New drinks, chicken, hot at Yard House

Nadine Kam photos
From Tennessee to Waikiki: Nashville Hot Chicken is now on the menu at Yard House.

BY NADINE KAM

Yard House has introduced a quintet of new handcrafted cocktails to help you beat the summer heat, borrowing from the romance of the past.

Noting that shows like “Mad Men” and “Boardwalk Empire” have given new life to forgotten drinks, the company’s executive chef Carlito Jocson creating the new cocktail collection:

Blood & Smoke: Blood orange and ancho chili spiced margarita made with Del Maguey “Vida” Mezcal, El Jimador Silver Tequila, Ancho Reyes, Monin Blood Orange, house-made citrus agave and aromatic bitters poured into a salt-rimmed glass.

Bourbon Berry Sour: Made with Buffalo Trace Bourbon, housemade citrus agave, Dekuyper Razzmatazz, orange bitters and raspberries for added sweetness.

Hibiscus Rose: A refreshing herbal and botanical gin martini featuring Bulldog Gin, St. Germain and Lillet Blanc with orange bitters and Monin Hibiscus.

Sidecar: This classic cocktail steps into the 21st century with D’Ussé VSOP Cognac, Cointreau and housemade citrus agave poured into a sugar-rimmed glass.

Cucumber Citrus Tonic: A light, spa-like drink made with Bulldog Gin, Aperol, house-made citrus agave, tonic, cucumber and orange plus orange bitters.

You can probably tell the Hibiscus Rose and Cucumber Citrus Tonic are the girlier drinks, and the latter was especially refreshing on the last very humid Friday evening.

I also enjoyed the Blood & Smoke on its own, though thinking those smokey notes would probably go great with a burger or steak.

 

New cocktails to help you cool off this summer, from top counter-clockwise, Hibiscus Rose, Blood and Smoke ancho chili spiced margarita, and a Cucumber-Citrus tonic.

The restaurant also added a few new dishes to its summer menu, including Nashville Hot Chicken, a Tennessee variation on Southern fried chicken, inspired by Jocson’s recent visit to the city where it is every bit the local institution as the loco moco and laulau are in Honolulu.

According to area lore, Thorton Prince was served fried chicken doused with extra pepper as punishment after a late night out on the town, but he enjoyed it so much that he and his brothers perfected the recipe and opened Prince’s Hot Chicken in the mid-1930s. It’s still going strong today.

I can see why. For one thing, who doesn’t love fried chicken? This is a twist on the fried chicken and waffle idea, the waffles swapped here for a trio of small sweet potato pancakes.

Then, I love spicy food, and this combines chipotle and pepper with a crisped exterior, and sour-honey hot sauce to help cut some of the heat, though for me, it could have been way hotter.

It’s also served with ranch dressing and pickles, and topped with crispy sage.

The California Roll has been remade with a base of pan-crisped koge rice that is perfection. So flavorful it didn’t need the soy-mirin sauce. Hint: watch out for the serrano peppers.

Everyone serves fried chicken, but no one else offers crispy duck wings, served with a vaguely Southeast Asian herb salad of cilantro, basil, mint and red onion.

At the other end of the country, Jocson’s trip to Portland, Ore., fueled the addition of Crispy Duck Wings to the menu. It has a vaguely Southeast Asian appeal, tossed with a maple-sambal soy glaze and toasted sesame seeds, then served with an herb salad of cilantro, basil and mint with red onion, all flavors well-represented in Vietnamese and Thai restaurants here.

Other Yard House classics have been updated, such as grilled Korean pork belly now served with kimchi sour cream and green onions, a Cobb salad with several protein options, and a Cobb with kale option.

The California Roll, a staple on the Yard House menu for most of the restaurant’s 18-year history, has also been refreshed, and fans need not worry about the change, which I think is an improvement. The usual white rice now spends time on the grill to get the bottoms nice, crisp and slightly koge. The texture is wonderful.

It’s also worth noting that guests who opt to participate in Yard House’s Round It Up America program can have their tabs rounded up to the nearest dollar, as a painless way to put your spare change to work helping national and local non-profit causes.

