Kona Grill’s a pleasant surprise, southwest style

When informed of my plan to review Kona Grill, a newcomer to the International Market Place, a colleague seemed surprised, saying, “I thought you don’t do chain restaurants.”

Not true, of course. I cover fast food to fine dining and everything in between in this space.

What is true is that in my personal life I visit chains less frequently than other establishments. In my experience, chains tend to occupy a middle ground that has less appeal to me than a high-end restaurant with progressive, visionary ideas and a transparent approach to ingredient sourcing; or the pop-ups, food trucks and humble mom-and-pop enterprises that offer the promise of surprise, trendy fare or inexpensive comfort food made with love.

In comparison with all of the above, chains can feel rather generic and impersonal.

But at Kona Grill I was pleasantly surprised by the extent of the offerings. As is said, “A rising tide lifts all boats,” and that is what’s happening with chain and middle-tier restaurants. In light of the ever-increasing competition for dining dollars, all restaurateurs must be nimble and up their games or perish. This has been adding up to more trendy, adventurous items on the plate at many a restaurant that would have played it safe in the past.

The upscale casual restaurant with the Hawaiian-themed name is actually based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Its menu has broad appeal, with a mix of all-American appetizers, salads and entrees, plus a full range of traditional and Kona Grill-style sushi specialties that, for foodies, will be the best of what the restaurant has to offer.

Kona Grill’s roots in the Southwest show up in its sushi, in an abundance of chili peppers used to good effect. I’d never had sushi that tasted like a taco before, but that’s what you get with the Checkerboard Roll ($17). The reverse sushi roll has a center of habanero-spiced ahi, avocado and asparagus, topped with alternating pieces of ahi and yellowtail to form that Instagram-perfect checkerboard pattern.

The Picasso Roll ($18) is also beautifully plated, but great art can be incendiary, and this represents a four- pepper threat, featuring plain and spicy yellowtail, togarashi, Sriracha, jalapeno, avocado and cilantro in a yuzu-ponzu sauce. If one pepper doesn’t faze you, one of the others might. I loved this, but after two pieces found myself removing the jalapeno cap, believing it to be the culprit behind my burning tongue.

It’s all served in a spacious dining room with a mix of cozy booths and free-standing tables. There’s also open-air dining on a patio with a large bar, closest to TV screens catering to sports fans.

The sushi occupies one side of a two-page menu. It’s the other side that has its share of hits and misses.

The menu is vast and pricey, so when pressed for the best of the starters, our server pointed out the avocado egg rolls ($12.75), which were an easy sell because I love avocado. These spring rolls, with a honey-cilantro dipping sauce, were filled with what seemed to amount to a whole avocado. It’s no easy feat to get the right ripeness timing for avocado, so it’s amazing that they can offer this consistently.

A taco trio ($14.75) is said to be popular, but for me, two out of three were misses. A filling of a single jumbo shrimp layered with Asian slaw and roasted tomatillo salsa was the best of the bunch. Tempura black cod was a good idea, but the breadiness of the batter combined with the gumminess of the flour tortilla made it rather unpleasant to eat. And the kalua pork in the last taco didn’t come close to any luau fare, though sweet slices of fig were a nice touch.

Fresh toppings on margherita ($14.75) and portobello and goat cheese ($14.25) flatbreads are great but I’m accustomed to crisp, pizza- style flatbreads. These had a more processed, bready quality that I didn’t care for, but some people may not even notice.

The restaurant does a good job with salads, ranging from a classic Caesar ($6.50 side, $12.25 large) to the Kona chopped ($16.25) with loads of macadamia-nut chicken slices, plus applewood bacon, avocado, white cheddar and egg with a honey Dijon dressing.

As for entrees, I enjoyed the Cajun- spiced salmon ($19) topping lemony bow-tie pasta, tossed with a dill cream sauce, snap peas and grape tomatoes, and there was no skimping on lobster in a dish of lobster macaroni and cheese ($19.50) in a mix of cheddar, Gouda and Parmesan, splashed with white truffle oil.

The menu includes a handful of steaks, and while they won’t be competing with what’s served at a dedicated steakhouse, a New York strip ($35.25) and the Kona Churrasco flank steak, with chimichurri sauce and mashed potatoes ($20.50/26.25), do manage to satisfy a spur-of-the- moment craving.

There’s no scrimping on portions, so I was never able to make it to dessert, but the selections look like winners in a popularity contest. At $9.25 each, they include apple bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce, passion fruit creme brulee, Snickers ice cream pie, fudge brownie and key lime pie.