Lesley
Nicol and Sophie McShera in "Christmas at Downton
Abbey" (2012)
❖❖❖
HAWAIIAN HONEYMOON, Part One
By Misha Mariani
NEW YORK CORNER
SISTINA
BY John Mariani
❖❖❖
HAWAIIAN
HONEYMOON Part One
By Misha Mariani
Maui
It was
eight years ago that I walked through the doors of
my first job as a young, ambitious, carefree line
cook at The Modern in NYC, just the beginning of
my career in the food and hospitality industry,
but what I didn’t know when I started that day was
that this would be the job that would jump-start
the greatest journey one can embark on in life.
I had been introduced to a
dark-haired, dark-eyed girl with a heart and soul so
genuine and sweet I had to question whether she was
real. This girl later became the woman I would marry
this past September. Being that both of us are in the restaurant
business--she's a pastry chef--there has been little
time for vacations, so when the time came to
discuss where we wanted to go on our honeymoon, we
agreed that we needed to go somewhere warm,
beautiful, relaxing, white sanded, blue watered,
with plenty of outdoor activities, and somewhere
where we were going to eat well. It didn’t take much
deliberation before we decided that Hawaii, more
specifically Maui, fit the bill, and that it would
be our honeymoon destination. Our
wedding day was a glorious and memorable day. But
weddings are a lot of work, so we could hardly wait
to board our flight to Maui. Ten and a half hours
later we touched down to the warm sun and blue skies
of the Islands of Hawaii. We rented a car, rolled
down the windows, slipped our sunglasses on,and with
warm wind in our hair, drove off, zipping down oceanside roads and
past sugar cane fields, finally arriving at theGrand Wailea Resort (right), where
we were warmly welcomed with an
“aloha” and the always charming offering of a lei
around our necks, Priscilla’s made of orchid
flowers, mine of kukui nuts.
We then entered the sprawling
open air plaza (above),
adorned with orchids in every direction we
looked, with a shallow pool with a traditional
Polynesian kayak settled in the middle of it, open
to the Pacific’s blue waters. We checked in
and were quickly escorted to our room, where we
settled in and took our first real breath of total
relaxation. The Grand Wailea Resort,
opened in 1991 (now a Waldorf Astoria property), is
well named, for it is nothing short of grand, with
luxurious designin every detail, an abundance of sprawling
open spaces, top-notch hospitality, and a plethora
of amenities to take advantage of. Room
accommodations range from the standard to
suites with amenities such as dedicated concierge
and access to two private lounges, even to your own
private villa. All rooms are elegantly
appointed in a fashion to make you feel happy and at
home, with their beige or cream colored walls,
modern wood furniture, warm lighting, spacious
bathrooms, comforting ceiling fans, and a marvelous
view of the beach and water. After a restful night that took the edge off
our jet lag, my new wife and I stopped by the
resort’s Café Kula
(above),
one ofits
grab-and-go
dining facilities, and with coffee, bagels and
smoothies under our belt, we headed to the Wailea
Beach to settle in for a couple of hours of soaking
up some Hawaiian sun before heading back to
the resort to indulge in some time at the spa. The
Grand Wailea’s Spa is, hands down, one of the most
luxurious and extensive spas I have experienced,
with spacious steam rooms, saunas, cold baths, hot
tubs of varying temperatures, waterfall showers,
massage showers and a five-step salt bath. The
options offered seem endless, and we spent a good
deal of time pampering ourselves before we were led
away for our couples massage, which began with some
robed relaxation sitting out on abalcony
overlooking the ocean (right) and sipping freshly brewed
iced tea. We were then escorted to our private room,
picked out what scented lotions or oils we wanted to
breath in as we settled into our hour-long session
of uninterrupted pampering. Other amenities offered at the Grand Wailea
consist of scuba lessons—I’d actually been certified
here 20 years ago—and an elaborate spool water slide
that winds around the pools. This vast resort has
numerous dining options, such as the outdoor humuhumunukunukuapua (below)—named
after Hawaii’s state fish.Yes, it is a mouthful to say,
so everyone calls it Humu for short.Built
over a million-gallon saltwater pool in which swim Hawaiian spiny lobsters
that you can pick out for you dinner, the restaurant
has a rustic design of dark wood with a thatch roof
and looks out onto one of the most beautiful sunsets
on the island. The menu is Hawaiian cuisine, utilizing local
ingredients and prepared with a talented hand. A crudo of
kampachi served with an avocado puree, ponzu, ginger
and cilantro had a hint of smokiness with a
pick-me-up from the citrus and great depth of
flavor. Hawaiian prawns served with tapioca &
shiitake mushrooms were a true regional delight to
the palate. Humu’s wine list is a modest one with respect
to its number of selections, but they are very
reasonably priced, mostly California labels. The Bar
opens at five p.m. nightly and reservations for
