Restaurant Insider with Anne Lee: Quiora

Anne Lee, at left, sous chef Miranda Eckerfi eld, at center, and manager Mindy Farmerie are ready to chow down on Quiora’s colorful and hearty spread.

ANNE LEE speaks with manager MINDY FARMERIE and sous chef MIRANDA ECKERFIELD

Since it opened in May of this year, Quiora — a restaurant focused on rustic-inspired Italian cuisine — has been all about being in the most pleasant of moments.

In fact, its name Quiora is a play on the Italian phrase “qui e ora,” which means “here and now.” The management took the words from this saying and put them together to create Quiora.

Family Board with bone-in steak ($55, serves two)

“Rustic Italian inspired is the best way to describe it. We have fresh-made pastas, but also our ambiance is a sunny al fresco rooftop deck. Each dish is created with that in mind,” manager Mindy Farmerie and sous chef Miranda Eckerfield explain.

Both Farmerie and Eckerfield have long held a passion for working in the restaurant industry with food and pleasing people’s culinary desires.

Farmerie and Eckerfield unveil more about the exciting story of Quiora and its cuisine here:

AL: What makes Quiora’s stand out?

MF AND ME: A thoughtfulness. These dishes are made out of love. It may sound corny, but every dish on this menu was well thought out. Each has a unique component to it and is made from scratch. We are here to give guests a quality experience. For example, all of our sauces are made in house, the spaghetti sauce is stewed for six hours. As often as possible, we also source locally.

Cappellacci Del Brigante ($25)

AL: What is the most popular dish?

MF AND ME: Our family boards are really popular. It comes with a whole-fish option or a steak option and it is served with two sides with your choice of sauce. The value is incredible, meant to share with two people and $55. The Calabrian Chili Garlic Shrimp ($21) is one of the crowd pleasers. Our Here and Now burger is also a popular item, for those that want that comfort food item.

AL: Anything else to share?

MF AND ME: Our cocktail offerings are amazing, which were developed by our bar team. We cater to our guests at the pool, so we offer the classics, like the chi chi. We have a few different mai tais that are also on the list. There is an inspired version, which is the Kohana Tai, using Kohana Kea Rum. We also have our cocktails that are inspired by Italy and all of our wines by the glass are Italian, and each glass is $12 — a very incredible collection. Lastly, the sunset here is amazing — un-obstructed views to see the fireworks on Friday.

Spaghetti ($21)

AL: What are some of other specialties?

MF AND ME: The uni spaghetti and Quiora dips — both are signature options and made in-house.

Calabrian Garlic Shrimp

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or cooking oil of choice)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 Kauai shrimp (cleaned, deveined, head on, tail on)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Calabrian chilis with oil
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
• 2 ounces water
• 1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 pieces sliced grilled sourdough bread (or bread of choice)
• 1 lemon wedge for garnish
• Finishing oil (if desired)

Instructions

1. In a saute pan turned to medium heat add olive oil
2. Once pan begins to lightly smoke carefully place the shrimp in the pan
3. Sear one side of the shrimp, look for caramelization to indicate readiness
4. Once ready, salt and flip the shrimp over
5. Add garlic, parsley and chilies to pan
6. Remove from heat and toss together to coat shrimp
7. Place the pan back onto the heat, add water
8. Reduce water by half
9. Remove from heat, finish with lemon juice
10. Arrange your shrimp in desired plateware
11. Place bread and lemon next to shrimp and drizzle with finishing oil to complete the dish