Page 3 - Dining Out - March 28, 2021

Restaurant Insider with Anne Lee
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The Café at Dada Ala Moana Hotel, third floor
410 Aktinson Drive dadahawaii.com/ cafe
Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
The headquarters were in Mary- land, and when we went to visit, they offered us this amazing cup of coffee that came out with this delicious crème on top. I took a sip of that and fell in love with it. The first thing I bought for Café Laufer was that coffee machine before anything else. Soon, other restaurants followed, and we, of course, offer this here at Dada Spa, Salon & Cafe.
AL: Is there anything else you’d like to share? CG:Iamsohappytoseemycus- tomers again. They are slowly find- ing out that we are here. We are also working on some nice wines and bar options. Right now, we will offer wine and beer.
Finally, we also offer an all-day breakfast ($14) — three eggs your way, with applewood-smoked bacon, Portuguese sausage and hash browns.
1. Charcuterie ($16)
2. Hot Pastrami Sandwich ($17) 3. Linguine Scallops ($32)
4. Classic Veal Schnitzel ($28)
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drick. He worked with me at Sher- aton Princess Kaiulani, and he was willing to take on the challenge of working at a new restaurant.
Clayton Blas is my sous chef. I was at the grocery store looking for basil, and he comes up to me to say hello at 6:30 in the morn- ing. We started talking, and he remembered me from the food service program at Farrington High School. He was looking for ajobintheindustry,soIhiredhim. He is only 18 but really ambitious. Front-of-house is Layne Kishi, who
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is outgoing and very talkative. It’s very hard to find people with the same work ethic to provide a level of service that I want to cre- ate and put out there. This team
that I have does just that.
AL: What is type of cuisine will you be specializing in?
CG: Everyone asks me if I special- ize in French, German, American or local, and my response is it is all of those. It’s a little bit of everything — comfort food and old classics that you can’t necessarily find.
AL: What are some customer favorites?
CG: Our Gourmet Meatloaf ($24) is popular. Initially, meatloaf is ba- sic and plain, and everyone has their interpretation of this dish. We pan-fry ours to give it that crust on the outside. It’s served with ov-
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— with a choice of a tomato ba- sil Napolitana sauce or a garlic crème sauce.
I use to do an Oktoberfest at Café Laufer, and I have an affinity for German food. In the Classic Veal Schnitzel ($28), we make our own breadcrumbs, hand-bread the veal and pan-fry it in olive oil and butter. It’s served with mush- room sauce and spaetzle, braised red cabbage and in-house baked German rye bread.
AL: Tell me a little more about the menu.
CG: Every so often, I like to take a few items off and add something new. Every couple of days we will offer a special of the day. Even with my pastries, there isn’t a list of what we will have that day. When something sells out, I make some- thing else. It’s all based on what products are available to be able to make my signature pastries.
AL: You are also known for your coffee. Tell us more about that. CG: I was doing sales for a choc- olate company out of Switzerland.
en-roasted potatoes and assorted fresh vegetables sautéed in butter. I really love a good pastrami sandwich (ours is $17). The pas- trami we use was voted No. 1 on the Pacific West Coast. We make our own German rye bread in- house, and we grind the caraway seeds and add it into the dough
for more flavor.
I included a Charcuterie ($16)
option to provide guests some- thing to nibble on. We have brie cheese, salami, prosciutto, nuts, craisins, olives and French bread.
Our Linguine Scallops ($32) uses imported Italian pasta, and the scallops are U.S. main dry scallops (not injected with wa- ter). They range about 2-3 inches across — a very generous size
Dazzling Weekdays at The Veranda
Why wait until the weekend for fun and relaxation? Unwind at The Veranda every night of the week.
Sway to live music and dine on delectable hors d’oeuvres like caviar fries and slow-cooked New Zealand salmon, or try our heavenly desserts. Enjoy a wide selection
of craft cocktails, wine and sake as you sip the night away under the sparkling chandelier.
LOUNGE & COCKTAILS
Tue-Sat, 5:30-9:30 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC
Thu-Sat, 6-8 p.m.
Reservations 739.8760 KahalaResort.com
Dining Out / March 28-April 3, 2021
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