dinner are available seven nights a week. Early one evening in our room, we popped a
bottle of Champagne, poured two glasses, toasted to
our new life together and got ready to head out to
dinner at a restaurant in the Wailea Marriott called
MiGRANT,
where Chef Sheldon Simeon (below) is at the helm of the
kitchen. Native to the
Islands and trained at the Maui Culinary Academy,
Simeon quickly acquired local recognition for his
talents.He
spent some time in New York, where he expanded his
knowledge of Asian cuisine by exploring all the
top-notch noodle bars and ramen shops the city has
to offer, then returned to Hawaii to lead a new
venture called Star Noodle, which earned him
multiple accolades, including more than one James
Beard Award, for his unique and inspiring renditions
of dishes based on Hawaiian ingredients and
preparations. When we arrived at MiGRANT, we were whisked to our
table on the terrace and greeted by an enthusiastic,
well- versed, hospitable server, who we later
learned had followed Chef Simeon from Star Noodle
out of admiration for him.That night we just put
ourselves in the chef’s hands. To start, a large bowl of chicharrones
with Hawaiian spicy water was gobbled up as soon as
it hit our table.A
salad of local kale (below)
bruised with Hawaiian sea salt to
tenderize it exceeded expectations for flavor
through dried white figs, crunchy pumpkin seeds,
refreshing Japanese cucumber and slightly sweet miso
dressing. For
someone who doesn’t particularly care for oysters, I
was delighted with an oyster shooter with kalamanzi
juice, olive oil and a kick of spice to excite the
palate. Well prepared with outstanding ingredients,
if not so exciting, was a ahi tuna tartar with
avocado, soy sauce and samba. Chef Simeon showcases his talent throughout
the entire menu, but his main dishes really shine:
such as his take on Korean Fried Chicken, perfectly
crisped batter and a Filipino Kare Kare sauce;his
Filipino sweet pork with guava jelly and pickled
onions;Ay
Kudesh! Garlic Noodles, of which the menu warns you
about being overbearingly spicy, actually showed
Simeon’s skill at balancing his flavors when
accompanied with his exceptionally prepared
pork belly with tomato, red onions and shiso. The menu is in three sections: pupus, main
and noodles.Though
a little limited in its selections, every dish is
focused and carefully thought out so as to ensure
you will not be disappointed with any choice. After dinner we retreated back to our room,
trusting that the days of our honeymoon to come
would be just as enjoyable as our first night. The
island of Maui is filled with exciting new
restaurants and ambitious, talented young chefs, and
a restaurant that exemplifies this is Ka'ana Kitchen (right) in the
Andaz Maui at Wailea, a Hyatt property, that even
has its own farm. Right
inside the entrance is a table manned by
bartenders/mixologists ready to prepare inventive
and creative cocktails to satisfy any serious
cocktailer.Just
behind them is an open kitchen, where we watched
Chef Isaac Bancaco and his staff diligently
preparing our evening’s meal. Bancaco, Maui born,
ventured out to other culinary cities in the
continental U.S. to expand his repertoire and to
hone his skills as a cook. Then he returned to Maui,
first to take over as chef at the Grand Wailea’s
Humuhumunukunukuapua, then to add to his résumé the
title of Executive Chef at Ka’ana in 2013. Ka’ana is a sleek, newly designed restaurant
that is not only redefining serious fine dining on
the island but setting a standard as well. The
modern design of the restaurant has both indoor and
outdoor dining. The interior captures the living
room feel of being at a friend’s home, with open
kitchen.The
staff wears gingham attire. The dining room is very
beautiful, lavished with dark wooden floors, a
number of lightly upholstered banquette seats and
dark leather strapped chairs [PIC 7]. Shaded hanging
lights add a warm glow to the room and the activity
from the kitchen keeps you entertained and adds an
energy to your experience. The word Ka’ana
means “to share,” and that is the concept behind
this exciting restaurant,with a menu built around that
family-style concept. It is broken down into six
different categories, e.g., Kona
Cold Lobster or Kula Country Farms, with each one
comprised of three dishes that represent its
classification. Grilled octopus (left) with
local goat’s cheese, frisée, asparagus and grilled
bread was a combo I had some trepidation about
ordering, but Chef Isaac proved how well he
conceived the dish, with its smoky notes and layered
flavors. Abalone risotto with a poached egg was a
dish I was excited to try and glad I did. With its
complementing textures of the perfectly al dente
risotto and subtle bite of the abalone, its creamy
rich flavor and the slight brininess of the seafood,
it was a justified hit. Were you ask me my favorite cut of steak, the
answer would be a ribeye, mostly due to the
generously marbled cap that wraps around the eye of
the loin. Anytime I go to the butcher, I always ask
for it to be cut closer to the shoulder side because
that’s where the thickest part of the ribeye cap is.
