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V-Lounge, a closer look
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Other Great Reviews on traditional Italian pizza at V-Lounge!
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Lesa Griffith goes in-depth with V-Lounge Pizza! |
 Pizza Challenge moderated by Kawehi Haug! |
 Yelper's on V-Lounge Pizza! |
 Melissa Chang blogs for the new Star Advertiser! |
 Jason Genegabus reviews V-Lounge! |
6/23/10 - In a matter completely unrelated to pizza at all.....
Kumi and I have been running into a problem recently. A really big problem. You see, it seems we've been hitting a whole lotta pricey restaurants lately, and compounding matters even further, neither of us are particularly inclined to order the cheapest things on the menu. Choose a salad, pasta, herb-roasted chicken, even a kicked-up meatloaf, while listed just below is a guava hoisin rack of lamb, breast of duck l'orange, or crispy-skin opakapaka? Not gonna happen. Neither will we order a single plate over multiple courses, or maki instead of nigiri. Once inside a celebrated eatery of any kind, we both confess to wild and uncontrollable compulsions towards the shamelessly decadent, reasoning that once we step through those doors, we may as well go all the way! You often hear me say "no worries, just order a drink or two, maybe with a couple of appetizers, then leave." Simple as that, right? Yeah... right!
Do as I say, not as I do. There's times Kumi and I splurge on $200+ dinners twice a week, with other meals out, besides - not a good idea when you're planning a nearly three-week trip to perhaps the most expensive place on earth!
What the heck am I smokin'?
Why couldn't we have chosen Honduras, Bali, Vietnam, or Mexico, all places where meals can be found for 50 cents and rooms, for fifteen bucks! Or baahts. Or pesos. Heck, it's not like we don't know how to rough it! Both of us love the thought of camping for five days in the wilderness, and I myself have stayed in $7 rooms in Beijing where cheap chemicals made your sheets as itchy as a bed of fleas, while the external hot-water tank, sitting just above the toilet, worked only half the time. I've gotten attacked by witch doctors in Kenya while staying in mud huts deep in a lost village accessible only by 4-wheel drive, with no electricity or running water, where an absence of light made the stars twinkle so bright, you could literally see satellites slowly moving across the night sky. I've gone through pup-tents in the hills of Oregon without a single shower or toothbrush in sight for seven days straight, wearing the same clothes the entire time. Sometimes, I even illusion myself with thoughts of living in a van, a boat, or complete and total homelessness, thinking how it might be fun devising ways and means to get by, like a modern day, city-dwelling Robinson Crusoe!
Right now, however, we've already stepped through the doors, fallen through the vortex, entered that no-man's land where Visa and MasterCard are Kings of the fiefdom, and I'm afraid... we are going all... the... way! Like after riding that tiny elevator up to Alan Wong's, or after donning a jacket at La Mer, or after stepping through the door at Mavro's - after purchasing our plane tickets, which we just did, there's simply no... way... out! Aaaaahhhhh!!!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there's anywhere on earth like Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, the four countries that comprise Scandinavia (Iceland, too, in many definitions). There are individual cities throughout the world that can be more expensive over-all, but as for entire countries? I do believe Scandinavia towers head-and-shoulders above the rest. From the big cities of Copenhagen, Stockholm, or Oslo to the tiniest of cobblestone streets in Odense, Flam, or Narvik, it's aaalll like Downtown Tokyo! With cashier's at an Oslo McDonald's making over $20 an hour, can you imagine what it takes to survive there? I'll tell you one thing - Kumi and I are gonna be eating a whole lot of canned herring and bread - both very good there, actually, and very different from those we find here in the islands, believe me!
Because of time constraints, we've actually nixed a ferry to Helsinki (sorry Finland and sorry us!), but we'll do our best to cover as much ground as possible in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Call it financial suicide, but we're still going for it! Only live once, right?
The reason I bring this up is because from here thru late August, when we leave, Kumi and I will be doing lots of Closer Look's on sandwiches, plate lunch, and okazuya in place of foie gras, omakase sushi courses, and dry-aged ribeye steaks. It's probably a good thing for us anyway, as we're not quite as familiar with lunch wagons, Korean-style take-out, neighborhood Chinese restaurants, and other inexpensive meals as we should be. Can't say we won't slip-up once in a while, but for the most part, just know that it's all about cheap eats for the next several months!
Betcha forgot by now, but announcements aside, the current subject of debate is pizza. Told you you'd forget! And who's got the best pizza on the island, you ask? Well... some say Mama's (as I've so often stated in the past - but that's for traditional American-style pizza!), some say JJ Dolan's, and heck, some even say Pizza Hut! The latest round of claims seems to have been coming from a nightclub-turned-pizza joint on the Piikoi side of Kona St., right across from the Ala Moana Shopping Center.
V-Lounge is the name, and pizza is their only game, quite literally. When it comes to food, there's pizza, and then, well, there's pizza. But before getting into some serious pie action, we'll cover logistics first:
Just Diamond-head of the entrance, under an overpass that connects to the Ala Moana Shopping Center, sits a parking lot on a pay machine basis. After 10pm, however, there's a valet sitting there, so you'll have to pay him, instead. I know you're all entertaining thoughts of parking right across Kona St., at the shopping center, but if I were you, I wouldn't - the place is crawling with mall cops.
