Pacific'O Terrific'O
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    The mystery of what was to come started to slowly unravel as we found, at each place setting, a note from Chef de Cuisine Rick Person spelling it out. "Experience the refined and exotic nature of our unique cuisine with a selection of our most popular dishes, served leisurely to provide you with the ultimate dining experience." Rick, and his Sous Chef Keith Parietti had never worked together until their paths crossed about 8 months ago at Pacific’O but clearly the two men make quite a team. They let us know in our note that we were in for 3 courses, an intermezzo, a triple tasting entrée` and a desert sampler....

    Let the dining and the wining begin! I am uncertain how the first wine selection of the evening arrived but it was a Spanish sparkling wine known as Seguria Viudas and as two of the wait staff passed in front of the setting sun with a tray of champagne flutes boy did they sparkle! A toast to Geri, on the occasion of her birthday, to T. Harry, on the occasion of his move to Maui and to D.E., on the occasion of his pending departure back to his want-to-be home away from home in Prague. It was also a really fine way to settle into our new surroundings, chat with our new tablemates and taste Pacific'O's bread... 

    The arrival of the first course was announced by our most excellent waitress Michelle – an Oyster Shooter. Now stop right here, I know what you think you know and I know what I thought I knew about oyster shooters, but this isn't that story at all. This is a story of an awesome, albeit too brief, gastronomic treat and it bares little resemblance to what you think an oyster shooter is all about. This Fanning Bay oyster was in a 3 ounce sea salt-rimmed glass stewing in a delicate mixture of Sake and Mirin [sweet rice wine] and it wasn't alone in there either. There was a small wasabi ball and a piece of pickled ginger. Michelle explained to us that our shooter was to be followed, dare I say, chased, with nori-wrapped soba noodles that had been cooked in green tea and wrapped with little shreds of cilantro leaf. These little pinkie size rolls were meant to balance the shooter by absorbing some of the spark from the salt, wasabi and ginger with the soba. What a great treat, the oyster was remarkable in this mélange of flavors, I wasn't rushed at all to "balance" those flavors, but the soba was perfect too. The first course was over way to soon and it re-wrote the whole concept of Oyster Shooters!

    More convivial chat paused when a white wine arrived. Again, I don't know who made the selection but as it was arriving I was handed a wine list and was in hot pursuit of a great red for those of us that know that it is in the darker wines that the most sophisticated pleasures wait.... I think all of the women at the table were thrilled with this Argentinean wine, made by a woman vintner, called Crios.  It was indeed a very tasty wine made with Torrontes grapes...  I selected a  2000 Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve and it was rich with pronounced berry flavors and enhanced by an earthy nose and toasty oak finish, mmmm.... 

    Michelle was at it again, this time announcing our second course as a Duck Confit Lettuce Wrap. Wrapped in a red lettuce leaf fresh from their organic farm and surrounding the duck was avocado, mango, ginger, garlic and kowari [a radish sprout]. The long, narrow plates were perfect for this dish, with a shallow spot just big enough for an ounce or so of a delicious red chili aioli to dip the wrap in. It was a savory mix of flavors that blended perfectly with the tanginess of the aioli... and like the first course, this too was over too soon. Scrumptious!

    A respectable wait after duck confit and our next course arrived. Chili Lime Salt Calamari Salad!  Asian pears, oranges, red onion, arugula, spinach, mint, cucumber and, of course, calamari that had been cut and partially ground for tenderness, all was tossed with a light palm sugar vinaigrette and sprinkled with chili lime salt. I asked Chef Rick about the sea salt and found out they make it themselves with cinnamon, peppercorn, coriander, star anise, sea salt, chili flakes & lime zest. It set off everything on the plate adding punch to even the pears and oranges.  Course 3, the Chili Lime Salt Calamari Salad was sensational. If you eat at Pacific'O you have to order one! Actually, that holds true for everything we ate, each course was really first rate, and then it was time for the so called intermezzo.

    Intermezzo, according to Webster, is a brief entertainment between two acts. According to Pacific'O it is watermelon and kiwi sorbet with Framboise -a raspberry liqueur. Served in a small martini-like glass it cleansed the palette and made the new wine now breathing in my glass all the more inviting. The smoky oak aromas of the Honig Cabernet Sauvignon were just what I was hoping to find in this bottle from Napa. 2000 is thought to have been an off year by some but this wine, with hints of chocolate, black currents and cedar is a deliciously drinkable wine and I was looking forward to pairing it with our next course, which, among other things included some lamb.

    The Pacific'O Taster, made up partially of regular menu items, was described on our little notes, as a three-part dish. Indeed it was 3 beautiful presentations on a 16" X 6" plate. The first [on the left] was Maui Onion Ono. A small fillet of Ono on a bed of  O’o Farm's Hawaiian Provencal salad which is a toss of cucumbers, pistachios, Asian pear, Maui Onions and raisins.  Yummy, doesn't do it justice...  In the center of the plate rests the lamb. This is probably the best single bite of the night for me. Chef Rick has seasoned the chop with a spice rub to die for. The perfect mix of cumin, cardamom, coriander, mustard seed, star anise, garlic, chili flakes, white peppercorns and brown sugar are blended together and rubbed on the chop and then left for a day to flavor the meat. A light rice flour dusting on the lamb chop prior to cooking it gives it its crispy texture and it was served on pomelo [tropical grapefruit] salad atop a petite scoop of couscous and drizzled with a pomegranate demi-glaze.  The mint leaves, green peppers and mango in the salad fused perfectly with the subtle deliciousness of the spiced lamb and made for the piece de resistance. Partnered with the lamb and Ono was something you can't get at Pacific'O. Indeed you can't get it anywhere in the world. It came out of Rick's private recipes and was billed as Grilled Hawaiian Spiny Lobster Medallion, Asian Slaw and Crab Cake Gratin. The crab cake was, in itself, a masterpiece. Start with the best ingredients and you can't help but make something great. Rick mixes blue crab meat with shredded russet potatoes, celery, red onion, garlic, ginger, some herbs and Asiago cheese to make the crab cakes. Put a little Asian slaw on top of that, bed a nice medallion of grilled lobster above it and pour a little pineapple enchilada sauce he makes on the whole thing and you've got a treat that can't be beat!  I started by trying the lobster by itself because I like lobster so much, but the sauce made me realize that that was the wrong approach. These flavors were meant to merge and merge them I did. Boldly cutting through all three layers and tasting what the chef really had in mind. It was a stupendous melding of flavors and I relished every bite! Hat's off to Rick!