Chef Isaac must have known I was a sucker for this
and had broken down his ribeye and offered it in two
different preparations, Ribeye cap and eye of
Rib-eye. Which do you think I chose? Yes, the ribeye
cap. Wonderfully striated and grilled to a perfect
medium-rare, the cap was accompanied
by peanuts, green papaya and enokitake
mushrooms, with an acidity that perfectly cut
through the richness of the cap. Other dishes that are a must are Chef’s
Hawaiian Lobster with grilled pineapple, mushrooms
and fresh mint, and his Ahi Tuna with a fennel and
citrus salad, bulghur wheat and baby carrots. Ka’ana delivers on all fronts, from
professional and well-informed service, to exquisite
food and an enjoyable ambiance. For those looking
for a sophisticated, higher level dining experience
without the pretense, Ka’ana Kitchen is a must. Part Two of this story will appear
shortly.
Grand
Wailea offers several Wedding Packages, which
includes use of the Wailea Seaside Chapel and
gardens and Hawaiian procession.
Misha
Mariani and Priscilla Scaff were
married on September, 26. 2014.
A
few weeks ago I heaped high praise on the
22-year-old midtown Italian restaurant
San Pietro, whose owner, Gerardo
Bruno, has long been one of New York’s premier
hosts. Upon writing that, I realized that
it’s been at least a decade since I’d dined at
his brother Giuseppe’s restaurant, Sistina,
located on the Upper East Side for 30 years now.
So, on my
return to Sistina, I was happy to find that they
are quite different restaurants in their menus
but share the same degree of generous
professionalism that has kept their dining rooms
full at lunch and dinner with the kind of
faithful clientele younger restaurateurs would
kill to have. (The brothers also run
Caravaggio, also on the Upper East Side.) Upon
entering Sistina, I was immediately greeted by
Giuseppe Bruno with an ebullience that
distinguishes the two brothers, a balance of
real warmth, congenial humor, and sincere
respect that immediately wins people over.
(And, after meeting Giuseppe’s son that evening,
I suspect the next generation will be getting in
on the act soon.) The dining room and
kitchen staff have gone through the motions so
many times for so many years—at least
one waiter has been here since the restaurant
opened—that flawless delivery is pretty much a
given, from the moment you sit down and
breadsticks and focaccia are brought over to
the deft shaking of a cocktail through the last
service of espresso. (Giuseppe imparted
his method of getting his staff to stay on for
so long: “I tell them to buy a house. Then they
have to stay with me to pay their mortgage!”) The place
looks wonderful, more sprightly than ever, with
charming cartoons of fish, golden lighting
throughout, well-set tables and very comfortable
chairs—the kind of things too often forgotten in
new restaurants where buzz replaces bonhomie. Sistina’s
printed menu hasn’t changed radically in thirty
years, but there are so many nightly specials
that regulars need not even look at it. My
friends and I just told Giuseppe to serve us all
the night’s specials, which began with excellent
Italian charcuterie made for the restaurant
according to Giuseppe’s instructions, a big
platter served with pickled vegetables, a red
wine reduction and English mustard.
