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Brasserie Du Vin, a closer look
Aloha!
2/17/09 - Each and every day, drama unfolds and life plays itself out on every corner of every street, every room of every house, and even every bush of every field. Check out this shot from a Waikiki bush-top, by my good friend Jeff Benik. Sucks to be a brown anole around a hungry cattle egret, that's for sure! But then again, I can't stand those little alien invaders, because they're the ones killing off all the green anole's and gecko's. I kinda miss those transluscent-skinned, big-toed gecko's munching all the moths and flies on our window screens at night!
It was on Valentine's day that I took wifey out for lunch, since I'm so super-busy at work right now and couldn't get the night off. And, seeing that I promised you all visits to restaurants in some of the less-visited categories, I figured I'd take out two birds with one stone by checking out Brasserie Du Vin, a cool French eatery in Downtown located on Bethel St., right across from the Hawaii Theatre. Wifey couldn't have been happier.
You know girls from Japan, they just love the old-style European Village look, and Brasserie Du Vin does play the part well, with an outer courtyard area looking very much like a French sidewalk Cafe. There are red-brick flower boxes and floors, green vines blanketing walls, striped window over-hangs, mini water structures, and other quaintly decorated details. At the very end lays a little cubby-hole housing a single table, which made the perfect spot for a Lovers' day lunch. Unfortunately, it only opened up after wifey and I finished our meal.
There's also a roomy inner area, as well, one side completely occupied by a large, well-stocked bar containing just about any drink you could ever imagine!
A light drizzle threatened impending disruption to our leisurely meal, but the large umbrella covering our table shielded us from most of the damage. The menu here has grown a bit from what I remember the last time we stopped by, but is still on the small side, with a selection of fine cheeses, deli-style meats, and salads to start with, along with several gourmet sandwiches, full plates, and fancy desserts. No matter what your main course is, you'd do yourself a favor by trying at least an appetizer of moules frites, or New Zealand mussels in a savory broth of white wine, garlic, and herbs, then topped with pommes frites, or french fries. They use the French term so the sophisticated bunch Downtown can order it and still feel like they're having a chic, trendy lunch...
There seemed to be two different varieties of mussel in this pile, one a larger, bright orange and the other a smaller, greyish-white color, but our kind waiter said they were all the same type, brought in from the same location in New Zealand. Both came soft, tender, juicy, and absolutely delicious, especially when shelled and dipped again in all that lovely broth, but somehow, the orange one's always tasted much more flavorful and sweet. I guess it's kinda like opihi, where the yellow and black-colored opihi are much more esteemed than the greyish-colored one's, even though I do believe they are of the same species.
If it were any other day but Valentine's, we'd have gone right into the main courses, but I figured we'd stretch it out a bit and just enjoy the day, something that's been getting more and more difficult to do with all the project's spinning around in this dreamy-minded head of mine.
I was never one particularly high on cheeses in the past, but only recently have been acquiring a taste for these fermented milk products. Just the sheer fact of knowing that cheese-making, and dairy in general, has been such an important staple for so many different cultures down throughout the ages and has turned into such an art form for so many, is enough to pique my interest and spur my inner sense of wonder - with so many different varieties and qualities around, you just know that there must be all kinds of hidden treasures, all kinds of historical and geographical distinctions, and all kinds of varied platforms for revealing a deeper appreciation of cheese-making in general. You know that each type of gourmet cheese has a different story all it's own to tell!
Plus, for me, it's just plain-fun to sample several different varieties, trying in my hopelessly amateur-ish palate to differentiate between the various flavors and qualities, then comparing my conclusions with wifey, who may have a completely different take on the matter.
For those who wanna know, from the slice of cheese on the right-hand, bottom of the salami/veggie mix, then following clock-wise, is a super-creamy Gouda, a Maytag Blue from Iowa, a buttery-soft Tallegio from Italy, and finally, a firm, nutty, Spanish Manchego cheese made from sheep's milk. Both wifey and I enjoyed the super-sharp, pronounced taste of the Maytag Blue the best, although I also enjoyed the thin-sliced Spanish Manchego, despite the fact that it wasn't nearly as creamy-soft as the others, with a harder, dryer texture that made it seem a bit more crude and rustic than the others.