Good news for all you late-nighter's - V Lounge is open every night from 5pm to 4am! There's a few extenuating circumstances, though - no pizza on Sunday, and if they happen to run out of dough at any particular time, that's it for the day! Keep in mind that the atmosphere is like a local sports bar; kids are allowed, but not after 10pm. There's flat-screens, high cocktail tables, track lighting, dark wood panels throughout, and a few dart boards to keep the natives happy. The entire ground surface area is a dance floor, with no fixed structures anywhere outside of a few booths on the sides, and I'm sure they sometimes sweep all the tables and chairs away, bring in a dj, and boogie the night away. You can't see the booth-side, where most of the tables lie, because that's where I'm seated and taking the shots! Sorry!
Here's a closer pic of the bar:
While sitting at this very area, waiting for a couple of take-out pizza boxes, I met not only Chef Aker Briceno, but a young and very cool Blaine Tomita of Vertical Junkies, a local company promoting and marketing entertainment venues and events throughout the State. They've represented and introduced some big-time names out there, including Jack Johnson, Pepper, and Slightly Stoopid, and owner Russ Inouye's deep ties to the surf/skate world have allowed them working relationships with companies like Volcom, Hurley, Billabong, and T&C. I guess they've taken-on marketing for V-Lounge, which is a big reason their pizza has been creating so much buzz recently.
Of course, oh yeah, there is that other thing involved with the success of V-Lounge as well, specifically... the pizza is great!!! Chef Aker uses his background as a formally-trained pastry chef in his hometown of Venezuela and combines it with world-class experience in top restaurants throughout Spain, Italy, Miami, Vegas, and also right here in Hawaii, at Nobu Waikiki. Not only does Chef Aker import his flour from Italy, and not only does he make a fresh batch of dough every day, but according to Lesa Griffith at her excellent site Eatizen Jane, if the dough made on any particular day doesn't meet his strict standards, there'll be no pizza at all that day! I love it!
In fact, instead of explaining from my side the care applied here, I'll just let them explain themselves straight, through a few notes taken verbatim on their website:
The Dough...
Our dough is made from only four simple ingredients; 00 Caputo flour from Italy, water, salt & yeast. The dough is mixed completely by hand. The process of fermenting the dough takes about 18 hours at room temperature, with a minimum amount of yeast. This slow fermentation will produce acidity in the final dough, which gives the product a creamy flavor and also gives the crust a complexity in the texture, ranging from crackly & flakey to soft & chewy. Our dough is made daily & is never frozen. Dough is hand stretched, never rolled. If we run out of dough, that means the kitchen is closed for the night!
The Sauce...
The San Marzano tomato is Italy's most famous plum tomato, grown in Campania, the home of pizza -- since the middle ages. The tomato is prized for its tart flavor, firm pulp, red color, low seed-count, and easily removed skin.
These great tomatoes are the perfect start to the perfect pizza sauce. The simplicity of the sauce is what gives you its pure flavors. Many typical pizza establishments use overpowering sauces which overwhelms the other attributes of the pizza. In turn you lose the distinct flavors from the cheeses, the dough, and other toppings which makes a pizza, a pizza.
The Toppings...
Whenever possible we are committed to buying from our local farmers. From the Hamakua mushrooms to the baby arugula grown in Waiahole we strive to one day buy 100% local. Fresh handmade mozzarella cheese is crafted by our award winning chef. Buffala mozzarella, white anchovies, and cured meats such as Prosciutto, Pancetta, Sopressatta, are imported from Italy.
Whenever possible we are committed to buying from our local farmers. From the Hamakua mushrooms to the baby arugula grown in Waiahole we strive to one day buy 100% local. Fresh handmade mozzarella cheese is crafted by our award winning chef. Buffala mozzarella, white anchovies, and cured meats such as Prosciutto, Pancetta, Sopressatta, are imported from Italy.
If these few paragraphs don't peak your interest, you simply don't like pizza! Stick to Totino's and Tombstone! Just kidding. But that's some high expectations right there. Do they live up to them?
Yes, yes, yes, and YES! On this particular pizza, thin slices of prosciutto di parma are served over local arugula, parmigiano reggiano, a house-made mozzarella, and San Marzan tomato sauce. Artisan quickly comes to mind, as well as traditional Italian, two things not particularly commonplace here in the islands when it comes to pizza. Here, we often think of the word in terms of delivery boy, a comfy couch, Sports Sunday, and Coors or Bud Light. You know, something loaded with cheesy and sausage'y flavors that can still penetrate whatever is left of your palate while numbing-down from a cold six-pack.
No, these fine-shaven slices of cured Italian ham are naturally sweet, naturally smokey, naturally savory, and carry a deep, rich taste oozing with layers and layers of distinct flavors, as should be expected from a ham that can possibly take up to two years curing! It's light yet powerful, and the fancy arugula greens provide a refreshing aspect that balances the meat well.