A salad
of Treviso, tartivo, and Castelfranco olives with
persimmons, toasted walnuts, dates, olive
oil-mustard vinaigrette and shaved Parmesan is a
starter but would make an ideal lunch on its own,
and I can’t say enough about the luscious Parmesan
tortino
with chanterelle mushrooms.But the
most applauded surprise that evening was the
holiday pork sausage known as zampone—a
specialty of Modena in which the pork is stuffed into
the pig’s trotter and served with lentils and
mustard fruit. With these we drank a fine Greco di
Tufo by Petilla from a global wine list built with
care over many, many years, with some bottlings
dating back to the 1960s and an extraordinary
number of Grand Cru French wines.
The nightly offerings are
always geared to the season, so of course Sistina
now has the most aromatic white truffles, which
are served over what Giuseppe insists is the best
risotto in New York—an opinion I must now share
after tasting this marvelous rendition. Of course,
a generous shaving of white truffles doesn’t hurt.
Maccheroncini
were lavished with a rich veal ragù, wild
mushrooms and spices, while wide, tender
pappardelle came with shreds of long-simmered
venison.
The short season for bay
scallops is well noted at Sistina, the fat sweet
nubbins sautéed quickly and served with a
cauliflower puree.There was a Prime rib-eye with root
vegetables, red wine and truffled sea salt, the
beef as fine as at any New York steakhouse, and
wild red leg Scottish partridge with porcini,
black truffle salsify and partridge jus,
which had just the right amount of gaminess, a
virtue it shared with venison filet with butternut
squash and red wine sauce.Our red
wine was a Bricco del Uccellone Braida Barbera.
We had dined heartily and with
great gusto, but we could not refuse a dessert of
chocolate polenta
lashed with Grand Marnier over blood orange
segments with orange zest and raspberry sorbet; a
perfect, flourless, almond-studdedtorta caprese;a
ricottaand
pear cake;andgattopardo,
a ricotta layer cake speckled with pistachios,
whose name means “leopard.”
This was as grand a holiday
meal as I’ve ever had, and when I say it mirrors
the best in Italy—and the Bruno brothers are from
the Amalfi Coast—it is very rare praise on my
part, because however many excellent Italian
restaurants there are in New York, very few match
the flavors back in Italy.
Marry
that to a hospitality that has been honed over
thirty years, and you have a template anyone
thinking of opening an authentic Italian
restaurant in America should take necessary heed
of.
Sistina is
open daily for lunch and dinner. Antipasti
$18-$36, pastas $22-$28, main courses $32-$52.
❖❖❖
QUICK BYTES
* On Tuesday, December
16th, Le Cirque
restaurant in NYC celebrates its 40th
Anniversary with an "Andrea
Bocelli Humanitarian Award," with Mr. Bocelli (who may well sing!)
attending.
The dinner, at $600 per
person, will be prepared by guest chef Fulvio Pierangelini of Forte Hotels, Chef
Raphaël
François of Le Cirque,Chef
Raphaël François "Le Cirque"and Chef
Massimo Bebber of NYC's Sirio Ristorante,
Pastry Chef Josoon Seuk "Le Cirque" includes Aperitif
and Canapés with Franciacorta “Vintage Collection”
Brut, Cà del Bosco 2009; Sea Scallops, Potato,
Artichoke and White Truffle with "Tirsat"
Viognier-Chardonnay, Gurra di Mare, Sicily;
Cappelletti, Burrata, Chestnut Purée and White
Truffle with "Poggio alla Guardia" Rocca di
Frasinello, Tuscany; 7X Beef Waygu Ribeye,
Beefcheek,Brisket Confit and Black Truffle with
Rocca Di Frassinello, Jamaique Pepper and
Radicchio di Treviso with "Rocca di Frasinello",
Rocca di Frasinello; Poached Pear, Chestnut Crème,
Pistachio Financier and Caramel Ice Cream with
Passito Gianfranco Ferré Gewurtztraminer-Semillon
Feudi del Pisciotto; Urbani Chocolate Truffle and
Caffé. For details call (212)
644-0202.
