OCT‘ono | REVIEWFood and Drink in Hawai‘i

2 0 18BY C AT H E R I N E TOT H FOX
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON K. YOSHINOREVIEW

Eat, Drink and
Be Merriman’s
The first O‘ahu location of Merriman’s is part casual
bistro, part fine dining and a whole lot of fun.

Butterflied chickenfrom J. Ludovico Farmis seared in a cast-ironpan and delivered
straight to your table.

HONOLULUMAGAZINE.COM October 2018 115

‘ono | REVIEW‘ono | REVIEWI

t’s never a bad thing to
get handed a glass ofchilled prosecco when
you walk into a restaurant.
And after a day of deadlinesand dealing with problems
I usually blame on Mercury
in retrograde (sporadic
internet connection, multiple
computer crashes and an
iPhone that decided to delete
my contact list just for fun),that glass of bubbly wasalmost a medical necessity.
I didn’t even mind waiting
10 extra minutes for the table
I reserved.

116 HONOLULUMAGAZINE.COM October 2018

Contrasting textures in the baked
macaroni and goat cheese, from chia,
pumpkin and sunflower seeds, make thisone of the best dishes on the menu.

MERRIMAN’S HONOLULU HAD

BEEN OPEN just two weeks before

my husband and I stopped in fordinner on a Tuesday night. And
before 7 p.m., every seat in the
200-seat restaurant, including the
14 at the bar, were taken. Couples
on dates, families with kids, friends
sharing pūpū and co-workers (Iimagined) commiserating about
failing technology. With live musicby Shane Kainoa Tsukayama on
acoustic guitar, if you closed youreyes it felt like you were at a
wedding reception, with tables of
raucous guests on one side andpolite relatives on another.

I can’t say that I was surprisedby the crowd, even on a worknight.
Honolulu foodies, especially those
who have dined at the charming
award-winning Merriman’s inWaimea on Hawai‘i Island, havelong wanted its namesake, chef
Peter Merriman, to open one onO‘ahu. The flagship restaurant
in Waimea, which has earned
the Gold Hale ‘Aina Award forBest Big Island Restaurant for
18 consecutive years, celebrates
its 30th anniversary this year, andMerriman has opened Monkeypod
Kitchen and Moku Kitchen on
O‘ahu through a partnership with

Handcrafted Restaurants. While
Honolulu boasts an impressive
list of stellar restaurants thathave wholly embraced the farmto-table movement, not manychefs have the kind of deep andpersonal relationship with local
farmers, ranchers and fishermen as
Merriman. In fact, there are farmers
who grow exclusively for him.
Now we can get all of thosesignature Merriman’s dishes, fromthe wok-charred ‘ahi sashimi ($31)
with MA‘O Organic Farm cilantroslaw, Sichuan peppercorn-rubbed
bone-in New York steak ($48) andMerriman’s original Caesar salad($15) with delicate baby romaine
from Hirabara Farms and fried
green tomato croutons.
The menu is executed by noted
local chef Jon Matsubara, who has
opened three O‘ahu restaurants—
including his most recent stint as
the culinary executive director at
Forty Carrots at Bloomingdale’s—and worked for some of the best
chefs in the country, includingDavid Bouley, Jean-Georges
Vongerichten and Floyd Cardoz. He
says he’s never worked for a chef as
ingredient-focused as Merriman.
Take, for example, the vineripened tomatoes grown on asmall farm on Maui especially for
Merriman’s simple tomato salad($14)—they mingle with Hirabara
Farms baby fennel, shaved Maui
onions, blue cheese from Point
Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. in
California and fried capers with adrizzle of chili-lime vinaigrette andbasil oil.
“I have never ever seen
tomatoes that perfect,” Matsubara
says after visiting Tamimi Farms on
Maui. “The ingredients give Petera big advantage. That’s what he’s
known for.”Over the course of two dinners—
one with my husband, another withthe wife of a chef—the goal was
simple: Try a few signature dishes I
loved from the Waimea location andsample the ones exclusive (for now)to Honolulu.
Basically, we ate just about

This salad
showcases
locally grown
tomatoes.

The housemade buttermilk biscuits area must-order.

HONOLULUMAGAZINE.COM October 2018 117

‘ono | REVIEWThis local spin on
escargot (actual size!)
replaces snails withtender tako.

