Now that the annual Obon
season has started when we dance, honor and remember those that have passed
before us, the steady beat of the taiko
perched on the yagura always takes me
back to the past. Sometimes it’s back to Waimanalo having a special roast beef
dinner at Ojiichan and Obaachan’s house. That smell of roast
beef and French dressing engrained in my memory as if it were just a couple of
years ago. Sometimes it’s back to Wailuku anticipating Auntie K’s Maui hot dogs
and Maui onions sautéed for a pre-fishing breakfast. Or perhaps it’s just a
taste of food that’s long gone like Jon’s Restaurant hamburgers that used to
sit on the lower mauka end of Ala
Moana Shopping Center or the marzipan rolls from the old King’s Bakery.
Though with the recent closing of one of our favorites
haunts for the past 10 years, Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas and Vino Italian Wine Bar
& Tapas absence takes me back to numerous eateries that are dearly missed.
The Bay Area
It was over a quarter century ago that the youthful
version of yours truly first moved to the Bay Area to attend graduate school.
Luckily, I had an older brother residing in the Golden State just outside of
Japantown who introduced me several eateries that eventually became favorites…
Patisserie Delanghe
I first sampled the delectable sweets at Patisserie
Delanghe only about 2 years after Dominique and Marie-Jeanne opened their shop
at the corner of Bush and Fillmore because my brother said they made great
chocolate croissants and it was music to the ears hearing the owner repeat your
order “tu sho-co-laht gro-zahnt”. It was a couple of years later that I
realized while the chocolate croissants were great, the true gems were the
cinnamon rolls. Nowhere near as sweet as the mall food court variety and not
doused with cream cheese frosting but with a great textured chewiness with the
perfect balance of cinnamon, butter and sugar. And if you were lucky, they
would also have the chocolate cinnamon rolls with that extra dimension of cocoa
powder mixed with the cinnamon. After graduating, I paid homage to Patisserie
Delanghe whenever I visited the Bay Area, sometimes upon arrival then again
right before heading back to SFO for the flight home. But alas, the owners
decided that 25 years was a very good run and decided to retire a couple of
years ago.
P.J.’s Oyster Bed
We found this eatery while attending UCSF because it was
just a couple of blocks from campus and it served two of the major food groups:
oysters on the half shell and wine. It also didn’t hurt that they sold their
oysters for retail purchase and I always brought four or five dozen Kumamoto
oysters in my trusty Igloo cooler when I returned home for the summer. During
Dungeness crab season, I always had to make that fateful decision; another
dozen oysters or the Dungeness crab? And I still remember a particular pasta
that I still recreate in my own kitchen, the Capellini Daniele with angel’s
hair pasta tossed with smoked salmon and porcini mushrooms. But several years
ago, they unexpectedly just closed shop with no explanation.
Pacific Heights Bar & Grill
Originally located just at the base of Fillmore Street
before the plethora of dining establishments as you travel up Fillmore, it was
where I took the Mrs on one of our first dates. Of course, serving several
different oysters on the half shell every night didn’t hurt when I decided
where to take the eventual Mrs to dine. And they also served great cooked
oyster dishes as well including the Pacific Heights Seafood Stew which was
perfect for dippin’ crusty bread on that cold San Francisco night. I even
purchased Oysters, A Connoisseurs Guide and Cookbook which was co-written by
Chef Lonnie Williams of the Pacific Heights Bar & Grill. But once again,
it’s a long gone food memory as I believe several different establishments have
opened and closed since the Pacific Heights Bar & Grill shuttered their
doors.
Closer to Home
Le Guignol
We still miss Chef Ala’s creations at Le Guignol which
first opened with Chef Ala’s brother Chef Shane Sutton manning the kitchen and Mom
Sutton or Auntie Leilani running the front of the house. Eventually Chef Shane
passed the restaurant to his younger brother, Chef Ala and several years later,
Auntie Leilani passed away. But we continued our many wine dinners at Le
Guignol, partly because the food was great, partly because the staff was very
friendly, it didn’t hurt that it was a BYOB French restaurant and we could
always enjoy the last couple bottles of wine with the Chef and his staff as
service wound down for the evening. And I can still taste the Filet Mignon with
Sauce Bordelaise and the Olive Oil Cake with Roquefort Ice Cream. But Chef Ala
had a growing young family and restaurant hours aren’t conducive to getting in
any quality time with your children so he made the decision to place family
first.
The Whole Ox Deli
When Chef Bob McGee ran the kitchen at The Whole Ox Deli,
you always knew you were about to partake in another epic meal. For starters,
Chef McGee did his own butchering and cured his own meats from his luscious
pate to his superlative head cheese to his various house made sausages. He also
tried to source everything local from the salad greens and produce to the local
Shinsato Farms pork and Big Island beef. But there were two items that haven’t
been replicated anywhere else, the Pork Shank and the 21 day Dry Aged Burger.
The Pork Shank initially appeared on the menu but it would sell out so quickly
(though pigs only have 2 shanks, Chef McGee also used part of the front leg
with shoulder meat as the second set of “shanks”) that he took it off the menu
so you had to ask if there were any shanks the evening that you dined there.
And it took us several tries before we were lucky enough secure an order of the
Pork Shank but it was worth the wait. Braised first to tenderize then finished
in the deep fryer to crisp the skin and served with the Johnny Aloha Potatoes
or boiled potatoes also finished in the deep fryer. And my French Brother and
the Mrs always finished our meal with the 21 Day Dry Aged Burger topped with a
slice of foie gras for “dessert”.
Vino Italian Wine Bar & Tapas
If you’ve ever perused my blog site, you’ll know that
Vino is like a second home to the Tatsumoto’s so it was quite a shock when
their resident Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya e-mailed us before the press
release that Vino would not be renewing their lease with Waterfront Plaza with
a final night of service on May 21st. Almost like losing a close
friend. A restaurant that we frequented up to three times a week for the past
decade. Our “Cheers” where every server knew our name. The food was almost
secondary and the motto of our informal Vino wine gang was a quotation by the
poet William S. Gilbert: " It isn't so much what's on the table that
matters, as what's on the chairs."
Of course with Hawaii’s 1st Master Sommelier
holding court at Vino, I learned more about wine from Chuck Furuya than I did
studying for the Beginner’s and Certified Sommelier exams as well as the
Certified Specialist of Wine exam because at Vino we actually tasted wine.
Actually quite a lot of wine that either Chuck selected or wines brought to
Vino’s Ultimate BYOB Dinners…
So it actually was a surprise just 10 days after
announcing their closing that Vino announced that they anticipated re-opening
in September in the same general location no less. But that still means quite a
long summer for us but we should be thankful that in this case, the wine glass
is actually half full…
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