❖❖❖
HIPSTER
FOODIE PROSE
FOR 15-YEAR-OLDS
"While `heyday' might be the phrase your Granddad uses
when laying out his old hockey glory stories in
painstaking detail, it’s ALSO what you’ll be experiencing
while feasting on rabbit terrine at this Twin Cities’
restaurant that manages to combine rock ’n’ roll
(Replacements quotations scrawl across the walls,
reminding people younger than your Pops where the name
came from) with American Nouveau food and a whiskey-heavy
seasonal cocktail rotation."--"Heyday: 21 Best New
Restaurants in America," Thrillist.
AWESOME! NOW YOU TOO CAN LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE
IDIOT!
Toys "R" Us is now selling an unauthorized Guy Fieri costume,
dubbed a
“celebrity chef wig and goatee” for $9.75.
❖❖❖
Any of John Mariani's
books below may be ordered from amazon.com.
JUST IN TIME
FOR CHRISTMAS!
I'm proud and happy to announce
that my new book, The Hound in Heaven
(21st Century Lion Books), has just been published
through Amazon and Kindle. It is a Christmas
novella, and for anyone who loves dogs, Christmas,
romance, inspiration, even the supernatural, I hope
you'll find this to be a treasured favorite. The
story concerns how, after a
New England teacher, his wife and their two daughters
adopt a stray puppy found in their barn in northern
Maine, their lives seem full of promise. But when
tragedy strikes, their wonderful dog Lazarus and the
spirit of Christmas are the only things that may bring
back his master back from the edge of despair. WATCH
THE VIDEO
“What a huge surprise turn this story took! I was
completely stunned! I truly enjoyed this book and its
message.” – Actress Ali MacGraw
“He had me at Page One. The amount of heart, human
insight, soul searching, and deft literary strength that
John Mariani pours into this airtight novella is
vertigo-inducing. Perhaps ‘wow’ would be the best
comment.” – James Dalessandro, author of Bohemian Heart
and 1906.
“John Mariani’s Hound
in Heaven starts with a well-painted portrayal
of an American family, along with the requisite dog. A
surprise event flips the action of the novel and
captures us for a voyage leading to a hopeful and
heart-warming message. A page turning, one sitting read,
it’s the perfect antidote for the winter and promotion
of holiday celebration.” – Ann Pearlman, author of The Christmas Cookie Club
and A Gift for my
Sister.
“John Mariani’s concise, achingly beautiful novella
pulls a literary rabbit out of a hat – a mash-up of the
cosmic and the intimate, the tragic and the
heart-warming – a Christmas tale for all ages, and all
faiths. Read it to your children, read it to yourself…
but read it. Early and often. Highly recommended.” – Jay
Bonansinga, New York
Times bestselling author of Pinkerton’s War, The
Sinking of The Eastland, and The Walking Dead: The Road
To Woodbury.
“Amazing things happen when you open your heart to an
animal. The Hound in
Heaven delivers a powerful story of healing
that is forged in the spiritual relationship between a
man and his best friend. The book brings a message of
hope that can enrich our images of family, love, and
loss.” – Dr. Barbara Royal, author of The Royal Treatment.
Modesty forbids me to praise my own new book, but
let me proudly say that it is an extensive
revision of the 4th edition that appeared more
than a decade ago, before locavores, molecular
cuisine, modernist cuisine, the Food Network and
so much more, now included. Word origins have been
completely updated, as have per capita consumption
and production stats. Most important, for the
first time since publication in the 1980s, the
book includes more than 100 biographies of
Americans who have changed the way we cook, eat
and drink -- from Fannie Farmer and Julia Child to
Robert Mondavi and Thomas Keller.
"This book is amazing! It has entries for
everything from `abalone' to `zwieback,' plus more
than 500 recipes for classic American dishes and
drinks."--Devra First, The Boston Globe.
"Much needed in any kitchen library."--Bon Appetit.
Now in Paperback,
too--How Italian Food Conquered the
World (Palgrave Macmillan) has won top prize from the
Gourmand
World Cookbook Awards. It is
a rollicking history of the food culture of
Italy and its ravenous embrace in the 21st
century by the entire world. From ancient Rome
to la dolce
vita of post-war Italy, from Italian
immigrant cooks to celebrity chefs, from
pizzerias to high-class ristoranti,
this chronicle of a culinary diaspora is as
much about the world's changing tastes,
prejudices, and dietary fads as about
our obsessions with culinary fashion and
style.--John Mariani
"Eating Italian will
never be the same after reading
John Mariani's entertaining and
savory gastronomical history of
the cuisine of Italy and how it
won over appetites worldwide. . .