‘ono | REVIEW
everything on the menu.
One of the standout appetizers
was the tako and country bread($18), a clever dish that resembles
escargot but uses octopus. Six piecesof tako are served in a porcelain
escargot dish, swimming in a cognac
garlic butter sauce that’s simply
addictive. The octopus is tenderand tasty, served with two slices offreshly baked country bread.
Another favorite was the baked
macaroni and goat cheese ($11),
so good I’ve already had it threetimes. Served in a searing-hot
skillet—the server will remind you
several times not to touch it—thedish features gooey goat cheesesourced from a farm on Hawai‘iIsland, topped with chia, pumpkin
and sunflower seeds. Everything
about this dish is perfect, from thewarm and creamy goat cheese to thecrunchy, nutty topping. (And it goesparticularly well with the free glassof prosecco every guest gets, if you
still have any left.)
The tableside poke ($16)—
exclusive to this location—is a funtake on the island staple. The poke
is made to order, right at your table.
Cubes of fresh ‘ahi are mixed withdiced Maui onion, inamona, ogo,
avocado and the restaurant’s special
sauce. You can taste the freshnessof each ingredient, particularly thefish, and the sauce is simple anddelicious. It’s an easy dish to order
every time.
A must-order are the house-madebuttery buttermilk biscuits (five for$5), with Waimea churned butter
and sea salt. You know these biscuits
are good when they leave a buttery
residue on your fingers. My husband
politely saved me just one.
The Kualoa Ranch Smokin’
Oysters ($3 each with a minimum offour per order) is another exciting
appetizer. The briny oysters, grownin the ranch’s Mōli‘i Fishpond, areserved under a glass cover filledwith smoke until it’s released
tableside with dramatic flair.
The restaurant had run out of
the roasted cauliflower and walnutsalad ($12) the first time I dined| REVIEW
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 122

118 HONOLULUMAGAZINE.COM October 2018

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there, but, thankfully, had it on mysecond visit. My current obsession
with cauliflower is fanned by dishes
like this: Florets of locally growncauliflower are roasted and dusted
in turmeric and served with sweet
golden raisins and baby romaine(which, to me, was unnecessary),
the flavors enhanced by an aged
sherry dressing. I could eat thisevery day.
With all the delicious options infront of us, the one appetizer thatwasn’t entirely gone by the end of
the meal was the shrimp, corn andmac nut fritters ($11). We wanted
to love this dish, but it felt more
like a cake than a fritter. I wanted
this to be crispy and cohesive, but
the ingredients, as high quality andfresh as they were, just didn’t meld
for me.
The Big Island bistro
cheeseburger ($19) was thick and➺ Farm-To-Table➺ Award-Winning Wine List
➺ Craft Cocktails

juicy, with that slightly gamier
grass-fed taste (compared to cornfed beef ). The house-made bun
was springy and gave the burger
the right carb-to-meat ratio. The
addition of melted Gruyere cheese,along with fresh vine-ripened
tomatoes and caramelized onions,elevated this to a burger worthy ofserving on white tablecloths.
The house-made cavatelli pasta($22), also offered at Waimea, wassimple and elegant, with Hirabara
Swiss chard, mushrooms, a drizzleof truffle oil and house-made ricotta.
The Kahua Ranch lamb (market
price), another signature dish, didn’t
disappoint: The lamb was perfectly
cooked and served with jalapeño
whipped potatoes that made me feel
OK about skipping the side of rice.
(All entrées are à la carte.)
The cast-iron organic chicken($34) was available on my second

The roasted
cauliflower andwalnut saladgets a sweet
boost fromgolden raisins.

Expanded Private Dining Rooms
Office & Event Catering

Dinner • Cocktail Lounge • Sunday Supper • 732-9469 • 12thavegrill.com

The Honolulu
restaurant is the
only Merriman’s location to offer poke
mixed tableside.

“I have a
cantileverswimming
pool hanging
out over mydining spaceoutside. I
mean, howcool is that?”—Peter Merriman

visit, and I was eager to try it after
one server highly recommended it.
The local chicken from J. Ludovico
Farm on the North Shore had that
depth of flavor you get from pastureraised chickens. The butterflied bird
was beautifully seared and golden,
and the Hāmākua mushrooms added
another dimension of earthiness.
The diver sea scallops ($39)
were a bit underwhelming. The
scallops were firm and well cooked
and the jalapeño potato sauce,paired with shoyu butter, was nicebut not memorable.
Both desserts ($11 each)—the Maui Gold pineapple breadpudding with toasted macadamia

Good Foot Hawaii/credit: Charley Myers

MUSIC FROM A SMALL ROOMIn HPR’s Atherton Studio,
there’s nothing between you
and the music.

hawaiipublicradio@WeAreHPR

Concert details at hprtickets.org

CONTINUED ON PAGE 124

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09-18 KHPR 1-3h HN.indd 1

7/26/18 11:25 AM

Merriman’s Mai
Tai features Old
Lahaina rum, lime,
mac-nut orgeat,
triple sec and ahoney-liliko‘i foam.

