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Amazing foodie dinner
We just got back from a trip to Hawaii with our friends S and D and two other couples and one of the things we did was a very fancy and expensive chef-cooked dinner. As a confirmed non-foodie I felt almost guilty about taking up space there, but I made up my mind to keep and open mind and try everything. It was an amazing experience and here's my report.
Il Teatro at Capiche, Hotel Wailea
This resort hotel is on the hillside with spectacular ocean views, a spa, and golf course. It's got very dramatic architecture, like a two story waterfall and koi pond in the lobby. It was owned by a Japanese company and bought out. We've eaten at the Capiche? restaurant there and it was excellent - I had shrimp and wished I'd had the veal that S. had. When it was Japanese, there were two teppan yaki tables in a private part of the restaurant, and that's now Il Teatro.
For Il Teatro, you make the reservation and talk to the chef about any allergies or food preferences. I think S. said there's a four person minimum - it works out to $250 per person no matter how many - and a maximum of probably eight. Since S. and D. are foodies (he was a chef before he got into software and still loves to cook) they've done Il Teatro several times and been thrilled each time. There were eight of us, one vegetarian. No problem.
So, our chef, Chris Kulis, escorted us to our private room (stopping on the way to show S. and D. how they've enlarged the kitchen.) It had a large grill and a granite topped table facing it, with windows looking out onto the garden dining area. Gorgeous copper pots and pans were on the grill. Our place settings had four forks and knives and four glasses, and a printed menu. That's what I'll be using for this.
First was an amuse bouche: the chef's assistant brought out little bakery boxes with tiny brioche doughnuts, dusted with sugar and cinnamon. champagne was poured.
First course: Truffle Poached Foie Gras Torchon, Crispy Spiny Lobster, Cherry Tomatoes, Meyer Lemon Gastrique. Wine was Marchesi di Gresy - Sauvignon Blanc - Langhe 2009.
It was very entertaining to watch him plate the food, fussing and arranging every plate. The foie gras was a long roll that had been wrapped in cheesecloth and poached. He now cut it into slices. I think he said it was aged for two days, but we can't remember. The lobster was a thin piece of battered and fried meat. It was all on top of a sauce made with local Meyer lemons and honey from hives the hotel owns. I was intrigued by how he used a squirt bottle to drizzle the sauce around in an artistic way - I'd always assumed they use a spoon for that. I liked all of it which surprised me a little. Not a liver fan.
The vegetarian got a piece of buffalo mozzarella that I coveted, instead of foie gras.
Second course: Roasted Hapu'upu'u, Kula Artichokes, Sweet Garlic and Artichoke Puree, White Anchovy. Wine: Villa Sparina - Gavi di Gavi - Piedmont 2010.
He brought out a copper tureen of artichokes cut in half, with the spines trimmed off, and explained that one of his crew told him his girlfriend is growing artichokes in Kula and did he want any? Sure! So the guy brought in fifty pounds. He also sad he'd been using the liquid they were in all day for cooking artichokes. He grilled them, put them back in the broth, then back on the grill. Then he put the puree in each bowl with artichokes on top, then arranged fish filets on that, with an anchovy on top, then grilled some chopped up fish cheeks and sprinkled them around.
S. asked how big the fish had been and Chris said he could show him the carcass if it wouldn't gross us out - of course not! It was brought forth, maybe a foot and a half long. D. was ecstatic because she loves artichokes (she'd already started saying "This is CRAZY good!" which I think she said about 20 times.) I hadn't eaten them in years because I don't like them much, but I ate them. They weren't bad, they weren't great, just neutral. Pat and I later agreed we don't get artichoke LOVE - they just don't taste like much. Green peas, now those I love, so it's not like I can't appreciate vegetables.
Anyway, the fish was terrific, flaky and with a lot of flavor. It was good with the puree and with pieces of anchovy.
Third course: Braised Beef Short Rib, Short Rib and Cheese Agnolotti, Fried Garlic Gremolata, Aged Balsamic. Wine: Arceno - Chianti Classico Reserve - Tuscany - 2005.