Dince 2010, RIUA has raised more than $2 million that has gone toward feeding the hungry, culinary scholarships, international disaster relief, assistance to military families and veterans, and more.

Guests who want to round up when visiting Yard House can ask their server or bartender for more details.

Yard House is at Waikiki Beach Walk, 226 Lewers St. Call 923-9273. Visit yardhouse.com.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Tiki's Grill & Bar welcomes SKYY Infusions

Nadine Kam photos
Tiki’s Grill & Bar hosted the launch of SKYY Vodka’s new Texas Grapefruit and Pacific Blueberry SKYYInfusions.

Tiki’s Grill & Bar hosted the launch of SKYY Vodka’s new Texas Grapefruit and Pacific Blueberry SKYYInfusions on Feb. 24.

The new fruit-infused vodkas lend themselves to spring and summertime cocktails, with no muddling involved, and guests were invited to a quartet of drinks made from the SKYYInfusions, including Texas Toast, with the Texas Grapefruit, lemon-lime soda, grenadine and fresh lime, and Blueberry Blush, with the Pacific Blueberry, cranberry juice, lime juice and simple syrup.

In keeping with the event’s theme, Tiki’s executive chef Ronnie Nasuti came up with a handful of dishes incorporating the fruits of the day, including blueberry-sauced ribs and ahi crudo with avocado and grapefruit, for a yummy evening.
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Tiki’s Grill and Bar is located at 2570 Kalakaua Ave. Call (808) 923-8454.

Chef Ronnie Nasuti cooks up a saute of smoked meat, fruit and onions, shown below:

Grapefruit- and blueberry-infused water.

Some of the SKYYInfusion cocktails were served in Tiki’s signature ceramic glasses.

Nasuti’s menu played off the fruit theme, and included such pupu as ribs with blueberry sauce and a fiery kick. Yum!

Watermelon topped with feta and onions, with a sprinkling of blueberries.

Ahi crudo with avocado, grapefruit and caviar.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Cocktails, shaken and stirred at CookSpace Hawaii

Nadine Kam photos
Bitters and absinthe that went into sazeracs on the menu during Jennifer Fiedler’s demo at CookSpace Hawaii.

CookSpace Hawaii put students in a holiday frame of mind during a Nov. 21 class presented by Jennifer Fiedler, author of “The Essential Bar Book: An A-to-Z Guide to Spirits, Cocktails, and Wine, with 115 Recipes for the World’s Great Drinks” (Ten Speed Press, $19.99).

Yup, that’s the full title, and the book lives up to its promise as a valuable compendium that will help anyone shake or stir up cocktails like a pro.

My late husband loved a great bar. Me, not so much, but I’d humor him and go along. So it was that we once headed to New Orleans to sample sazeracs in the place of their origin. He was an avid reader and romanticized the louche lives of some of his favorite authors and poets, always seeking out the same experiences, the sum of which I credit for his early demise.

He would have loved to know that thanks to Fiedler, I now know how to make a sazerac, one of the recipes on the menu during the session entitled “Shaken, Stirred and Something Different.” With a lighthearted approach to the bar, Fiedler, a former editor at Wine Spectator magazine, made it all accessible and fun, throwing in some history for good measure, so that I now see the beauty of this creative alchemy.

Jennifer Fiedler shakes a French 75. See recipe at the bottom of this post.

As we sipped gimlets, she launched into her French 75 that she describes as “basically a Tom Collins with the soda water swapped out for champagne,” giving it a festive touch perfect for holidays.

And she pointed out the misguided logic of James Bond’s “shaken, not stirred” martini, which she said defeats the beauty of the drink, for which she said the aim is “to keep clarity and viscosity.”

Shaken cockails would include such “cloud”-causing ingredients as juice, cream or egg whites that when shaken, change the drink’s texture, adding froth and air bubbles.

The class had the opportunity to shake and stir their own cocktails after the demos, and let’s just say as the evening wore on there were a lot of happy, giggly campers.

