Right at the top of the latest list of Michelin Guide awardees is ‘Aina, a San Francisco restaurant rooted in Hawaii, where founder and chef Jordan Keao left his heart.
‘Aina was named last week to Michelin’s 2018 list of Bib Gourmand restaurants in the Bay Area. The designation cites what Michelin calls “favorites for good value.” The list of restaurants earning the next level of recognition — those coveted Michelin stars — comes out Thursday.
This is the third year that ‘Aina has earned a bib, and considering that the restaurant is just 3 years old, you can see how quickly Keao has established his place in this food-centric city.
‘Aina began as a brunch pop-up, gaining renown for such dishes as malasadas filled with guava custard. The brick-and-mortar location opened in 2015 in a neighborhood called Dogpatch on the east side of the city near the bay. Keao has since added a full and sophisticated dinner menu with items such as charred octopus luau.
But the chef — a Hilo boy — said it all began because there was no place in town that served a solid breakfast of rice and eggs. “I have so much appreciation for the rice-and-egg combo with furikake,” he said. “That’s our trinity. That’s home.”
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Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
‘Faker’ proves her baking credentials
Pixie Clay learned something about herself while competing on “Bakers vs. Fakers,” a Food Network competition show that pits four bakers against one another — two of them professional, two amateur. Via two challenges, the best baker is revealed. On the episode titled “In a Pickle” that aired Sunday, that person was Clay.
“It was surprising,” said the Hawaii-born radio producer and amateur baker, who moved to San Francisco six years ago. “I’ve baked as a hobby since I was a teenager … and everything I did was trial and error. I never knew how my baking stood up. Of course, people say my baking is good because they want free cookies. You know, in radio everyone eats anything.”
Clay won the initial challenge of incorporating lime into a carrot cake with her Pineapple Carrot Cake Parfait, made with lime yogurt and cream cheese frosting. A walnut crumble on top comprised brown sugar, flour and lime tortilla chips.
In the next round, in which she faced off against two professionals, Clay tackled a pickle challenge by delivering a matcha and black-sesame shortbread cookie that featured pickled blueberry.
“I never had pickled blueberries before. When I opened the jar to taste it, it was not just blueberries with vinegar. It had spices, too, like maybe cardamom,” she said.
She cut the spiciness and acidity by making a compote and mixing it with goat cheese for a creamy topping.
With that, Clay won the contest — and a $10,000 prize, which she plans to use to take her parents and brother on a family vacation. Though she’s no longer a Hawaii resident, her heart is still in the isles.
“It’s nice to represent Hawaii,” said Clay, a Campbell High School graduate. “It’s always nice to have a Hawaii person win anything, anywhere. That’s a ‘Yay!’”
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Joleen Oshiro, Star-Advertiser