The assistant brought out a tray of short ribs and Chris explained they'd been cooked sous-vide for two days. He grilled them, then put them on plates drizzled with 25 year old balsamic vinegar, and added the little raviolis. The meat was luscious - I said it was like fudge, which made everybody laugh but they agreed. It had that firm, velvety texture and you could pull it apart with your fork. The little raviolis were tender and meaty. We got seconds on those. Mr Vegetarian got tofu grilled with the same seasonings.
An intermezzo: Celery Ice with champagne. Very intense celery flavor, cold and refreshing.
Fourth course: Snake Farms Gold Label Rib Eye, Garden Vegetables, Chick Pea Polenta, Toasted Pumpkin Seed and Vanilla Vinaigrette. Wine: Masi - Mazzano - Amarone della Valpolicellai - 2001.
He produced two thick T-bone steaks sealed in plastic, having been cooked sou vide for three days. These were Wagyu beef grown on the big island. He grilled them alongside some tiny carrots and turnips, then trimmed off the bones and most of the outside and cut the rest into portions. He also put some long white mushrooms on the grill for veggie boy - none of us remember what kind they were, but he liked them a lot. D. doesn't like mushrooms but she tried them and liked them too.
I'm a barbarian who likes steaks medium well, not rare, and was a little nervous about this, but even though technically it was rare, I liked it. What I don't like is the squishy quality of rare meat. Because this had been cooked so long it was firm, but with a rare taste, and that was great. He'd told us to ask for more if we wanted, and a couple of people asked for bones to gnaw on.
Fifth course: Trio of Desserts. Wine: Badia a coltibuono - vin Santo - Chianti Classico - 2004
We each got a triangular plate with a tiny perfect dessert in each corner:
Coconut panno cotta with freeze dried strawberries
Citrus bread pudding made with macadamia nuts and olive oil, topped with a scoop of vanilla macadamia nut ice cream
Chocolate cookie shell filled with caramel
I tasted the panno cotta and it wasn't for me because of the coconut and strawberries, so I gave it to someone who does. The chocolate dessert looked like a small mousse so it was a surprise that the outside was crisp. The caramel was creamy and luscious. But it was the bread pudding I liked best, so moist and rich and with a great citrus taste. A dessert with olive oil hadn't sounded good but you didn't taste it.
We drank up the Chianti so he brought out something called Vin Santo made of dried grapes, very sweet, but perfect with the dessert.
Here's someone's description of a Il Teatro dinner they had in 2008.
Il Teatro at Capiche, Hotel Wailea
This resort hotel is on the hillside with spectacular ocean views, a spa, and golf course. It's got very dramatic architecture, like a two story waterfall and koi pond in the lobby. It was owned by a Japanese company and bought out. We've eaten at the Capiche? restaurant there and it was excellent - I had shrimp and wished I'd had the veal that S. had. When it was Japanese, there were two teppan yaki tables in a private part of the restaurant, and that's now Il Teatro.
For Il Teatro, you make the reservation and talk to the chef about any allergies or food preferences. I think S. said there's a four person minimum - it works out to $250 per person no matter how many - and a maximum of probably eight. Since S. and D. are foodies (he was a chef before he got into software and still loves to cook) they've done Il Teatro several times and been thrilled each time. There were eight of us, one vegetarian. No problem.
So, our chef, Chris Kulis, escorted us to our private room (stopping on the way to show S. and D. how they've enlarged the kitchen.) It had a large grill and a granite topped table facing it, with windows looking out onto the garden dining area. Gorgeous copper pots and pans were on the grill. Our place settings had four forks and knives and four glasses, and a printed menu. That's what I'll be using for this.
First was an amuse bouche: the chef's assistant brought out little bakery boxes with tiny brioche doughnuts, dusted with sugar and cinnamon. champagne was poured.
First course: Truffle Poached Foie Gras Torchon, Crispy Spiny Lobster, Cherry Tomatoes, Meyer Lemon Gastrique. Wine was Marchesi di Gresy - Sauvignon Blanc - Langhe 2009.
It was very entertaining to watch him plate the food, fussing and arranging every plate. The foie gras was a long roll that had been wrapped in cheesecloth and poached. He now cut it into slices. I think he said it was aged for two days, but we can't remember. The lobster was a thin piece of battered and fried meat. It was all on top of a sauce made with local Meyer lemons and honey from hives the hotel owns. I was intrigued by how he used a squirt bottle to drizzle the sauce around in an artistic way - I'd always assumed they use a spoon for that. I liked all of it which surprised me a little. Not a liver fan.