Outside of pepperoni, there is no single, sliced, deli meat coming in a tube that I really love, but this Genoa salami was actually not bad at all, coming with a much mellower taste and more tender texture than I'm accustomed to with these types of sausages. I guess I just haven't been around the good stuff like they have here! It was especially great when eaten with a small piece of bread, one of our cheeses, and a small dollop of that fancy mustard provided on our cutting board platter.
And speaking of bread, I forgot all about the bread that was served before anything else. A single, sliced roll was given out and meant to be eaten like in an Italian restaurant, with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, both of which were provided as condiments on each table.
The last time we came, wifey and I ordered roasted chicken with Kalamata olives and a grilled tiger shrimp on mixed greens. Both were excellent, coming with that clean, healthy, Mediterranean-like taste complemented by olives, nuts, and an emphasis on fresh ingredients.
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I would have been completely content and happy with ordering either of these dishes again, but you know me, my search for different flavors and tastes knows no bounds. Very seldom do I order the same dish more than once these days.
On this particularly lovely day, I actually wanted the recommended fish of the day, but wifey was on it before I could even utter a peep! I went instead with the flank steak, which was presented beautifully, seasoned wonderfully, and cooked perfectly, but alas, was a bit on the tough side. Actually, I don't even know why I order steak at all anymore when eating out, because if there's one thing I know I can be a bit of a snob about, it has to be steak. I know this sounds arrogant, but I've not met a restaurant on earth that can cook a better-tasting steak than I can right on my own hibachi. Nothing hits my hot grill other than top-of-the-line tenderloin or rib (Spencer) - unless it's marinated, that is. I don't care if your name is Bobby Flay, Emiril Lagasse, or Alan Wong, you're just not gonna get a flank steak to taste as good as a hibachi rib-eye straight off the grill. No mo' chance, brah! I'm so spoiled, I tell you!
As for the trout that wifey stole from right under my nose, I can see now why our kind waiter was so high on it. In all truth, though, left to my own devices, I'd never order trout anywhere, as I've had it several times when I lived in Oregon for about six months, and was never impressed, not even when plucked right out of the river by our own hooks! It's not so much that trout tastes bad or anything, but again, I guess it's so darn easy to get spoiled living in Hawaii, with some of the freshest, best-tasting fish in the world! When you sit in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and regularly get locally-caught ahi, opakapaka, opah, onaga, and even smaller reef fishes like moi, menpachi, or mullet, ain't no river fish gonna compete with that! Of course, salmon and steelhead don't count, since they both spend most of their lives in the ocean.
Anywayz, getting back to why we did order this particular trout dish, and why we both did find it so appetizing, this one came in a rich white-wine/butter sauce to die for (I forgot to write specifically what type - sorry!). And not only that, but it also came with a sprinkling of applewood-smoked bacon, locally-grown Alii mushrooms, and four jumbo-sized, grilled shrimp! Talk about an unbelievable dress-up! I think the Chef could've taken a tilapia from the Ala Wai canal and made it taste good with this kind of help, although you probably wouldn't be feeling so good afterwards...
Check out this lovely creation:
Because we had so much in the way of appetizers, wifey only had a few bites of her trout, and lucky me, as is so often the case, I got to clean it off for her! I love that woman!!!
Brasserie Du Vin is, by far, the most inexpensive French restaurant on the Island, and no slouch at all when it comes to the cuisine, with a very hip menu that encorporates quality French dining with the freshest of local ingredients and a classy, yet never pretentious presentation of dishes. If wifey had her way, we'd be back here every week! Actually, I wouldn't mind that either, but then I do have, um, a website to run, so I kinda gotta move on...
And so, all you foodie's out there, may the second half of your month be even greater than the first, and may the remainder of your year be the most stellar, ever! May your chin always be up, your head kept high, your heart strong, and your spirit, free as a bird!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
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