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Sabrinas, a closer look
Aloha!
6/27/09 - My gosh! I was all prepared to hit the 1st Annual Smoked Meat Contest this past Sunday at Heeia Pier in Kaneohe, but that dreaded call came, and I had to work instead! Big Al was all set to pick me up, but sorry guy, not happening this time. Bummers. But I do know someone who did go to the event - none other than the roaming reporter, Pomai at the Tasty Island! He's got, like, a gazillion pics of every kind of smoked meat you could ever think of, along with the play-by-play, so check it out. It was sponsored by Reno Henriques, a really cool guy and owner of Fresh Catch in Kaimuki, an awesome poke spot with an unreal oxtail soup and some really, really killer plates, as well. Next year I won't miss the contest, gah-rahn-tee!
Oh, and just to let you know, I just got an e-mail from Alyson over at Lei Chic, and she says there's no way they are not gonna air the segment we did over at Zenshu. As it stands, it looks like it'll probably air this-coming Thursday, instead, but after last week, I wouldn't necessarily count on it. Hey, it'll always be on the internet afterwards on either LeiChic.com or KGMB's site, so I don't think I'll be waking up early, especially if I gotta work late the night before!
As for now, let's head-on-over Kaimuki, and the intersection of Waialae Ave. and St. Louis Dr., where sits Sabrina's Italian Restaurant. According to the relatively little I know about Italian cuisine, this quaint, cozy spot is just about as authentic as it gets on the island...
Not that I can say much more beyond that, as like real American BBQ, such as at Hog Island the other week, my experience with Italian lies from study and the direction of people I trust, food-wise, including the many Chefs I've been lucky enough to be around at work in the last 15 years or so. Still, there are always certain things, albeit simple stuff, that point you in the direction of authenticity in an Italian restaurant. Like the fresh salsa barometer in Mexican foods, complementary servings of bread before any meal is always a sign of things to come when going Italian.
You always wanna see olive oil and balsamic vinegar along with your bread, and never sticks of butter, I don't care if they be dill-infused, basil-laced, or otherwise fancified in any way, shape or form. However, a bit partial, I am, as I'm a big proponent of healthy fats - you know, stuff like avocado, flax, macadamia nuts, salmon, and yes, olive oil. And without EVOO and vinegar, it's just not the same...
I love the look and feel of the inside, with those homey, old-country pictures, hard-wood floor, two-toned tablecloths, cozy-white curtains w/boxed windows, and yeah, Christmas lights all over the place! Seriously, don't you just love those twinkling white lights? And when you combine them with lattice-works and a roof-top trellis with climbing vines? A scene ripe for romance, it is!
I remember a looong time ago, when I sampled, for the first time, escargot. Snails, that is. I totally forgot the name of the spot serving them, but it was a popular Italian restaurant at the time, located on S. Beretania St. (or was it Young?), closer to the University-side. It was an experience I remember to this very day, because it was what kept me from having escargot for all these many years afterwards! That after-taste was pretty darn awful, and the only inspiration I had for trying them again was Andrew Zimmern. It's all his fault! Well, being in a restaurant like this also helped, I gotta say. I don't have a feisty Italian grandmother to pinch me in the cheeks, nor a grandfather to put me in a bear-hug and kiss me on both cheeks, but for whatever it's worth, and I don't exactly know how, Sabrina's just feels Italian, is all! Yeah, I know, escargot is a French word, but the Italian's do a darn good job with it, too!
I did ask our kind waitress, who was very helpful and informative, about the escargot, and she didn't hesitate recommending them, despite me being open about my particular reservations. Although I'll try just about anything, I really don't see myself as a natural when it comes to adventurous eating, so when it comes to snails, I can't see a safer way to have them than this:
I mean, you can't even see the snails, as they were were all sitting under loads and loads of garlic, butter, parmesan cheese, egg yolk, and cream, all some of the most flavor-heavy ingredients on the planet - that's what I'm talking about, wimp that I am! With all that taste, I closed my eyes, pinched my nose, and downed the little creatures with a full glass of water waiting forthwith to wash any possible pain away! Wifey, on the other hand, is a natural at wierd eats, and loved the taste, straight-up! Figures...
But you know what? There was no gamey, horrific after-taste, after all. Not that I particularly enjoyed them, though. Though they weren't too bad, I think I can finally put the whole subject to rest now, as in RIP-rest, as I saw, I ate, I conquered. I have no further reason to try snails ever again. Here's a closer shot:
Hey, there's plenty of other antipasti, or appetizers, in a fine Italian meal. Here at Sabrina's, there's offerings like bruschetta, crostini, carpaccio, and Portobello mushrooms stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Along with escargot, Wifey and I actually went with another appetizer on this particularly fine evening also, the second choice coming as a simple, but absolutely elegant and beautiful prosciutto e melone, or cantaloupe w/prosciutto.
