Freshness. Seasonality. Local, sustainable organic sourcing. Unique. Food Love.
EAT is a true hidden gem. When I first found EAT, I immediately thought it reminded me of many of the small cafe eateries I used to visit in Napa Valley when I used to live there.
The owners started out as one private chef to a Hawaii Loa Ridge household and one Sommelier from Boston. Together, they opened up EAT as a unique restaurant with a focus on Fresh, Seasonal Ingredients with Local, Sustainable Sourcing. As such, their menu changes every season. They're constantly on the lookout for the best local farms and producers to source from, so they have the best of the season to serve, and it shows. Not only in the quality of the food, but in the quality of the whole operation -- when you have a philosophy of not just being "good enough", but doing it RIGHT, every time, it shows.
EAT's operation is only partially the cafe you see when you visit and eat there. A lot of their business is in private events, catering and special dinners. This is one of the things I love the most about EAT -- they have a small, private dining room that seats 14, and they will hold dinners that you can RSVP for prix fixe, Omakase style.
Coming soon (as of this review on 3 April 2012) are a dinner based on Snout-to-Tail cooking, as they bring in an $1800 top-quality local hog to prepare for their dinner guests, another based around garlic, and seasonal deconstrucitons with 24 courses to taste. You can also make reservations to have private dinners there, with a minimum of $500+ food; and you can work with the chef and sommelier directly to come up with a perfect menu. Best yet, Jocelyn, who is one of the owners and the Sommelier, can help you pair and select wines for your meal, which you can buy yourself outside to save money and bring BYOB to EAT to drink with no corkage fee. These guys love food, love to share the love for it, and it shows.
Now, here's what you need to know about EAT:
Parking: Lots of it and free. EAT is located in the Gentry Pacific Design Center near/ across the street from Sam Choy's BLC. Bottom floor, you'll see it.
Food: EAT's food is light, healthy, delicious, full of flavor and fresh -- just like cafes in Napa Valley who source their ingredients from farms and producers just down the street who share the same attention to quality. Even more interesting, EAT does vegetarian versions of every dish on the menu.
This visit, I had the Surf & Turf Burger. To start, the bun is made in-house. It's buttered and grilled then topped with a housemade chili aioli or red wine ketchup. The beef is sourced from a farm on Kauai, ground fresh in-house, cooked medium. This is topped with avocado, red onion, tomato, and then finally with a perfectly crisp and juicy deep-fried soft-shell crab. I had the "make it a plate" option with the Polenta Fries (polenta cakes cut into fries and then fried) and Couscous Salad, both of which are delicious and among my regular favorites. The burger also comes with some of the highest-quality housemade pickles, pickled daikon and pickled onion I've had in my life.
(see attached photos)
EAT has the cooking philosophy of slow-cooking and doing it right. You can tell when you get your food. Instead of getting something that looks nothing like what you see in magazine photos, you get exactly what you saw for the magazine photo shoot, every time. Great care is put into preparing everything that is served to you. As such, they are not fast. But that's a good thing sometimes. And this is one of those times.
Also, they serve Otto Cheesecake. And are BYOB. Win.
Ordering: To keep their prices down for the quality of food they serve, EAT is counter service. Look at the menu online at http://www.eathonolulu.com in advance, or look at it on the board as you arrive. Order from the counter. They'll call your number, pick up from the counter. It takes a while (see above), around 20 mins or so.
Seating: Seating space for about 50, including tables of 2, 4, 6, and a bar. Free Wi-Fi.
Service: There really isn't service beyond ordering and talking to the staff. They are friendly and knowledgeable.
Decor: Like a cafe in Napa Valley.
Cost: Starts at about $7 for a burger or sandwich, with other toppings additional, entrees at about $10.
Sometimes when you eat somewhere, you just know they understand what Food Love is. Its similar to when you've been truly, deeply and intimately in love with a woman for years and when you talk about her, you just can't keep your enthusiasm from bubbling over, as if your love is renewed fresh and sustained every season. This is what it's like when talking to the owners and chefs here. They know and understand love -- their kind of love, and they want to share it with you so you too know may know love.
I appreciate restaurants that make it a point to do it right, every time; fresh, seasonal, unique, sustainable, and local. 5/5 read more