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2018BET
DENTI TSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 123

nuts and the Waialua molten
chocolate purse with caramelsauce and vanilla ice cream—areserved at the other Merriman’s
restaurants. But what surprised me
the most was the strawberry ice
cream ($7), made in-house using
local fruit. It was creamy, smoothand sweet, but not heavy or filling.
A perfect palate cleanser.
The opening of Merriman’s
Honolulu has been decades in themaking. More than 20 years ago,
Merriman looked at a spot in the
Waikīkī Landmark, the luxury
condo that looks like the legs of agiant robot, where McCully Street,
Kalākaua Avenue and the Ala Wai
meet. But he wasn’t sure about

N E E D A D E N T I ST ? W E CA N H E L P.
C H EC K O UT T H E SE DE NT I STS AT

The Kinako
Sour from
Merriman’s“Inspired” list.

BIT.LY/BESTDENTISTS2018
ENDODONTICS

A few Merriman’sfavorite desserts, suchas the Waialua molten
chocolate purse, appear
on the menu here.

running a restaurant in Waikīkī.
“What we do is high-end dining, andWaikīkī is high-volume dining,” hesays. “It just didn’t feel right.”
O‘ahu remained on the
backburner as Merriman, one of theoriginal Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine
chefs, opened a Merriman’s on
Maui and Merriman’s Fish House
on Kaua‘i. In addition, he partneredwith Handcrafted Restaurants
to open the more laid-backMonkeypod Kitchen—two on Mauiand one at Ko Olina—and Moku
Kitchen in Kaka‘ako. He wrote a
cookbook and even blogged about
politics for The Huffington Post.
Still, opening a Merriman’s onO‘ahu was a challenge.
“I really wanted the rightlocation,” Merriman says. “I’ve
looked for years and years and got
close a couple of times. But I justnever found it.”
Then he toured Kaka‘ako,
particularly the Ward neighborhood
envisioned by Howard Hughes
Corp., and heard its plans for the
addition of high-end condos andan eclectic mix of restaurants
and retailers. Merriman loved
everything about the project.
“I really love this neighborhood,”
he says, sitting at one of the booths

in his restaurant anchoring Howard
Hughes Corp.’s most recent luxury
condo project. “When I walk down
the street I feel excited. I think
Howard Hughes is visionary, and I
wanted to be associated with that.
I have a cantilever swimming pool
hanging out over my dining spaceoutside. I mean, how cool is that?”
The neighborhood vibe has
influenced the design of the
6,000-square-foot restaurant.
Merriman wanted to create a lively
atmosphere for diners—a departurefrom the more rustic Waimea
outpost—while paying homage tothe area’s history, from its humble
plantation roots to its current
upscale status.
“The design reflects what we’retrying to do,” he says. “We’re trying
to be part French bistro, part highend dining and part Hawai‘i.”
The décor is split down the
middle of the restaurant: On one
side is the dining room, with whitetablecloths and curved armchairs,
and on the other side are baretables, a 14-seat bar and benchseating with vibrant Hawaiianprint fabric by local design house
Kealopiko. There are four 17-foot‘ōhi‘a posts from Hawai‘i Island
standing along the Kamake‘e Street“This
restaurant
is a collisionof fine dining
and fun.”—Peter Merrimanside of the restaurant—a contrast to
the concrete pillars holding up thebuilding that Merriman decided
to leave unadorned in the dining
room. “It’s an ode to a sense ofplace,” he explains.
Other touches: palaka-patterned
tile on the bathroom walls, noisereducing panels in the ceiling andaround the bar to mitigate thecommotion from sound bouncing
off all the hard surfaces in therestaurant and its open kitchen,outdoor seating, French bistrostyle tile floors in the dining room,hanging lights at the bar in the
shape of small glass fishing floats
in nets, and servers wearing palaka
print ties from Honolulu-based
Pineapple Palaka.