The vegetarian got a piece of buffalo mozzarella that I coveted, instead of foie gras.
Second course: Roasted Hapu'upu'u, Kula Artichokes, Sweet Garlic and Artichoke Puree, White Anchovy. Wine: Villa Sparina - Gavi di Gavi - Piedmont 2010.
He brought out a copper tureen of artichokes cut in half, with the spines trimmed off, and explained that one of his crew told him his girlfriend is growing artichokes in Kula and did he want any? Sure! So the guy brought in fifty pounds. He also sad he'd been using the liquid they were in all day for cooking artichokes. He grilled them, put them back in the broth, then back on the grill. Then he put the puree in each bowl with artichokes on top, then arranged fish filets on that, with an anchovy on top, then grilled some chopped up fish cheeks and sprinkled them around.
S. asked how big the fish had been and Chris said he could show him the carcass if it wouldn't gross us out - of course not! It was brought forth, maybe a foot and a half long. D. was ecstatic because she loves artichokes (she'd already started saying "This is CRAZY good!" which I think she said about 20 times.) I hadn't eaten them in years because I don't like them much, but I ate them. They weren't bad, they weren't great, just neutral. Pat and I later agreed we don't get artichoke LOVE - they just don't taste like much. Green peas, now those I love, so it's not like I can't appreciate vegetables.
Anyway, the fish was terrific, flaky and with a lot of flavor. It was good with the puree and with pieces of anchovy.
Third course: Braised Beef Short Rib, Short Rib and Cheese Agnolotti, Fried Garlic Gremolata, Aged Balsamic. Wine: Arceno - Chianti Classico Reserve - Tuscany - 2005.
The assistant brought out a tray of short ribs and Chris explained they'd been cooked sous-vide for two days. He grilled them, then put them on plates drizzled with 25 year old balsamic vinegar, and added the little raviolis. The meat was luscious - I said it was like fudge, which made everybody laugh but they agreed. It had that firm, velvety texture and you could pull it apart with your fork. The little raviolis were tender and meaty. We got seconds on those. Mr Vegetarian got tofu grilled with the same seasonings.
An intermezzo: Celery Ice with champagne. Very intense celery flavor, cold and refreshing.
Fourth course: Snake Farms Gold Label Rib Eye, Garden Vegetables, Chick Pea Polenta, Toasted Pumpkin Seed and Vanilla Vinaigrette. Wine: Masi - Mazzano - Amarone della Valpolicellai - 2001.
He produced two thick T-bone steaks sealed in plastic, having been cooked sou vide for three days. These were Wagyu beef grown on the big island. He grilled them alongside some tiny carrots and turnips, then trimmed off the bones and most of the outside and cut the rest into portions. He also put some long white mushrooms on the grill for veggie boy - none of us remember what kind they were, but he liked them a lot. D. doesn't like mushrooms but she tried them and liked them too.
I'm a barbarian who likes steaks medium well, not rare, and was a little nervous about this, but even though technically it was rare, I liked it. What I don't like is the squishy quality of rare meat. Because this had been cooked so long it was firm, but with a rare taste, and that was great. He'd told us to ask for more if we wanted, and a couple of people asked for bones to gnaw on.
Fifth course: Trio of Desserts. Wine: Badia a coltibuono - vin Santo - Chianti Classico - 2004
We each got a triangular plate with a tiny perfect dessert in each corner:
Coconut panno cotta with freeze dried strawberries
Citrus bread pudding made with macadamia nuts and olive oil, topped with a scoop of vanilla macadamia nut ice cream
Chocolate cookie shell filled with caramel
I tasted the panno cotta and it wasn't for me because of the coconut and strawberries, so I gave it to someone who does. The chocolate dessert looked like a small mousse so it was a surprise that the outside was crisp. The caramel was creamy and luscious. But it was the bread pudding I liked best, so moist and rich and with a great citrus taste. A dessert with olive oil hadn't sounded good but you didn't taste it.
We drank up the Chianti so he brought out something called Vin Santo made of dried grapes, very sweet, but perfect with the dessert.
Here's someone's description of a Il Teatro dinner they had in 2008.