I thought prosciutto was a specific type of ham, but it's really just the generic Italian word for ham. In the States, however, it is mostly considered a certain type of ham, meaning a prosciutto crudo, or raw ham, only it's not exactly raw, as they do cure the pork sections with repeated applications of salt, and the best of 'em age them in controlled temperatures for one to two years in a process that shrinks them down by as much as 30% of their former size!
At Sabrina's, they use either of two types of prosciutto, both of which are on a short list of the best of all varieties. Prosciutto di Parma is the traditional favorite, and is an undisputed choice for quality, but prosciutto di San Daniele, hailing from the northeastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, is quickly becoming just as popular.
These salty/sweet, super-thin cuts were delicious, and worked surprisingly well with the fresh slices of beautiful, super-cold, bright-orange cantaloupe. I'm not too big a fan of fruit for regular meals, but this combination somehow matched as well as bread w/oil and balsamic. Figures, though, as you'll see this mix all over Western Europe.
As for entrees, I definitely had a hard time deciding. Though the menu showed no pics, I could just taste in my mind each and every dish, as they give you all the main ingredients used for building each one. There's a recommended (by our kind waitress) bucatini all'Amatriciana, or hollow spaghetti in a sauce of tomato, pancetta, onion, chili, white wine, and parmesan cheese; a penne alla Norcina, or penne in white wine, with mild Italian sausage, porcini mushrooms, and parmesan cheese; or a grand risotto ai frutti di mare, or arborio rice risotto with fresh clams, mussels, tiger shrimp, calamari, and scallops in a garlic, parsley, and white wine tomato sauce.
But what I really wanna try next time are the meaty choices, such as various types of spiedini (skewer), or the many types of chicken, veal, lamb, or salmon dishes. A couple of them in particular sound especially appealing, those being the ossobucco on saffron rice, and tenderloin filet, both of which must be ordered a day ahead.
With wifey preferring red sauces, I did the opposite and went with a white sauce, in the form of a rigatoni alla boscaiola:
Lemme tell ya - this dish was flawless! You really notice the care these people put into their dishes. In fact, right there on the table, there's a note (warning?) that they make everything with the kind of old-school authenticity and luuuv you'd expect from home-cooked meals. Hey, we've all heard the horror stories of the lengthy waits at this place, but with food like this, all's you need is good company and a bottle or two of wine (it's byob), and nooo problem! Tonight, it actually wasn't a long wait at all, although we did get there early, placing our orders well before the crowds began arriving.
The bits of slightly-sweet, slightly-salty pancetta ham were delicious, and the cream sauce, as complex and sophisticated as they get, coming highly flavorful yet delicate at the same time. Nothing canned here, that's for sure. I thought those round, green thingie's were large capers, but they were actually small peas, along with rigatoni pasta, mushrooms, white wine, onions, parsley, parmesan cheese, and that delicious pancetta. Like I said - flawless!!!
There are several fresh, house-made pasta choices, one of them being a linguine al nero di seppia, or black squid ink linguine in a Sicilian-style sauce, made from chili, garlic, tomato, olive oil, and parsley.
Like my dish, this one was definitely sophisticated as well, free of canned tomato sauce and rife with chunks of fresh garlic and that fabulous taste that can come from none other than fresh-from-the-vine. And if you think the noodles come with the taste of squid, or at least of something from the sea, think again, as it's mostly for visual effect, and you probably won't be able to taste much difference. Just makes everthing more fun and interesting. Pretty, huh?
If I had a friend visiting from Italy, this is one of the spots I'd definitely bring him to. How it'd stack up, I'm not really sure, but it surely is showing one of our better foot's forward.
Hey, I'm outta here - the gang's over tonight for another hibachi, so here we go, off to more good eats and great company! I'll take some shots, and do another Hibachi Time pretty soon!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
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Comments:
Doug (7/18/09) - Aku, I didn't think I would ever eat escargo either, but I went to a private function at Chai's Island Bistro and tried the escargo without knowing what I was eating and was very surprised, the texture wasn't bad and the flavor of the sauce was very good.If you go to Chai's try them I think you will like it.
Aku (7/18/09) - Hey, will do Doug! But on second thought, I better not make any promises! There's so much good stuff at Chai's, so who knows what dishes my appetite will lead me to when I do get back there! But thanks for the recommendation, I'm sure there are plenty of escargot lovers out there, and I'm sure they'll be glad to know that Chai's is the place to be for the slimy critters!
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