Page 3 - Dining Out - Sep 18, 2022

345
Mahina & Sun’s
at The Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club
412 Lewers St., Honolulu 808-924-5810 mahinaandsuns.com
1. Zeppoles ($10)
2. Meatballs & Polenta ($12)
3. “El Fungi” Fried Mushroom Arancinis ($12)
4. (Clockwise from top left) Captain Lou Albano ($16), Bellini ($12), Il Capo ($16), New York Sour ($16) and Caprese ($16)
5. Sausage & Peppers ($14)
6. Spicy Hee ($16)
board tablecloths, Italian wines you can order by the glass or bottle, great crooners (Frank Sinatra-style music) and movies playing.We want this to be more than just a glass or a plate of food — it’s a party/celebration.These are my roots, so I take this idea to heart and hope everyone can else feel the joy that I have creating it.
6
AL: Community events/celebrations are something that Mahina & Sun’s is doing more frequently. How did San Gennaro come to mind?
EL: Christian and his wife, Lisa, are both from New York City, and this is something close to their hearts. This is the first year since the pandemic that New York City is having the San Gennaro Feast and they wanted to honor that — I think that was his excuse to make me cook Italian food.
AL: What are the special Italian dishes that you are offering this week?
EL: I created five dishes to give a taste of the San Gennaro Feast, smaller portions so guests can order each item. When I worked at Town, one of my mentors, chef Dave Cal- deiro, was from New York and Italian, so a lot of these dishes came natural to me from his influence.
We are going to start with my favorite, des- sert. Nothing says San Gennaro like fried dough. My version are the Zeppoles ($10), fried Italian street doughtnuts, light and airy, with powdered sugar.
There is “El Fungi” Fried Mushroom Arancinis ($12). I made a duxelles from cremini mushrooms, mixed with risotto, set it, rolled it, fried it and placed it on a mac nut arugula pesto, and topped it with pecorino Romano cheese.
Meatballs are a must for many Italians. In- stead of a meatball sub/sandwich, I wanted to add a bit of my upbringing to the Meatballs & Polenta ($12). When I worked at Town, we made a dish with soft polenta. I made that into an Italian version polenta as a base and topped it with beef meatballs, basil and pecorino Romano cheese.
You can’t have a San Gennaro Feast without Sausage & Peppers ($14). This is Christian’s favorite, and he basically walked me through how he makes it. It’s onions, tricolored pep- pers, a lot of garlic and a little bit of tomato paste stewed together in a pan. We finish it in the oven in the same pan with added sausage and serve it on a hoagie roll.
Spicy Hee ($16) is braised and fried to get it crispy. It’s placed on top of a tomato stew made of olives, capers and garlic. It’s reminiscent of a puttanesca, with potatoes, chile flakes and topped with a chile de arbol.
AL: Tell me about the libations that you created for the feast.
CT: The Caprese ($16) cocktail is the em- bodiment of a caprese salad in cocktail form. We took fresh tomato juice and made a shrub out of it, white balsamic vinegar and sugar to give it that beautiful pink hue, an American white basil brandy to give that basil/hint of licorice flavor, and a fun garnish of boccon- cini, cherry tomato, a piece of soppressata
wrapped in basil and a drop of Italian olive oil drizzle.
I had to pay homage to the Godfather cock- tail, which is traditionally made with blended scotch, amaretto and a hint of lemon. My ver- sion is the Il Capo ($16) — aka “Boss,” the cocktail you can’t refuse. I use a nice overproof rye, Disaronno amaretto, a bit of peated scotch. I spray into the glass first to create that smok- iness, and a bit of orange bitters.
One of our bartenders, Ian, is a big ’80s wrestling fan, and he created the Captain Lou Albano ($16). This is a tropical spin on a Ital- ian Garibaldi cocktail, but we use campari, gin and aperol, and top it with orgeat and some other secret ingredients. It’s garnished with a bouquet of basil and dried lemon.
This next one is as Italian as you can get. The Bellini ($12) is a prosecco/sparkling wine with fresh housemade purée of peach syrup. It’s a gorgeous palate cleanser and garnished with a bit of baby’s breath.
The New York Sour ($16) connects the dots from a New York cocktail to an Italian cocktail. It’s your typical whiskey sour with hints of lemon and egg white to bring that airiness to it. This is topped with a layer of Italian red wine.
AL: What else can guests expect during the celebration?
CT: We will have the red-and-white checker-
AT THE KAHALA
RESERVATIONS
OpenTable 808.739.8811 KahalaResort.com
ULTIMATE SEAFOOD FEAST AT THE KAHALA
Satisfy your seafood cravings with an endless array of sushi, sashimi, poke and crab legs. Enjoy Kahala specialties like our divine Seafood Cioppino — a melody of scallops, mussels, calamari and shrimp. Bask in the dazzling sunset while you sail through fresh ocean favorites at the ultimate seaside escape.
SEAFOOD BUFFET | Every Friday & Saturday, 5-8:30 p.m.
$88* adults, $44* children (6-12 yrs) | *Does not include tax and gratuity
RESERVE
NOW ON OPENTABLE
Dining Out
/ September 18-24, 2022
/ 3
Restaurant Insider with Anne Lee