Within the last couple of weeks, Chef Aker has introduced three new pies, increasing the total number to seven. All toppings are also listed separately, however, so you can mix and match to provide any number of other personal options. Because of their fresh-made qualities, no individual slices are served, and instead arrive whole as 15-incher's costing between $14 to $16. Two of the new varieties are vegetarian specialties, the first being a highly recommended Aosta, coming with Fontina cheese, local tomato, basil, and macadamia nuts, while the second, a Bianca, is topped with dried oregano, house-made mozzarella, ricotta, and parmesan cheeses. I'm sure they're great and all, especially the first, but there was no way I was gonna pass-up the third and final new pizza, a Salsiccia. Along with local sweet onions, ricotta, and chili flakes, there's a delicious Italian sausage made by local outfit Kukui Brand. There may or may not be Italians stuffing these emptied intestinal tubes, but that doesn't concern me one bit, as these things totally hit the spot, and simply carried this particular pizza all the way. The pinkish slices of fatty sausage came with a spicy kick and a meaty flavor, and were generously placed throughout the pie:
Though take-out is an option, it's better to dine-in, since the crust is very thin in the middle. Nevertheless, it is an option, as you can see from the take-out box:
The only thing I didn't really care for on this particular pizza was the ricotta cheese, a sentiment echoed by my several friends who also sampled it. I know they try to bring a more natural, more mellow flavor in all their ingredients, and ricotta doesn't carry a whole lot of strength to begin with, but still, I guess we were just hoping for a wee-bit more zing from this particular cheese. But like I said, the sausage itself was good enough to carry the pie.
The quirky/modern, highly eccentric nature of this place is reflected as well in their bottled hot sauces. Instead of regular brands like Tabasco, Red Devil, Frank's, or even pepper flakes, they continue the local-friendly, social-responsible, fresh-made character qualities by using something called Da Ring Stinger, from Broke Da Face Sauces. Whaaa? Well, turns out, these sauces come from one Cody Kimoto, a former line cook at Alan Wong's, and they're much better to me than any of the above sauces mentioned, I can tell you that much! Not sure if he has a website yet, but he does have a facebook page, so do check it out!
But getting back to pizza, the one variety you simply have to try is their Prima. If anything, it's easily the most unique pie on the island, and if it's not the best, it certainly ranks right up there on any pizza afficionado conversation.
Check this out:
A thing of beauty, it is, and I really can't say enough about it. After having one of these, I made the mistake of trying a slice or two at a couple of other pizza spots, and all of a sudden, everything seemed utterly and completely boring, each bite only exacerbating the giant, gaping hole left in my longing, achy-breaky belly after tasting Chef Aker Briceno's signature dish!
To begin with, and in an aspect shared by all pizzas here, the cracked, singed crust (in places) was a rustic reminder of its house-made, hand-tossed dough, which was also warm, chewy-soft, and fresh-baked as could be. The browned pancetta di San Daniele ham on-top was absolutely killer, coming thicker than the cold prosciutto and with a more bacon-like, smoky, and savory flavor. Fan-tastic, but that's not nearly all! There's also the Hamakua Ali'i oyster mushrooms, fresh from the Big Island, cut in large slices length-wise, lending a silky, other-meaty, fungal earthiness that matched perfectly with the pancetta. But there are two aspects about this pizza that truly, truly push it over the top - a raw egg, placed in the center, along with a healthy drizzling of truffle oil. Quite honestly, when I hear the term truffle, or truffle oil, even, I don't really think much about it. I mean, chances are, you're gonna get a used, abused, and watered-down representation of the real thing, and won't be able to taste it, anyway. Here, however, the truffle oil will enter through every pore of your nasal passages and fill you with an essence so powerful, it'll resonate and cut-thru to the darkest corners of your higher cerebrum. This is the real stuff, and reminiscent of the excellent crab truffle oil ramen at Sansei Sushi and Seafood Restaurant at the Waikiki Marriott Hotel, at least in the truffle aspect.
The creaminess and nature of the raw egg also added a depth of primal, humanistic energy that, when combined with the earthiness of both truffle oil and exotic mushroom, further balanced with a touch of singed, fatty meat, was simply and truly a masterpiece that left me speechless. All I can say is - you gotta try it for yourselves! Check out the eggs, running all over the place (one of the big reasons you don't wanna take-out a prima!).
Of course, the traditional Italian-style pizzas served here may or may not be your thing, as there are plenty out there who swear by traditional American-style versions loaded with mounds of pepperoni and gobs of strong, gooey cheeses, and from these parameters, will not dare defer. No worries - lots of room for both styles, ey? I, myself, though I love American-style pizza as much as anyone else, am more than happy that we can add a true taste of artisan Italian pies to the culinary landscape here in the islands. Now, finally, here's a place where you can bring one of those Chicago and New York pizza elites that we all know and love, who all boast of tradition, swearing by the character and uniqueness of their deep-dish and Long Island specials. I mean, sure, character and tradition, they do have, but I can gah-rahn-tee you this - it can't be deeper, nor wider, nor longer than that of Italy, the birthplace of pizza itself!
Thanks Vertical Junkies, V-Lounge, and Chef Aker Briceno for making it all possible!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
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