. This book is such a tasteful
narrative that it will literally
make you hungry for Italian food
and arouse your appetite for
gastronomical history."--Don
Oldenburg, USA Today.
"Italian
restaurants--some good, some glitzy--far
outnumber their French rivals. Many of
these establishments are zestfully described
in How Italian Food Conquered the World, an
entertaining and fact-filled chronicle by
food-and-wine correspondent John F.
Mariani."--Aram Bakshian Jr., Wall Street
Journal.
"Mariani
admirably dishes out the story of
Italy’s remarkable global ascent
to virtual culinary
hegemony....Like a chef gladly
divulging a cherished family
recipe, Mariani’s book reveals the
secret sauce about how Italy’s
cuisine put gusto in gusto!"--David
Lincoln Ross,
thedailybeast.com
"Equal parts
history, sociology, gastronomy, and just
plain fun, How Italian Food Conquered the
World tells the captivating and delicious
story of the (let's face it) everybody's
favorite cuisine with clarity, verve and
more than one surprise."--Colman Andrews,
editorial director of The Daily
Meal.com.
"A fantastic and fascinating
read, covering everything from the influence
of Venice's spice trade to the impact of
Italian immigrants in America and the
evolution of alta cucina. This book will
serve as a terrific resource to anyone
interested in the real story of Italian
food."--Mary Ann Esposito, host of PBS-TV's
Ciao
Italia.
"John Mariani has written the
definitive history of how Italians won their
way into our hearts, minds, and
stomachs. It's a story of pleasure over
pomp and taste over technique."--Danny Meyer,
owner of NYC restaurants Union Square
Cafe, The Modern, and Maialino.
❖❖❖
FEATURED
LINKS: I am happy to report
that the Virtual
Gourmet is linked to four excellent
travel sites:
I consider this the best and
savviest blog of its kind on the web. Potter is a
columnist for USA
Weekend, Diversion, Laptop and Luxury Spa Finder,
a contributing editor for Ski and a frequent contributor
to National
Geographic Traveler, ForbesTraveler.com
and Elle Decor.
"I’ve designed this site is for people who take
their travel seriously," says Potter. "For
travelers who want to learn about special places
but don’t necessarily want to pay through the nose for
the privilege of staying there. Because at the end
of the day, it’s not so much about five-star
places as five-star experiences." THIS WEEK:LA
RESTAURANTS GO GLOBAL
Eating Las Vegas
is the new on-line site for Virtual Gourmet
contributor John A. Curtas., who since 1995
has been commenting on the Las Vegas food
scene and reviewing restaurants for Nevada
Public Radio. He is also the
restaurant critic for KLAS TV, Channel 8 in
Las Vegas, and his past reviews can be
accessed at KNPR.org.
Click on the logo below to go directly to
his site.
Tennis Resorts Online:
A Critical Guide to the
World's Best Tennis Resorts and Tennis Camps, published
by ROGER COX, who has spent more than two decades
writing about tennis travel, including a 17-year stretch
for Tennis magazine.
He has also written for Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, New York Magazine, Travel &
Leisure, Esquire, Money, USTA Magazine, Men's Journal,
and The Robb
Report. He has authored two books-The World's Best Tennis
Vacations (Stephen Greene Press/Viking
Penguin, 1990) and The
Best Places to Stay in the Rockies (Houghton Mifflin,
1992 & 1994), and the Melbourne (Australia) chapter
to the Wall Street
Journal Business Guide to Cities of the Pacific Rim (Fodor's
Travel Guides, 1991).
nickonwine:
An engaging, interactive
wine column by Nick Passmore, Artisanal Editor, Four
Seasons Magazine; Wine Columnist, BusinessWeek.com;
nick@nickonwine.com; www.nickonwine.com.
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John
Mariani. Editor: Walter Bagley. Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani,
Robert Mariani,Misha
Mariani,
John A. Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein,
Andrew Chalk,Dotty Griffith and Brian Freedman. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Dargery, Bobby
Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.