We recently attended a wine dinner held at one of the new
restaurant kids on the block, Bread + Butter in the Ala Moana Pacific Center.
After Angelo Pietro vacated the space adjacent to Shokudo Japanese Restaurant
and Bar, Diamond Dining who also happens to own Shokudo along with Buho Cocina
y Cantina in Waikiki signed the lease and decided on a restaurant concept that
wouldn’t compete with Shokudo. Bread + Butter focuses on healthier take-out and
coffee during the day then converts to a small plate and wine bar concept in
the evening. To meet that end, they’ve paired with Southern Wine and Spirits to
create their Pinot Bar and Honolulu Coffee Co for their caffeinated options.
During the workday hours Bread + Butter is cafeteria
style where your place your order and pick it up to either take-out or dine in
at their communal tables or sofas but in the evening they provide full table
service.
And though they’ve only been open for 5 months, they’re
already expanding their dining options including a monthly wine dinner on the
third Thursday of every month. How this wine dinner is created turns typical
wine pairings on its head. You see, Micah Suderman of American Wine and Spirits
brings five wines to Chef Arnaldo “Masa” Gushiken every month. After sampling
the wines with his staff, Chef Masa creates dishes for each wine… a little role
reversal as wines are normally selected for a completed dish, not the reverse.
While we were waiting for our other dining companions to
arrive, we chatted with Diamond Dining President, Hide Sakurai who informed us
that the Pinot Bar was created because his favorite grape varietal is Pinot
Noir so their wine list currently only offers Pinot. He also offers Champagne
on the wine list because that’s his other favorite wine. Just Pinot Noir and
Champagne? No complaints from me! He also mentioned that he’s toying with
another dining theme at Bread + Butter, Tuesday Paella Night where for $25, you
receive one glass of Pinot Noir and unlimited trips to the Paella Bar. We did
inform him that Hawaii residents do tend to get their money’s worth at all you
can eat buffets so he might want to rethink that $25 fee.
We normally don’t attend weekday events as it’s difficult
for the Mrs and myself to leave work on time - more so for the Mrs - then
waking the next morning becomes a challenge after you’ve sipped a fair amount
of wine the previous evening. It just so happened that the Mrs was off on
Thursday and I needed to burn some vacation time so I opted to take Friday off.
So it’s time to dine, what’s on the menu?
THIRD THURSDAY
TASTING MENU
CHEF ARNALDO “MASA”
GUSHIKEN
DUCK CONFIT SALAD
Cold duck breast,
blood-orange supreme,
mxed greens, Spanish
dressing
black lava sea salt
Pairing: 2013 Pazo Barrantes
Albarino
SMOKED BABY PUMPKIN
SOUP
Whole smoked baby
pumpkin,
bacon, onion
Pairing: 2014 Fevre
Chablis
HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI
& HOTARU IKA
Homemade pasta, baby
ika,
nori, mentaiko dust
Pairing: 2011 Domaine Faury
Syrah
ONAGA BOUILLABAISE
Fresh local white fish,
clams, mussels,
saffron soup, Pernod,
homemade crostini
Pairing: 2014 Magnon Rose
Corbieres
FILET MIGNON W/
PORCINI CREAM
Filet mignon, porcini
cream sauce,
green beans
Pairing: 2011 Inglenook Cask
Cabernet Sauvignon
Though wine is poured for each course, they allowed us to
bring our own wines with the corkage fee being waved so I also brought a 2008
Evening Land “Summum” Chardonnay for the pumpkin course along with a 2013 Clos
Ste Magdeleine “Bel Arme” Cassis for the bouillabaisse.
The confit of duck was very tender with the crunchy bits
of black salt giving a textural contrast while the Albarino nicely cleansed the
palate between bites. I do plan on “stealing” the idea of the smoked pumpkin
soup which every diner enjoyed and was a food epiphany for me and while the
Chablis paled a little to the smoky flavors in the soup, the Evening Land
Chardonnay more than nicely complemented the whole dish. And while several
dining companions didn’t care for the homemade squid ink pasta, I thought it
was another highlight of the meal with rich fish and crab flavors even if the
Syrah wasn’t a good pairing with the pasta (nor were any of the wines our group
brought). Two fellow diners weren’t as enthused about the squid ink pasta so
they encouraged me to “doggie bag” their portions – we had it the next evening
complete with a sunny side egg that I added that I think made it better since
the rich egg yolk muted some of the saltiness from the seafood. The
bouillabaisse broth wasn’t as rich as the traditional broth where bony fishes
and other seafood are “smashed” to extract flavors from the flesh and the bones
but it was still a very good dish and the Rose perfectly complemented each
component of the dish including the mussel, clam and onaga along with balancing
the composite flavors of the dish as a whole. And finally, there can be nothing
wrong with a piece of filet mignon that’s perfectly cooked medium rare (it
appeared sous vide since the color was consistent throughout the thickness of
the steak). And though it wasn’t advertised on the menu, we also were served a
dessert course of oozing chocolate cake and gelato which capped the meal.
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