undivided attention for a very special experience, often comprising about 30 items, such as chawanmushi with Kona abalone and caviar, and monkfish liver nigiri topped with crunchy heart of palm.
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Ritz-Carlton Residences, 383 Kalaimoku St., Waikiki; 729-9717. Dinner. $$$$