What, me measure? After measuring in the proper amount of gin, some students skipped the jigger and poured a little extra to make their own version of the French 75, named after a World War I gun as a reference to the drink’s metaphoric lethalness.

Fiedler lights a lemon peel to add drama to garnishing a sazerac.

Presentation of crudite and antipasti platters offered a few ideas for dressing a holiday table.

Make it:

French 75
2 ounces cognac or gin
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water)
3 ounces sparkling wine, preferably dry champagne

Add first 3 ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe or flute and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a long curling peel of lemon.

Note: Most of us students thought it was too much sparkling wine. A thinner layer would give the drink the festive, bubbly effect without losing the rest of the cocktail.

Sazerac
1 splash absinthe
1 sugar cube
1 splash soda water
2 ounces rye
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

In a rocks glass, add a dash of absinthe and swirl to coat. Discard. In another rocks or mixing glass, muddle sugar cube (or teaspoon of sugar or 1/4 ounce of simple syrup) with soda water. Once dissolved, add rye, bitters and ice, and stir well.

Strain rye and bitters mixture into the absinthe-coated rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Also, a taste of the holidays:

Hot buttered rum
2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vanilla ice cream
1-1/2 tablespoons EACH ground cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Dark rum
Black tea, hot

Add first 10 ingredients to a mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer. Refrigerate until ready to use. When ready to use, warm mugs by filling with hot water. Let stand a minute or two then discard water.

Add 1 tablespoon batter to each mug. Top with 2 ounces hot tea and stir to mix. Add 1 ounce of rum to each mug, then top with 2 more ounces of tea. Rum will form a 1/4-inch cream over top of drink. Garnish with whole star anise if desired.

Note: The pumpkin pie spice flavors and the heat of the cayenne are strong and not for anyone with a milquetoast palate.

Oscar-themed cocktails at Lewers Lounge

Nadine Kam photos
Lewers Lounge’s head bartender Tim Rita shows sample sizes of his "Network of Vodka" inspired by the film "The Social Network."

Just in time for the Academy Awards show, Halekulani’s master mixologist Tim Rita has come up with a slate of original cocktails themed around movies up for an award.

Rita, the head bartender at the hotel’s Lewers Lounge, created five drinks inspired by "The Black Swan" (La Danse Noir), "The Fighter" (Mickey's Ward), "True Grit" (Prickly Pear Smash), "The Social Network" (Network of Vodka) and his own favorite movie, "Toy Story 3" (Playful Punch).

The drinks are on the menu at Lewers Lounge through Oscar night, Sunday, when those attending the HIFF Oscar Night America party from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Halekulani, can continue the party in the lounge. Tickets for the event are $300 per person, available by mailing HIFF at tickets@hiff.org or calling 792-1577 ext. 1 Visit www.hiff.org for more information.

It was fun to talk to Rita about his process, from remembering the fruity flavors of punch at his grandmother's house when he was a kid, to creating a trio of flavors, from sweet and spicy to spirited to reflect personalities that might comprise a social network.

La Danse Noir captures the dark, mysterious beauty of "The Black Swan," made with spiced brandy, Marie Brizard blackberry, fresh lime and simple syrup, and garnished with blackberries and sage leaves.

Mickey's Ward, created for "The Fighter," is Tim's take on the Ward Eight that originated in Boston, using Irish whiskey (Jameson), orange curacao, Maraschino cherry liquor and Peychauds bitters.

A closeup view of the "The Social Network"-inspired Network of Vodka. Tim used Kai vodka to reinforce the spirit of gathering and enjoyment. The trio reflect "Sweet and Spicy" (Kai lychee, Pama liquor, lime juice, chile simple syrup); "Very Spirited" (Kai 80 proof, Lillet blanc, St. Germain); and "Organic Green" (Kai 80 proof, lime and agave syrup) personality profiles.

"True Grit"-inspired Prickly Pear Smash stars Makers mark, lemon juice, Rotui soursop (prickly pear) and Reagan's orange bitters.

"Toy Story 3"-inspired "Playful Punch" is a bright, lively blend of spiced brandy, Grand Marnier and fresh lilikoi, pineapple juice and lemon juice spritzer.