PAUL W. GUEVARA
MATT HOSHINO

GENERAL DENTISTRY

TODD E. GOODE
MARCUS HANNAH
GILBERT ING
REID T. KOYANAGIJACLYN PALOLAROHINTON PATELMASON A. SAVAGE
CECILE SEBASTIANDEREK TAKAIGLENN TAKAKICLAUDE N. TAMURACANDACE WADA
ROBERT WADA
STEPHANIE M.L. WONGKEN YASUHARATERENCE Q.L. YOUNGPEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

TODD ASATOMARY CHAUDAVID CHING
BREN M. CHUNTIAN HE
ALLEN K. HIRAILAUREN JENNI IMAI
MAILE S.C. KIM
CHRISTOPHER C. LEE
DEAN T. SUEDASTACIE SUEDADAVID SUMIKAWAMARK SUMIKAWA
CHERIE C. UCHIDA
CLYDE Y. UCHIDARENEE C. UCHIDAHASHIZUMELAUREN YOUNG

HoMA

ORAL & MAXILLOFACIAL
SURGERYJEREMY HANNONTODD HARUKI
NEIL OISHIORTHODONTICSWON CHAEKALTAMMY CHANG-MOTOOKACURTIS N. KAMISUGISHELLIANN KAWAMOTO
MALIA K. PIETSCH KAMISUGISTEVEN TOTTORIPERIODONTICS

AARON COLBYLYNDON D. FONGNICHOLAS FUJIIBRADEN C. SEAMONSMICHAEL R.C. UMAKIGREGG T. UYEDAPROSTHODONTICSJMI ASAMRICHARD H. MIYAMOTOCONTINUED ON PAGE 126

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The most striking of the design elements, however, is awall-size replica of a photo the designers at Kealopiko foundat Bishop Museum for Merriman. It captures a dinner held by
King Kalākaua in the late 1880s with famed Scottish novelist
Robert Louis Stevenson and the future president of the
Republic of Hawai‘i, Sanford Dole.
But if any part of the décor encapsulates the spirit of thisrestaurant, it’s the sign at the bar that reads, “Throw a party.”That complimentary glass of prosecco you get when you walk in
is supposed to help make that happen.
“This restaurant is a collision of fine dining and fun,”
Merriman says. “It’s a party. That’s our thing.”

12TH AVE GRILL Modern American Cooking | The bestin local farm to table ingredients | Craft cocktails | Whiskey
bar | Friendly neighborhood brasserie | Private dining room |Catering | Sunday Supper | Open 7 days a week
1120 12th Ave. • Reservations (808) 732-9469
www.12thavegrill.com

MERRIMAN’S HONOLULU
1108 AUAHI ST.
11 A.M. TO 11 P.M. DAILY
215-0022
MERRIMANSHAWAII.COM/HONOLULU

Takeaway:

Skip the house-made bread taster and just order the bagof biscuits ($5). They’re the best part of the sampler, anyway. Mac ’n’ cheese lovers will dig the baked macaroni
and goat cheese app. If you can’t decide on entrées, geta duo for $44, with two half portions. (This option isn’t
available for the Keāhole lobster pot pie, New York steakor cheeseburger.) Entrées are à la carte; we loved thesautéed Small Kine Farm mushrooms. You can’t go wrong
with a classic cocktail, but try one from the restaurant’s
Inspired list. Our pick is the Kinako Sour ($12). And don’t
try to walk in for dinner; reservations are essential.

Indulge in CAFÉ KAILA’S award winning breakfast
anytime of the day! Try a delicious specialty coffee drink with
their famous pancakes, French toast, omelets and more!
Market City Shopping Center, 2919 Kapiolani Blvd. • 732-3330
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE Serving only thebest steaks, selected from the top 2% of the country’s beef andserved sizzling hot. This New Orleans inspired cuisine features thefinest USDA Prime steaks, fresh island seafood, award-winning wine
list and a wide variety of appetizers, side dishes and desserts.

EATING HOUSE 1849 BY ROY YAMAGUCHI

Restaurant Row 599-3860 • Waikiki Beach Walk 440-7910
Maui & Big Island • www.ruthschrishawaii.com

International Market Place • 2330 Kalakaua Ave., Space 322(808) 924-1849 • www.EatingHouse1849.com

124 HONOLULUMAGAZINE.COM October 2018

The Eating House 1849 pays homage to Hawai‘i’s vibrant culinary
heritage, a nod to restaurateurs like Peter Fernandez who, the story
goes, opened one of the first restaurants in Hawai‘i, called the Eating
House, back in the mid-1800s, using what was available from local
farmers, ranchers, foragers and fishermen.