Since Ms S had to return an item at Neiman Marcus, we also decided to have lunch since we made the trip to Ala Moana (yes, driving to town isn't one of my favorite pastimes). However, right before leaving K-Town I went to Open Table to see if there were any two-tops at 11:00am. Earliest two-top at Mariposa was at 1:45pm, earliest two-top at Ruscello was at 12:45pm. I know restaurants don't release all of their tables on OpenTable but didn't want to take that chance of a 30 or 45 minute wait after checking in so we simply had lunch at Habitant. They designed it perfectly with the glass back wall of the bar facing patrons traveling on the escalator - they also serve most of the food served at Ruscello other than soups or dishes with hot liquids.
Ms S started with the Amelia with Chopin vodka, St Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon and blackberry - this libation was all blackberry as the litchi flavors of elderflower liqueur and the tart lemon were masked by the concentration of the blackberries though Ms S enjoyed it...
While I sampled Habitant's featured cocktail, the Koolau Mist with Grey Goose vodka, Giffard Ginger of the Indies, lime, orgeat and cinnamon - it was a complex libation with no one flavor dominating. I plan on purchasing some orgeat to recreate it at home...
We then moved on to the Truffle Parmesan French Fries served with a Black Garlic and Truffle Aioli - the aioli was killer, the fries not as crisp as i would have liked them...
Ms S then moved on to her Chicken Lemon Pesto Gnocchi - the gnocchi I'm sure were house made as they were very tender though still with just a little bite (pre-purchased gnocchi tend to be a lot chewier) and the lemon and pesto kept the dish light - we would order this again.
Which she sampled with a GM 75 or Habitant's version of the classic French 75 with their version containing Grand Marnier (in place of gin), lemon and Prosecco - The orange flavors complemented the lemon and pesto in the gnocchi. I did try to recreate it when we got home using Tanquerey Seville gin and Grand Marnier with Mio sparkling sake...
I selected the Wild Salmon Nicoise which was like a traditional Nicoise Salad on dressed, mixed greens - it was delicious and filling though I assume some of the current egg shortages were the reason there were no slices of egg on the salad. Ruscello's online ordering displays pictures of each dish and their picture shows quartered slices of egg but they were missing from my salad. No problem though, we'll still be back when we decide to spotaneously have lunch at Ala Moana...
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