We had lunch... again... at Formaggio Grill in Kailua. Well, not really again since we had dinner last week. And we did intend on having lunch at Big City Diner but the line was just too long. So we headed back up Hahani St to Formaggio Grill. Plus a little vino for a Sunday lunch is ALWAYS a good thing. Of course, we concurred with an order of the Truffled Parmesan Fries... thin like the Golden Arches fried crisp but not oily and any oil is actually truffle oil, not cooking oil. With a touch of grated Parmesan and cracked black pepper...
The Mrs opted for an iced tea instead of her usual Prosecco while I tried a Sangiovese (name unknown since it wasn't listed on the wine menu) then progressed to a 2oz taste of the 2007 Hugl Gruner Veltliner Niederosterreich and 2008 Le Poussin Rose for our entrees.
I selected the Pancetta Pesto Pizza which was a thin crust pizza topped with Parmesan and Pesto then covered with a pesto based dressing on chopped Romaine and sliced grilled shrimp. While not your usual pizza, it was very good. It also was great with the Rose.
The Mrs opted for the Veggie Panini with eggplant, peppers, onions and cheese with a side of sweet potato fries. Served on a tasty rosemary focaccia, it was a little difficult consuming since the veggies kept slippin' out but that would be expected with veggies. The veggies were great with the Gruner Veltliner and the sweet potato fries were as good as I've tried in the 50th. Sweet potatoes usually don't fry as nicely as russets as their higher moisture usually leaves then a little mushy. These seemed to have a light coating of cornstarch for that additional "crispiness" and may have been dried a little before frying since they weren't mushy at all.
I also tried tastes (2oz) of the 2008 Babich Black Label Sauvignon Blanc and the 2007 Domaine du Salvard Cheverny. The Babich had the usual refreshing herbal, "pipi du chat", kiwi, grassy quality that I love in young New World Sauvignon Blanc (if I want rich, I'll drink Chardonnay) while the Cheverny had a perfumed nose with just a touch of the cat _ee which would have been nice with a creamy oyster but also fine on its own.
And as usual, we'll be back... hopefully in the presence of Hawaii's 3rd Master Sommelier in the near future...
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